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Washington Post -- A new patent describes a system to react to pedestrians and display the vehicle’s intent to pedestrians. (U.S. Patent & Trademark Office)

The doors of Google’s self-driving vehicles are currently decorated with art work. There are sunsets, flowers and parks. But the warm nature scenes may eventually have competition for that real estate from an unlikely source — utilitarian traffic signage.

Google received a patent Tuesday detailing how a self-driving vehicle would determine if pedestrians were likely to cross a street, plan its next move accordingly, and then notify the pedestrians of its intent. Since the cars are being driven by a computer, a pedestrian can’t count on a hand signal or eye contact from a passenger to know a vehicle is waiting for them.

The patent describes using electronic screens mounted on the side of the vehicle — including potentially the roof, hood and rear of vehicle — to tell a pedestrians if it was safe to cross. The displays might show a stop sign, a traffic sign, or just text. The car might react by coming to a complete stop, slowing down and yielding, or maintaining its speed.

The patent also suggests some other options. A speaker on the outside of the vehicle might call out alerts, such as “coming through” or “safe to cross.” Perhaps most interesting is the potential use of a robotic hand and eyes to gesture at pedestrians and make them aware that the car “sees” them.

Sadly, no sketches of the robotic arm or eyes are included in the patent. Google initially filed for the patent in September 2012. The system is similar to one Nissan showed off last month, in which a screen on the dashboard shared messages with pedestrians.

Read the rest here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/11/27/google-patent-reveals-how-its-self-driving-cars-may-communicate-with-pedestrians/

3-14-2016, Reuters -- The top U.S. auto safety regulator said on Thursday the agency is seeking additional details of a recent crash of an Alphabet Inc Google self-driving car in California.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is collecting information to get a "more detailed exploration of what exactly happened," NHTSA chief Mark Rosekind told Reuters on the sidelines of an event on highway safety.

A Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in Mountain View, Calif. in a minor crash on Feb. 14, and the technology company said it bears "some responsibility" for the incident in what may be the first crash that was the fault of the self-driving vehicle.

Rosekind said he spoke to Google officials on Wednesday and the company has been "very forthcoming" in answering requests for details on the crash. "We have to see what's going on," Rosekind said.

A Google spokesman confirmed NHTSA has asked for more information and the company plans to discuss the crash with regulators.

U.S. safety officials said in January they are working on new guidance on self-driving vehicles that they hope to release by July. Rosekind said understanding the Google car crash is important in that process.

"One of the lessons learned would be: there's an incident, how do you make that sure that (the issue) ends up getting corrected and there is quality assurance to make sure it effectively changes what happened," Rosekind said.

Google said last week it made changes to its software after the crash to avoid future incidents. A U.S. Senate panel will hold a hearing on Tuesday on the future of autonomous vehicles that will include the director of Google's self-driving car program.

Last month, NHTSA said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving Google car could be considered the driver under federal law, a major step toward winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles said last week it is reviewing the Google crash.

California rules say the state could "suspend or revoke the manufacturer’s testing permit for any act or omission which the department finds makes the conduct of autonomous vehicle testing on public roads an unreasonable risk to the public," the agency said.

Read the rest here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-selfdrivingcar-idUSKCN0WC1YS

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