Related reading:

Running out of gift ideas for the upcoming holidays? Does a cute-looking, self-driving car sound cool?

The new prototype unveiled by Google's self-driving car project.?

Google has unveiled its first complete prototype for fully autonomous driving, which the company describes in a blog post as "the best holiday gift we could've imagined".

The prototype looks almost the same as an earlier mockup Google unveiled in May, but it got enhanced in many aspects, from the typical car parts like steering and braking, to the self-driving parts like the computer and sensors.

Google's self-driving technologies aim to ultimately build vehicles that could take anyone anywhere without having to touch the controls.

Engineers at Google plan to spend the upcoming holidays zipping around the test track, the Google Plus blog post says. The car is expected to take to real streets of Northern California in the new year, when safety tests will continue.

Yet the tech giant is not planning to become a car maker itself. Chris Urmson, the head of the self-driving car project at Google, was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying, "We don't particularly want to become a car maker. We are talking [with] and looking for partners."

Google is now seeking partners within the car manufacturing industry to make its technologies a commercial reality within the next five years, according to Cnet.com.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)