Google has unveiled its new self-driving car prototype

Google is building a fleet of electric-powered self-driving cars that it plans to begin testing by the end of the year. The technology giant plans to test the compact two-seat vehicles with safety drivers, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said in an interview on Tuesday night. Brin says the cars are part of Google’s effort to re-engineer transportation. “What I’m excited about is how we could change transportation today,” Brin said. “If you look at people who are too old, too young, or disabled, and can’t get around, that’s a big challenge for them.”

Last night, Google unveiled their latest self-driving car prototype: a little two-seater vehicle that’s lost the steering wheel and pedals but gained a smiley face. “Isn’t that cute?” says one of the volunteer passengers in the promo video. Well, quite. It’s clear with this latest step—the first time Google’s actually had a go at designing a full vehicle—that the company is focusing on one thing above all else: Making their autonomous cars look safe, even if that means sacrificing any remnant of cool. Because let’s face it, this doesn’t exactly look like the vehicle of the future. It’s lessBlade Runner, more Little Tikes (even down to the lack of pedals!). Of course, that’s the whole point. This car isn’t built for cool points; it’s designed to push the idea that self-driving cars are totally safe and not scary at all. Google says it itself in a blog post detailing the car prototype. “It was inspiring to start with a blank sheet of paper and ask, ‘What should be different about this kind of vehicle?’ We started with the most important thing: safety,” they wrote.