Google's Waymo successfully takes blind man around Texas

Google has announced a big change to its self-driving car plans.
Instead of producing its own, it will partner with manufacturers and sell the technology to third parties.
So, in this rapidly advancing industry, where do Korean companies, and local technology stand?
Lee Jiwon takes a closer look.
Google announced Tuesday that it is spinning off its self-driving car unit Waymo,... allowing it to focus on developing technology,... rather than making its own driverless cars.
Waymo is now the self-driving car unit under Google's parent company Alphabet, and on Tuesday's announcement, it also said that its autonomous car successfully drove a blind man named Steve Mahan around Texas last year.
The achievement is even more significant in that the vehicle lacked not only a secondary passenger capable of assisting Mahan, but also a steering wheel and pedals.
And now that Waymo will be looking to partner up with automakers and sell on its technology,... more developments are expected to be made in driverless cars,... hopefully allowing daily use of autonomous cars for average people in the near future.

And hopefully, such changes can boost development of Korean driverless cars,... which are still behind other global companies.

"Korean autonomous cars still lack in technology regarding sensor efficacy or safety. For example, most of the cars can keep their driving distance when driving straight. But when the cars need to turn corners or when they are driving at high speeds,... some of them cannot keep their distance or stay on the lanes."

Along with development in the system,... the expert added,...that the government needs to relax its policies regarding driverless cars in order for Korea to further grow in the industry. Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.

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