
Google Racing - maverhick
http://www.google.com/racing/
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gfodor
Wow, this really looks like it might be another "gmail" in that it's such a
ridiculously awesome thing that releasing it on April 1st will keep everyone
guessing if its actually real.

~~~
rmccue
Unfortunately, looks like it's definitely an April Fools Joke. (The
"Interested parties" section under Future Uses seems intentionally creepy.)

~~~
cbo
The Future Uses section certainly has a joke-y tone, but if it's an April
Fool's Day joke, then NASCAR has given them a huge amount of leeway.

Usage of NASCAR trademarks, hosting videos, and even linking to the video on
their homepage.

I'm more inclined to believe that it's real. But I've fallen for more Google
April Fool's jokes then I'd care to admit.

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rudyfink
The video ( <http://www.nascar.com/video/none/none/120331/cup-mar-google/> )
the site links to on NASCAR.com is pretty well done. I mention it because I
almost missed it.

~~~
est
[http://ht.cdn.turner.com/nascar/big/cup/2012/03/31/cup-
mar-g...](http://ht.cdn.turner.com/nascar/big/cup/2012/03/31/cup-mar-
google.nascar.nascar_640x360.mp4)

direct mp4 w/o ads.

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eneveu
The blog post ( [http://googleblog.blogspot.fr/2012/03/bringing-self-
driving-...](http://googleblog.blogspot.fr/2012/03/bringing-self-driving-cars-
to-nascar.html) ) was updated:

 _Update Apr 1, 10:05 a.m.: As you probably guessed—no, Google Racing isn’t
real. We were really happy to work with NASCAR on this April Fools' joke. The
technological advancements this sport has made in the last decade are
impressive and while we won’t be providing self-driving cars to compete in the
races, we look forward to working together with NASCAR in the future on
projects like their YouTube channel. What better way to drive change?_

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vibrunazo
That scene in the video, of the driver looking very confused asking "So... you
don't need me?". Got me thinking, that was probably the same scene when some
record label executives heard about the internets for the first time.

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nextstep
I can't believe this. I hope it's real, because then it would be clear that
Google is very close to being able to market their autonomous car technology.
I imagine a move like putting their autonomous car in a NASCAR race is part of
a larger plan to familiarize the masses with their technology and serve as
great advertising. To get enough people comfortable with computers driving
cars Google will need to fight a hard PR battle, even just to get sensible
legislation passed.

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lpolovets
I realize this is probably an April Fools' prank, but I'm guessing that a race
around a fixed track would actually be a great way to test autonomous cars:
you don't need to worry about pedestrians, bicyclists, stoplights, pets,
traffic laws, etc; all you have to do is focus on driving and turning at high
speeds, and on the other cars on the track.

~~~
InclinedPlane
The more I think about it, the less likely this is to be real. Normal day to
day driving is actually incredibly easy. But racing requires intense and
constant concentration and quick reactions.

~~~
ars
> But racing requires intense and constant concentration and quick reactions

Which is exactly what computer are great at. What they are terrible at is
dealing with incomplete information.

A computer would actually make a great race car driver.

~~~
rickmb
I don't think it would. Because part of racing is gambling on the other driver
to back off when fighting for position. And when I say "gambling", there are a
lot of very human factors involved in trying to figure out an opponents likely
behavior. It's not like chess.

~~~
ars
Computers actually play poker rather well.

And in racing computers have no fear for their life, and they know exactly
what their (cars) limits are - I think it could be done.

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arepb
Although this happens to be for April Fool's, the funny thing is Stanford
already did this with their Pikes Peak Audi TTS race car
[http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/february1/shelley-
pikes-p...](http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/february1/shelley-pikes-
peak-020310.html)

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ericd
I'm kind of hoping this is real, I'd love to see a robot racer take on the
humans at least once.

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nchlswu
I'd actually love to see an iea like this come to fruition. It will probably
be something more like an autonomous robot fight. But, it brings something
tangible and a different dimension to competitions among coders

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InclinedPlane
Who wants to bet that this one isn't a joke?

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jfoster
Likely an April fools, but actually seems like a good idea. The car could be
lighter, wouldn't make as many mistakes, and could help get people comfortable
with the idea of autonomous vehicles.

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joshu
I would totally pay to watch this.

Edit: I would totally pay to see autonomous robots race on a track without the
limitations of human drivers.

I've actually driven on a track (once) and it's surprisingly
different/difficult.

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elfsong
Surprise! As you might have guessed, Google Racing is an April Fools joke
brought to you by Google and NASCAR. And while we won't be providing self-
driving cars to compete in the races, we look forward to working with NASCAR
on future projects.

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nikhildaga
Larry and Sergey mentioned it on gplus.
<https://plus.google.com/109813896768294978296/posts>

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ryanto
Interesting idea to use an April fools joke to raise awareness about probably
one of the lesser known projects.

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brainless
So now there are 3 April Fool's jokes? This, Chrome multitasking and 8-bit
game cartridge Google Maps?

~~~
jonah
And the downloadable YouTube Collection:
<http://www.youtube.com/theyoutubecollection>

~~~
vibrunazo
That link is down for me. But you can read more about it here:

<http://youtube-global.blogspot.com>

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braco_alva
And I thought that the chrome multitasking was too much effort.

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_nedR
I lol'ed at the Android Paint Scheme...

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netmau5
Can we use this to bring ultimate defeat and ruin to Danica Patrick + GoDaddy?

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GreekOphion
I'm not sure this is another April Fool's Joke. I didn't find anywhere where
it said "April Fools" but maybe I'm wrong.

~~~
JeremyBanks
Entering one of their vehicles in real NASCAR seems rather impossible, but
perhaps an exhibition race? Still a long shot, but maybe... here's hoping.

~~~
JoshTriplett
I wonder if any existing rule prevents them from entering? I doubt anyone
previously saw the need to say "all cars must have drivers".

