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"Google has been awarded a US patent for self-driving cars, it has emerged. The firm&amp;#039;s intellectual property rights refer to a method of switching a vehicle from human-control to a state where the vehicle drives itself, reports BBC News. Google&amp;#039;s patent, for &amp;quot;Transitioning a Mixed-mode Vehicle to Autonomous Mode&amp;quot;, says that the car would intelligently know when to assume control itself, where the vehicle is located and in which direction to drive.  The search engine giant believes that the technology could be used to reduce accidents, as well as for a variety of other uses, such as sending faulty vehicles to be repaired in garages or offering automated tourist tours.  The patent documents indicate that the system would use two sets of sensors, one identifying a &amp;quot;landing strip&amp;quot; guiding the vehicle where to stop. The second set of sensors would interpret data on where the car is positioned and where it should go. &amp;quot;The landing strip allows a human driving the vehicle to know acceptable parking places for the vehicle,&amp;quot; the patent filing says. &amp;quot;Additionally, the landing strip may indicate to the vehicle that it is parked in a region where it may transition into autonomous mode.&amp;quot; Google has been testing driverless cars for several years, using a system that combines artificial intelligence, sensor technology and the firm&amp;#039;s Google Street View mapping service.  The company has adapted a fleet of Toyota Prius and Audi TT models, which have driven more than 1,00 miles around Los Angeles and San Francisco without driver control.  Google believes that the project would help reduce the number of road accidents as the system can react more quickly than humans. Meanwhile, Google has provided funding to the UK Science Museum for two major exhibitions celebrating the history of computing and communications technology. Next June, the museum will host a special exhibition honouring the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing, the genius in fields including code-breaking, computing, mathematics, artificial intelligence and biology.  Turing&amp;#039;s life and legacy will be told using various objects (including some which have never been on public display), along with archival material, interactive exhibits, photographs and quotations. The second exhibition will be a permanent addition to the Science Museum, opening in Summer 2014 and situated at the heart of the museum. Making Modern Communications will explore the history of information and communication technologies over the last 200 years. Science museum director Ian Blatchford said: &amp;quot;These projects have forged a fruitful partnership between the museum, which turns complex scientific information into inspiring experiences, and a company that&amp;#039;s at the heart of the global information revolution. &amp;quot;Through this donation, both of us hope to inspire young people to follow paths into the science, technology and engineering that are transforming modern culture.&amp;quot; Google&amp;#039;s director of external relations Peter Barron added: &amp;quot;The work of the Science Museum plays such an important role in educating and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. We are delighted to be able to support these new exhibitions which will help explain both the birth of modern computing and how that revolution touches all our lives today.&amp;quot; Both exhibitions have been made possible as part of Google&amp;#039;s multi-million dollar programme supporting science museums internationally, announced in April 2011. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a356346/google-awarded-us-patent-for-self-driving-car/>