谷歌（Google）所開發(fā)的自動(dòng)駕駛車輛在近日亮相，這款小車沒有方向盤也沒有油門、煞車踏板，而且只有兩個(gè)座位，很像在主題樂園才看得到的游樂器具。 新亮相的谷歌汽車并不像是先前該公司試驗(yàn)自動(dòng)駕駛功能時(shí)采用的豐田普銳斯（Toyota Prius）、奧迪TT（Audi TT）或是豐田雷克薩斯（Toyota Lexus）等車款，不過車頂上還是配備了一個(gè)測距用激光雷達(dá)系統(tǒng)。藉由大膽發(fā)表這款最新開發(fā)的小車，并非汽車業(yè)者的谷歌再次成功炒熱自動(dòng)駕駛車輛這個(gè)話題。 而谷歌對于這款自動(dòng)駕駛車輛的定位，并不是如同現(xiàn)今私人擁有的汽車，而是將之視為一個(gè)全新型態(tài)的交通工具，有點(diǎn)像是“出租車機(jī)器人”，能將小朋友、老人家、身障者從某一個(gè)地點(diǎn)載送到另一個(gè)地點(diǎn)。 下面的宣傳視頻剪輯能更清楚解釋谷歌的理念；該公司共同創(chuàng)辦人拉里·佩奇（Larry Page）針對該視頻表示：“我們的自動(dòng)駕駛車輛開發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)之下一步，這個(gè)視頻剪輯能充分說明。” 谷歌最新開發(fā)的自動(dòng)駕駛車輛首度亮相 在預(yù)期會(huì)有的所有技術(shù)與法規(guī)議題之外，筆者堅(jiān)信自動(dòng)駕駛車輛會(huì)遭遇到的最大障礙，其實(shí)是我們自己，是我們對機(jī)器根深蒂固的、而且也并非不合理的不信任態(tài)度。 就像很多科幻小說與電影的劇情所描述，原本非惡意、智慧水平超越人類的機(jī)器，后來出了一些錯(cuò)誤，而人類卻對于停止這些機(jī)器束手無策。Google的人應(yīng)該也看過那樣的科幻電影──從上面的視頻可看出，他們似乎有意消除這種并不顯著的人類對機(jī)器恐懼癥。 當(dāng)然，我們也在影片里聽到人們輕松地描述谷歌的自動(dòng)駕駛車輛有多“酷”；那真的很酷，但事實(shí)上，我認(rèn)為我們之中有很多人到了大概2020年那時(shí)候，可能還需要更多充分的理由，才能被說服為自動(dòng)駕駛車輛掏出一大筆錢來。 不過如果自動(dòng)駕駛車輛所扮演的角色跟我們今日所認(rèn)知的不一樣，是一種類似個(gè)人巴士、出租車的概念，并非私人擁有的機(jī)器呢？谷歌最新的自動(dòng)駕駛車輛透露了一些重要消息。 傳統(tǒng)汽車業(yè)者正積極推銷先進(jìn)駕駛輔助系統(tǒng)(ADAS)技術(shù)，作為要求安全性的車輛最新配備，但要說服現(xiàn)有的客戶群去買一輛自動(dòng)駕駛汽車，完全會(huì)是兩回事。但要將“汽車”的概念與“駕駛行為”完全脫鉤，對任何一家車廠來說都會(huì)是個(gè)大膽挑戰(zhàn)。 顯然自動(dòng)駕駛車輛要往前更進(jìn)一步，并不是在未來十年能設(shè)計(jì)出一輛多么酷的汽車，雖然這是大多數(shù)車廠都很擅長的。 如谷歌的另一位共同創(chuàng)辦人謝爾蓋·布林（Sergey Brin）所言，最新的谷歌自動(dòng)駕駛車輛原型，具備“改變你周遭世界與社會(huì)的能力”，就算你對這種“利他”論調(diào)不完全買賬，谷歌汽車還是有助于拉抬自動(dòng)駕駛車輛的聲勢。 谷歌已經(jīng)在扭轉(zhuǎn)自動(dòng)駕駛車輛爭議的路途上，跨出了無法回頭的第一步；自動(dòng)駕駛車輛也許并不適合作為個(gè)人私有的奢侈品，而是能讓這個(gè)社會(huì)更美好的大眾工具。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：Google’s New Car to Change Self-Driving Debate，by Junko Yoshida

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• 未來的出租車沒司機(jī)、沒方向盤并且自動(dòng)駕駛
• ADAS是自動(dòng)駕駛的必經(jīng)之路，但還要等30年！wTbesmc

{pagination} Google’s New Car to Change Self-Driving Debate Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent From a personal luxury to a tool serving the social good On Tuesday, May 27, Google unveiled its design for self-driving cars. Big surprises for Google’s guinea-pig passengers include the absence of both steering wheel and pedals and a two-seat design that resembles a ride in a theme park. The new Google car looks nothing like the Toyota Prius, Audi TT, or Toyota Lexus, which Google previously used for its self-driving trials. A laser radar system, with the range finder mounted on the top, however, remains a part of Google’s new design. In this bold iteration, Google, a non-automotive company, is clearly committed to changing the conversation around self-driving cars. Rather than promoting the self-driving car as an extension to cars we own today, Google is pitching the new prototype as a completely new category of transportation, like a “robo taxi” that picks up the young, the old, and the disabled to carry them from point A to point B. Google’s promo video makes that clear. As Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, wrote in the comment section of the video clip, this is “a next step for the self-driving car team... this video says it all.” Beyond all the technology and regulatory issues anticipated, I firmly believe that the biggest hurdle autonomous cars must clear is us: namely, our deeply rooted -- and not entirely unreasonable -- distrust of machines. No, I’m not being a Luddite here. One of the prevailing, recurrent themes of science fiction, from Karel Capek to the Terminator films, depicts a benevolent machine whose intelligence has progressed to the point beyond that of humans. But somehow, something goes wrong, and we, the humans, don’t have a clue about how to stop the machine. I think Google, a master of its own messaging, has seen the movie. In fact, the company makes mighty efforts in the promotional video to ease that yet-to-surface, basic human trepidation about machines. Sure, we hear people casually talking about how “cool” Google’s self-driving car is. It is cool. But in reality, I think many of us would still need a lot more convincing before plunking down, sometime around 2020, serious money for an autonomous car. However, if the self-driving car neither looks nor acts like a car as we know it today, and if it’s designed to function as a personal bus or cab instead of a replacement for our own driving machine, I think that Google’s new self-driving car might be onto something. It’s one thing that conventional automakers promote the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) as a suite of new safety bells and whistles. But it’s a whole different ballgame talking the existing customer base into buying autonomous cars. Decoupling the concept of the car from the very act of driving is a radical departure for any car OEM. Clearly, the next chapter of the self-driving car isn’t about designing the super-cool car of the next decade, which most carmakers are very good at. Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin believes the new Google car prototypes have "the ability to change the world and the community around you." Well, even if you don’t totally buy into the altruistic pitch that Google cars will help the underserved, Google has taken an irrevocable first step in changing the debate on the autonomous car, from being a personal luxury to a tool that serves the social good.