谷歌无人驾驶汽车即将开上公共道路

    This summer, the latest version of Google's self-driving car will make its first appearance on public roads. The two-seat vehicle does not need a gas pedal or steering wheel. The prototype can drive, brake and recognize road dangers without human involvement. Google says the car is the first vehicle built for the purpose of self-driving.
    今年夏天,谷歌最新款的无人驾驶汽车将首次出现在公共道路上。这台双座车无需油门踏板或方向盘。这台原型车可以在无需人工干预的情况下行驶、刹车并识别路面危险。谷歌表示,这是首台以自动驾驶为目标的汽车。

    However, the new vehicle is not designed for long trips. It does not have air bags or other safety devices required by the federal government. It cannot go more than 40 kilometers per hour. The vehicle is electric and has to be recharged after 130 kilometers. And it can only drive in areas that have been thoroughly mapped by Google.
    然而,这款新车并不适合长途旅行。它不具备安全气囊等联邦政府要求的安全装置。它的行驶速度不能超过40公里每小时。这是一台电动车,它行驶130公里之后需要重新充电。而且它只能在谷歌已经完全勘测过的地区行驶。

    Current California laws require all vehicles to have a steering wheel to guide the car and a gas pedal to control fuel use. The laws also require a driver to be able to take back control of a vehicle at any time. But, Google is working to change those laws.
    目前加州法律规定所有汽车并需有一个引导汽车的方向盘以及控制燃油消耗的油门踏板。法律还规定要有一位驾驶员能够随时收回车辆的控制权。但是谷歌正致力于改变这些法律。

    Google will first build and test 25 driverless vehicles in areas around the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Then, the company plans to build more and expand testing to areas that have more hills and more rain.
    谷歌首先将会在公司总部加州山景城附近地区建造并测试25辆无人驾驶汽车.随后该公司计划建造更多这种汽车,并将测试范围扩大到具有更多丘陵和雨水的地区。

    Eliminating human error
    消除人为错误

    Sergey Brin is a co-founder of Google. He says the computer-controlled cars can eliminate, or end, driving mistakes made by humans. Experts say 90 percent of the 1.2 million yearly road deaths are caused by human error. Self-driving cars could also improve areas of high traffic and especially help older people and disabled people.
    谢尔盖·布林(Sergey Brin)是谷歌的联合创始人。他说,这台电脑控制的汽车可以消除或杜绝人类犯下的驾驶措施。专家表示,每年有120万人死于道路事故,其中90%是由于人为错误。自动驾驶汽车还可以改善交通流量大的地区的交通状况,尤其还能够帮助老人或残疾人。

    Google first announced that it was working on a driverless car in 2010. Mr. Brin says Google does not want to be a car company, but wants automakers to use its technology.
    2010年谷歌首次宣布该公司正在开发无人驾驶汽车。布林先生表示,谷歌并不想成为一家汽车公司,而是希望汽车制造商采用该公司的技术。

    Critics worry about the safety of having cars without human drivers. And, Google admits there have been minor accidents in the six years it has been testing autonomous cars.
    批评者担心无人驾驶汽车的安全性。而且谷歌承认在过去6年测试无人驾驶汽车之中发生过轻微事故。

    Chris Urmson says Google is proud of that record. Mr. Urmson is director of Google's self-driving car project. He says that Google's vehicles have completed about three million kilometers of testing. He says drivers in traditional cars caused all but one of the accidents.
    克里斯·厄姆森(Chris Urmson)表示谷歌对这个记录感到自豪。厄姆森先生是谷歌无人驾驶汽车项目总监。他说,谷歌汽车已经完成了大约3百万公里的测试。他说除一起事故之外的所有事故都是传统汽车上的司机造成的。

    Can it be trusted?
    谷歌汽车是否能被信任?

    Critics also question the dependability of self-driving cars. They wonder if the cars can be trusted to work all the time. They also ask if such cars appeal to people.
    批评者还质疑无人驾驶汽车的可靠性。他们希望了解这种汽车是否可以完全被信任。他们还询问了这类汽车是否吸引人。

    In 2013, J.D. Power and Associates did a study of U.S. drivers. It found that only one in five was interested in a fully autonomous car.
    在2013年,J.D. Power and Associates对美国司机做了一项调查。调查发现,只有20%的调查者对完全自动驾驶汽车感兴趣。

    Mr. Urmson says Google needs to do a better job of educating people about self-driving technology. He also says Google needs to better inform the public about its progress with the technology.
    厄姆森先生表示,在无人驾驶汽车技术方面谷歌需要更好地教导人民。他还表示,谷歌需要更好地向公众通报该公司在这项技术上取得的进展。

    The company is building a website to do that. The site will include a monthly report that will include details of any accidents involving Google cars. It will also permit people to comment on any experiences they might have with the cars.
    该公司正在建设一个网站来实现这点。该网站将提供一份月度报告,内容将会包含牵涉谷歌汽车的任何事故的细节。网站还将会允许人们就自己同这种汽车的任何经历进行评论。

    Still a long way to go
    还有很长的路要走

    Google is not the only company developing self-driving cars. Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti and others already have highly developed driver assistance systems that require little help from a driver. But other automakers think self-driving cars will be made available feature-by-feature instead of all at once. They say this gives people time to adapt to self-driving technology.
    谷歌并非唯一一家开发自动驾驶汽车的公司。奔驰、英菲蒂尼等公司已经拥有非常先进的驾驶员辅助系统,只需要驾驶员提供些许帮助。但是其它汽车制造商认为无人驾驶汽车应该逐步推出各项功能而不是一步到位。他们表示,应该给人们时间来适应无人驾驶驾驶。

    Mr. Brin says Google is still improving its plans for self-driving cars, but he's excited about their possibility.
    布林先生表示,谷歌仍在改善其无人驾驶汽车方案。但他对其可能性非常兴奋。

    Google hopes to have its driverless cars available in the next five years.
    谷歌希望该公司的无人驾驶汽车能够未来五年之内上市。

    I'm Jonathan Evans.
    我是乔纳森·埃文斯(Jonathan Evans)。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)