Google's Self-Driving Car Spotted in Georgetown
The Toyota Prius was parked on 30th Street near Citronelle.
A blue Toyota Prius parked on 30th Street in Georgetown isn't really worth a double take.
But if that same Prius is part of a Google's elite self-driving fleet of cars, that's a different story altogether.
The car, tagged with California license plates, is outfitted to use data collected through Google's street view map network, video cameras, a rooftop sensor and artifical intelligence software to navigate. On Wednesday morning, it was parked on 30 Street below M Street near Citronelle.
(Note: This car was only spotted parked on the street. The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and Google have not confirmed the legality of a self-driving car in the city.)
Morry
7:38 am on Sunday, May 13, 2012
Wow, how neat is that? Nice that this car was noticed and this picture snapped.
Walter Grosyk
9:46 am on Sunday, May 13, 2012
Note that the car is programmed to comply with San Francisco's ordinance of parking with your wheel turned into the curb, --to wit:
"If the grade of a street is more than 3%, a motor vehicle’s wheels must be curbed so that if the vehicle were to roll, it would move toward the adjacent sidewalk curb. The curb would then help to stop the vehicle from rolling further. When parking uphill, turn the steering wheel toward the street. When parking on a downhill street, turn steering wheel toward the sidewalk."
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/penf/indxpkenf.htm#curbwheels