Google says it is well on its way to launching self-driving cars within five years. Because if they don't, Google director Chris Urmson's son will have to navigate the roads himself—and we can't have that.
During this week's TED conference in Vancouver, Urmson told attendees that his eldest son, currently 11, is set to take his driver's test in a scant four-and-a-half years.
"My team are committed to making sure that doesn't happen," he joked.
The executive, however, was serious about Google's commitment to having fully automated, legal vehicles on the roadways in just a few short years.
The Web giant believes that while driver-assist technology will help prevent accidents, only completely self-driving cars can fully address safety concerns, Re/code reported.
Nor will semi-automated cars magically evolve to become completely self-reliant, Urmson opined.
"That's like me saying if I work really hard at jumping, one day I'll be able to fly," he was quoted as saying by Re/code.
In December, Google unveiled its first fully functional self-driving car, a Volkswagen Bug-like number which ditches the typical steering wheel and conventional controls for a more roomy compartment. For early testing purposes, it will be equipped with fail-safes so a driver can take over in case of emergency.
As any experimental technology does, Google's vehicles have run into some, well, roadblocks. Cars in Google's test fleet, Urmson said, have encountered such perplexing problems as a child driving a toy car into the street, and a woman in an electric wheelchair chasing a duck.
"There is nowhere in the handbook about how to deal with that situation," he told the audience. However, according to BBC News, the test cars did slow down and react appropriately in each case.
Google isn't the only strong supporter of fully autonomous vehicles. Tesla Motors boss Elon Musk believes that within two decades, self-driving cars will overtake the roads, and human drivers could be banned from operating vehicles entirely.
During a Tuesday chat with Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang during the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, Calif., the Tesla and Space-X founder said driverless cars were inevitable and will be perfectly safe. He did, however, urge developers and regulators to take their time greenlighting the technology.