Google unveils self-driving car with no steering wheel

       
Google on Tuesday announced its own design for self-driving cars, which will drive people around without a steering wheel or pedals. The company has already shown off its own self-driving technology, which retrofits existing vehicles made by Toyota and Lexus. However this new version, which was announced by Brin at the Recode conference, is a new design that fits two people, and is driven entirely by computer using a variety of on-board computers and sensors. Google says the program is currently in a prototype phase, but that it plans to build around 100 early versions of the vehicles for testing this summer. Those cars, which are reminiscent of a Fiat 500 mixed with Playmobil toys, will initially include manual controls in case something goes wrong, just like the company’s current self-driving car program. After a pilot program in California, Google says it will develop a broader program with the help of partners, presumably for commercial use.