Google Talking to Auto Makers About Self-Driving Car
无人驾驶汽车无人驾驶汽车──谷歌还有很长的路要走
Google is talking to auto makers about how to bring its self-driving-car technology to market, executives said Tuesday.
谷歌无人驾驶汽车项目组主管周二表示，公司正就无人驾驶汽车技术的市场推广事宜与汽车制造商进行沟通。
Project director Chris Urmson said a self-driving car is probably still six years away. But, he added, 'We are thinking now about how to bring this car to market.'
项目总监厄姆森(Chris Urmson)表示，无人驾驶汽车距离问世至少还需要六年的时间。但他补充说：我们现在正在考虑如何把这款车推向市场。
He and others said Google hasn't decided whether to design its own car, or make its software and operating system available to auto makers. 'We're trying to figure that out now, '
Urmson said. He said Google is talking regularly to auto makers, without citing specific names.
厄姆森和其他谷歌员工表示，谷歌尚未决定是自主设计汽车，还是将软件和操作系统提供给汽车厂商。厄姆森说，我们现在正试图解决这问题。他表示，谷歌会定期与汽车制造商进行沟通，但没有披露制造商的具体信息。
There is a lot of 'debate internally about how automobiles can use this technology, ' said Sebastian Thrun, the original leader of Google's autonomous car project, who now works one day a week at the company. 'There will be a time when a significant number of cars will carry Google technology.'
谷歌无人驾驶汽车项目早期主管塞巴斯蒂安·特龙(Sebastian Thrun)说，关于汽车怎样驾驭自动驾驶技术，公司内部还有很多争论。让大量的汽车都能够搭载谷歌技术，这只是一个时间问题。特龙目前每周仅到公司工作一天。
Google co-founder Sergey Brin -- Urmson's boss -- said roughly a year and a half ago that
Google's self-driving car was about five years away. Urmson said on Tuesday that he is working on a six-year timeline, based on when his 10 year-old son turns 16 and will be able to drive in California.
谷歌联合创始人、厄姆森的老板谢尔盖布林(Sergey Brin)大约一年半以前曾表示，谷歌的无人驾驶汽车问世大约需要五年的时间。厄姆森周二给出的时间表是六年，他表示，自己10岁的儿子16岁时就能在加州开始这种车了。
Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at Stanford University's Center for Automotive Research, said it can take up to six years to design and build a new car. Smith said any self-driving car ready in six years would likely be 'limited in terms of capability, availability, or geography.'
斯坦福大学(Stanford University)汽车研究中心研究员史密斯(Bryant Walker Smith)称，设计和研发一辆新车需要六年的时间。他说，任何在六年之内研发出来的无人驾驶汽车，无论是从性能、实用性和驾驶区域等方面来说都将有局限性。
Google's car looks like a regular vehicle but it uses multiple sensors and map data in real time to understand where it is and maneuver through streets and highways without human intervention.
谷歌的无人驾驶汽车看上去与普通汽车并无两样，但它使用了多个传感器和实时地图数据，用来快速定位，从而在无需人为干预的情况下在街道和高速公路上自动行驶。
The project started in 2009 and became an early part of Google X, the company's research lab for risky, long-term initiatives. Some on Wall Street are concerned about Google's increased focus on these projects, however, they also give the company a chance to expand into huge new markets, such as autos.
该项目始于2009年，成为Google X早期工作的一部分，Google X是谷歌的一个侧重于风险、长期规划的研发部门。一些华尔街的投资者对谷歌过于关注这些项目表示担忧，但无论如何，它们也给了该公司一个拓展到巨大新市场的机会，例如汽车领域。
In another sign that the car project is entering a new phase, 10-year Google veteran Clare
Hughes Johnson joined Google X earlier this year. She oversees product and operations for the autonomous-vehicle project. Tuesday, Johnson said she is working on strategies to commercialize the initiative.
在谷歌工作了十年之久的克莱尔·修吉斯·约翰逊(Clare Hughes Johnson)今年早些时候加入Google X，这预示着该汽车项目正进入一个新的阶段。约翰逊负责无人驾驶汽车的产品和运营工作。约翰逊周二表示，她正在研究该项目的商用战略。
Urmson said Google's autonomous cars are expensive, but he declined to be specific. That's partly due to the laser sensor perched on top of the vehicles, which is made by Silicon Valley-based company Velodyne. About 150 of these laser devices are produced a year, which increases the price of the component, Urmson explained.
厄姆森表示，谷歌无人驾驶汽车价格昂贵，但他未透露具体数字。厄姆森解释说，车辆顶端配置的激光传感器由位于硅谷的Velodyne制造，造价相当昂贵。这种激光设备每年的产量约为150个，从而拉升了汽车零部件的总价。
Urmson said the price will fall as the components are made in higher volume.
厄姆森表示，而随着这些零部件的大批量生产，价格也将下降。
Urmson also said Google has begun testing the vehicles outside the San Francisco Bay area, in Arizona, Florida, Texas and Washington, D.C., among other places.
厄姆森还说，谷歌已经开始在旧金山湾区以外的地区测试无人驾驶汽车，包括亚利桑那州、佛罗里达州、德克萨斯州和华盛顿特区。
Tuesday, Google chauffeured reporters around its home town of Mountain View, Calif., for about 30 minutes. Google test drivers sat in the front seats, but let the vehicle drive itself for most of the route.
周二，谷歌邀请记者围绕加州山景城进行驾驶体验，用时大约30分钟。谷歌测试车手坐在前排座位，但大部分的路程都是由汽车自动驾驶。
The car accelerated briskly, stopped at all red lights and automatically slowed for cross-walks.
无人驾驶汽车提速迅速，经过所有红灯时自动停下并在人行横道处自动减速。