Here is one of the earliest patents on self-driving cars from Google. The patent teaches methods for transitioning a mixed-mode autonomous vehicle from a human driven mode to an autonomously driven mode.
Patent Information
Publication number: US 8,078,349
Patent Title: Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode
Publication date: 13 Dec 2011
Filing date: 11 May 2011
Inventors: Luis Ricardo Prada Gomez; Nathaniel Fairfield; Andy Szybalski; Philip Nemec; Christopher Urmson;
Original Assignee: Google Inc.
Publication number: US 8,078,349
Patent Title: Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode
Publication date: 13 Dec 2011
Filing date: 11 May 2011
Inventors: Luis Ricardo Prada Gomez; Nathaniel Fairfield; Andy Szybalski; Philip Nemec; Christopher Urmson;
Original Assignee: Google Inc.
