At Google's scale, they have to think 5+ years out. The technology doesn't just "become" good, it's enterprises and entities which iteratively reach that point.

At Google's scale, they have to think 5+ years out. The technology doesn't just "become" good, it's enterprises and entities which iteratively reach that point. Street View helped them get this far, maybe Tango's research makes the last mile. The self-driving car itself has been in the works for 4.5 years already, with actual commercialisation at least that far away again (by my shot-in-the-dark estimation). edit: Although there's a distinction between tech that can be previewed (Tango, Street View) and those which is developed in relative secrecy.