With all eyes on the 2015 North American International Auto Show, General Motors has used the venue to announce a willingness to open-up talks with Google regarding collaborating on autonomous vehicle technology.
At least, that’s according to Fortune, who report that GM Chief Technology Officer Jon Lauckner said as much in an interview. “I’m not in charge of deciding what we will and won’t do, but I’d say we’d certainly be open to having a discussion with them,” said Mr. Lauckner.
This could be an ideal pairing, as Google is already among the front runners when it comes to driverless car technology. Meanwhile, they stand to benefit greatly from General Motors’ vast resources, experience, and relationships with suppliers.
What’s not so clear, however, is how a GM-Google relationship would function. For instance, would Google simply provide hardware and software to various OEMs, as in the current standard supplier model? Or, as Lauckner ponders, “Would it be something where it would be an opportunity to work together in a joint development agreement?”
Comments
I’d say the Later as Lauckner said “Would it be something where it would be an opportunity to work together in a joint development agreement?” The New GM has no problem with Developing or Adapting New Tech!! 😉
Stop this autonomous car nonsense now! Hackers break into banks, chain stores, Sony and even the Pentagon. Do you want N.Korea as your co-pilot?
“Stop this autonomous car nonsense now!”
Fat chance. It’s the next big thing for cars, and for GM’s sake, they need to act quickly. The consumer demand for autonomous cars grossly out weighs your complaints.
The Bolt concept has auto-parking, so autonomous driving is the next step. Google has the most exact and complete GPS -based maping system outside of the U.S. Department of the Defense, and both the Chavy Volt and the Bolt concept has elecric steering, so combining the two companies will be easier than starting from”scratch”. Google can supply the software and navigational data, and GM will supply the vehicles with all needed sensors.
I’m with Gary. Google is not your friend. Nobody has any answer to the liability question when your driving computer fails. Autonomy makes sense for subways and railroads, but not automobiles. NEVER will I ever trust a computer to drive me on public roads. GM has much more important things to do that to sell its customer data to Google, which is nothing but a glorified advertisement agency.