![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Google Launches Self-Driving Car
GoogleBlog
Google released a picture of its prototype self-driving car on its blog Tuesday. The company is currently manufacturing a hundred such cars to be pilot tested.
Google has started manufacturing a hundred self-driving cars to be pilot-tested early next year.
A statement on the Google Official Blog released May 27th provided details on the company’s process and progress. For the past four years, the company has been working on developing a self-driving car with a mechanism that would return control of the steering wheel in case of an emergency. This switch between automatic control and user-control has proved to implement and the company has moved to looking at a way that would completely remove driver interaction with the vehicle.
The current prototype cars have a front bumper made of foam-like material in case of mechanical failures and electronic sensors that can see in all directions and remove blind spots. The cars do not have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal. The speed is currently limited at 25 mph as the design focus has been on developing a car that can be driven in urban and neighborhood settings, not on highways. They will have a traveling range of about a 100 miles powered by an electric motor.
According to its announcement, Google has been “working toward the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving.” The company hopes that its product will ease everyday life by eliminating the need for drivers to spend time finding parking, allowing senior citizens self-transport, and offering drunk drivers safe transportation. The car would also reach out to a larger portion of the population, especially those unable to drive right now.
“I think self-driving cars can really help people who are unable to drive,” Sanjana Kaundinya (11) said. “For example, it would give visually impaired people a sense of independence they do not currently have.”
Looking to integrate its focus on computing and software with transport, the company has made a smartphone application the command center for the car. The car would be summoned with the smartphone app to a certain location and drive the user to a destination preselected on the application, completely eliminating the human factor in driving.
Google is currently manufacturing a 100 cars at a plant in Detroit. Once ready, pilot tests will be conducted at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, transporting employees between buildings.
The company has not yet released a statement concerning the price of the cars or when they will become available on the market.
Roshni Pankhaniya is the Sports Editor of the Winged Post. She is a senior and has been previously been a reporter and the Sports Editor for Harker Aquila....