GOOGLE SELF-DRIVING CARS Product Description 2/11/2016 Google has taken their reputation for innovation to a new level with their Self-Driving car. This autonomous vehicle has the capability to maneuver and react similar to human thought. Their current model relies on \"Sensors and software\" to allow the car to drive itself. (Google) While they are not the only producer of autonomous vehicles, they are certainly a key player. The project commenced in 2009 and began with a system that could be placed in an existing automobile structure. They then began to create their own electric model made strictly for riding, not driving. This included removing the steering wheel and pedals to allow for the \"Sensors and software\" to do the driving. (Google) Google's newest model is designed to chauffeur its rider, as described in the name chosen for the software \"Google Chauffeur.\" (Fisher, 2013) It uses an internal system that is a combination of sensors, a computer and backup systems to orchestrate the self-driving aspect of the car. The sensors constantly scan for objects using lasers, cameras and radar to alert the system of potential obstacles it must avoid. This is to mimic a human's reaction such as swerving to avoid a pedestrian. It can also tell the proximity and speed the obstacle is travelling and has the ability to react accordingly. Similar to the sensors' function, the self-driving car is equipped with a \"lidar\" on the center of the car's roof that scans its surroundings using lasers to accurately map the location and distance of potential obstacles. It is said to be accurate within 11 cm. (Fisher, 2013). This is how it is able to identify and differentiate between stagnant and moving objects that it must avoid. The computer's function is strictly to drive the vehicle with no human intervention. The backup systems function is to control the steering and braking that would traditionally be controlled by human reaction and interference. The external structure of Google's self-driving car aids in the self-driving aspect of its functionality. The rounded structure is designed to increase the span of view of the sensors to maximize its ability to sense objects and react accordingly. It is equipped with two seats that also have heating capabilities. In addition, the middle console holsters two buttons that control the car similar to the gas pedal and brake. One is to make the car mobile and the other is an emergency stop. (Korosec, 2015) Google is currently performing extensive testing of their latest model of the self-driving car. The model has currently driven over one million miles in the US between California, Texas and Washington. While Google in the testing stages, they have decals on the outside of each car to identify it as a self-driving car. This is to caution other drivers and make them aware of its unique abilities. They also have a driver in the car through the testing stages that can take control in the event the software fails. They are not claiming that once complete their prototype will be flawless, but their objective is for it to be \"Safer than a competent human driver.\" (Fisher, 2013) 1 2/11/2016 Step 1: Problem Definition The first step in the market research process is to identify what the problem is that marketers are facing. This could either be a problem in the realist sense of the word; something that needs to be fixed or something that needs to be avoided. This problem could also take the form of an opportunity; this last point is exactly the problem that Google found themselves in when they decided they wanted to reinvent the wheel, or more specifically, re-invent the car without the wheel (Crane et all, Marketing). It's not tough to imagine that a lot of considerations have to be taken in account when creating a car that drives itself. This could be safety concerns, legislative barriers, engineering/design issues. As well many questions must be answered, probably the most important being, is there a market opportunity for self-driving cars and why do consumers want or need this? The list certainly could go on and on and that is exactly why the scope and nature of the marketing problem must be discovered and refined. The nature and scope of the marketing problem can be better defined through the use of exploratory research. Exploratory research is preliminary research conducted to clarify the scope and nature of the marketing problem (Crane et all, Marketing). Exploratory research techniques include both primary research techniques such as; focus groups, depth interviews and other tools as well, secondary research can be used such as the use of secondary data analysis. Before exploratory research begins, it's a good to have an idea of what the marketing department is trying to accomplish. In this case Google would like to find the answer to the questions such as the following; what does a self-driving car look like? And, does a market exist for self-driving vehicles in North America and beyond? Through tools such as secondary data analysis, Google has identified that in order to create a vehicle made for self-driving, they needed to build one from the ground up. As well, Google sees a market for these specially made self-driving vehicles as a replacement to a human driven taxi cab and eventually these can be expected to be purchasable for personal use (The Guardian, How does it work). The exploratory research stage has paved the way for more conclusive research, namely descriptive research and finally causal research. Step 2: Formal Research Design 2 2/11/2016 The second stage of the marketing research process is the Formal Research Design. In order to choose the proper research method, a marketer must make a decision based on available data sources, the nature of the information, timing and costs. This stage has three methods to collect data - surveys, experiment and observation. The Google Self Driving Car Project used both experiment and observation as their methods of research. Experiment: The group of experts at Google have been working on the driverless car for several years. The concept of driverless vehicles goes back several decades. As for the Google Driver Less Vehicle, it began on the road testing (not public roads) in 2009 where they were testing various prototypes. Their experiment consisted of a vehicle with several sensors and computer software and measured the behavior (effects) under controlled conditions. They first tested the driverless feature on the Toyota Prius because Toyota has been working on this concept for decades. They felt that this was a good starting point. After several prototypes, they finally built the Google Driverless Car. In December 2014, Google announced that their Google Driverless Car was ready to be tested on public roads. This would commence early in 2015. After long internal experiments, the Google Driverless Car was going to try a field experiment which means that their research is going to be done in the real world. This is an expensive experiment but it generates valuable data such as effects in uncontrolled conditions and public reactions to the new technology. First, the Google Driverless Car was in Mountain View, California. In May 2015, there was 23 vehicles that was self-driving on public roads. The vehicles drove a total of 1,011,338 miles in autonomous mode since the start of the project in 2009; this includes the internal testing on prototypes and external testing. That's on average 10,000 miles a week (Google Self-Driving Car Project, 2015). Autonomous mode means that the car is driven mainly by the software. The cars do have a manual mode which means the driver is controlling the vehicle. Google chose to test the vehicle on complex roads which are city roads rather than highways. City roads have a variety of complex environments such as pedestrians, cyclists, emergency vehicles, unknown behavior of other drivers, just to name a few. This research provides Google engineers with valuable information to develop better or new software capabilities. In July 2015, the Google Driverless Car was introduced to Austin, Texas. By September 2015, they had 17 Google Driverless Cars in Mountain View, California and 6 in Austin, Texas. In 2015, the Google Car drove over 1.3 million miles, of which 424,331 miles was on public roads in Mountain View, California (Google Self-Driving Car Project, 2015). The number of disengagements has lowered since its inception and thus increases the rate of safety during autonomous driving. Disengagements refer to the deactivation of the autonomous mode. 3 2/11/2016 Observation: During the experiment, the Google Driverless car has a built in camera in the vehicle in order to watch how people behave and they monitor the environment in which the vehicle is driving. Google noticed that when the driver drove the car, they accelerated and braked sharply. Over 14 months, passengers have had to switch to manual mode to avoid obstacles such as pedestrians and other type obstacles. The number of disengagements has lowered since its inception and thus increases the rate of safety during autonomous driving. Disengagements refer to the deactivation of the autonomous mode. Step 3: Data Collection and analysis The third stage of the marketing research process is Data Collection and Analysis. Also referred to as fieldwork, this process emphasizes on the accuracy of the data being collected. Minimizing the errors in the process is vital to consistency and usability of the data. Google is well known for their advanced software, complex algorithms and managing of enormous sizes of data. They have applied this knowledge and experience in order to develop state of the art data collection mechanism. Using multiple sensors and cameras of various types together with sophisticated software, they collect extremely large volume of information and generate usable data from it. \"The self-driving car from Google already is a true data creator. With all the sensors to enable the car to drive without a driver, it generates nearly 1 Gigabyte every second. It uses all that data to know where to drive and how fast to drive.\" (Fortune, 2016). Making sure the data is accurate and well organized is half the battle but being able to analyze it and make decisions based on it is a very different challenge. Google utilizes advanced software as well as human analysis in simulator environment for this part of the process. For example in situations where a driver takes control in order to avoid collision, Google will replay the scenario in its simulator environment to determine what would have happened if the driver hadn't taken control. Once again the software plays a vital part of the process and this is what makes this car a reality. The data analysis are so advanced and instantaneous that the car \"can even detect a new cigarette butt thrown on the ground and it then knows that a person might appear all of a sudden from behind a corner or car.\" (Fortune, 2016). Step 4: Conclusion It is clearly evident that we are moving towards another era of great creativity and innovation for the automotive industry. Technology keeps evolving, and in some ways, 4 2/11/2016 the industry keeps moving even faster than predicted. As such, consumers need to evolve with changing technology. Consumers are being positive, while being cautious at the same time with this new innovation. Consumers' experiences with computers, smart phones and GPS devices have shaped their trust in technology over the years. Hence, they will be more adoptable and receptive towards emerging new innovative technology. Ultimately, these self-driven cars have the potential to improve the quality of life for consumers. While they still have several questions about safety, liability and the operation of self-driving cars, their receptiveness and openness has increased significantly when presented with the right value proposition, which is summed up as: shorter commute times + reduced traffic-related variability + the ability to use the vehicle in either self-driving or human operated mode (self-driving on/off) = a strong incentive for consumer adoption. Such technology innovations come with risks, no matter how vast the potential of selfdriving vehicles, its progress will be determined by markets and consumers, who will eventually accept or reject the new technology. However, we believe the rewards and benefits of this new innovation will surely outweigh the risks associated. We believe in the enormous power of scientific discovery, commercial innovation and creative destruction to solve the most complex human challenges. The market opportunities are enormous in this sector, and the potential societal benefits we believe are profound. References: Crane, Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius. Marketing, ninth Canadian Edition (Chapter 8, pg. 210). McGraw-Hill Ryerson Fisher, A. (2013, September 18). Inside Google's Quest to Popularize Self-Driving Cars. Retrieved February 7, 2016, from Popular Science: http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2013-09/google-self-driving-car Google. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2016, from Google Self-Driving Car: https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/how/ Korosec, K. (2015, September 30). This is what it's like to ride in Google's self-driving car. Retrieved February 7, 2016, from Fortune: http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/googleself-driving-car-test-drive/ 5 2/11/2016 Fortune (January 13, 2016) Humans Saved Google's Self-Driving Cars From 13 Accidents: http://fortune.com/2016/01/13/google-self-driving-car-accidents/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11311148/Google-unveilsfirst-fully-functional-driverless-car.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/12095898/Googles-driverless-carsneeded-hundreds-of-human-interventions-to-prevent-accidents-and-failures.html https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/reports/ https://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/selfdriving-cars-are-we-ready.pdf 6 Questions: 1. As a marketing manager, what factors do you think would matter most, and what doesn't, to potential buyers of the self-driving car? 2. Is the Google Driverless Car intended to be a shared tool per household to simplify everyday tasks like pick up and drop off kids to school and activities and providing mobility benefits to seniors? Or is it designed to eventually substitute a personal vehicle? Justify your answer. 3. If you are given the option to install an app on your phone that would permit you to summon a self-driving car within minutes, would you still need to own a car? 4. As a marketing manager, how would you combat the stigma associated with the safety of a self-driving car