Google showcases self-driving prototype at Detroit Auto Show

Google has showcased its self-driving car prototype at the Detroit Auto Show.

The show came only two weeks after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which saw much action by auto companies.

Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project revealed that several automotive companies had partnered with Google's self-driving platform, including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Daimler and Volkswagen.

Google was also preparing to work with non-conventional automotive companies to make its self-driving platform, which might include mapping, object recognition, artificial intelligence and media companies.

It was not clear though whether Google would work on cars as such or become the overwatching software owner, like on Android and Chrome OS.

The search company might launch a 'Nexus' style self-driving car, similar to its Nexus phone, tablet and Chromebook Pixel.

Google recently hired Roush Enterprises to build 150 prototype self-driving cars, which had been road-tested and Google wanted to deploy them in more states, to get more feedback on the self-driving platform.

Even though Google's platform had received the backing of several automotive companies, Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz were noticeably absent from the list.

Meanwhile, the internet search giant had started discussions with most of the world's top automakers and had assembled a team of traditional and non-traditional suppliers to speed efforts to bring self-driving cars to market by 2020, a Google executive said yesterday.

Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project, said in an interview the company would be remiss not to talk to the biggest auto manufacturers. He added, they had got a lot to offer.

He said those manufacturers included General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG.

"For us to jump in and say that we can do this better, that's arrogant," Urmson said.

He added, Google's self-driving prototype cars, were built in Detroit by engineering and specialty manufacturing company Roush.

GM was open to working with Google on self-driving cars, Jon Lauckner, GM's chief technology officer, said on Monday.

Urmson's expectation that the first fully autonomous vehicles would be production-ready within five years came a day after similar projections were made by another Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors Inc.

According to Tesla Motor's Elon Musk, who spoke Tuesday at the Automotive News World Congress conference, the lack of clear federal regulations covering self-driving cars could delay their introduction until 2022 or 2023.