Google is planning to make its self driving car unit a separate firm.

Alphabet, Google's new 'umbrella' firm, is expected to make the change next year, according to Bloomberg.

It says the search giant is developing a 'ride for hire' service for the cars, putting it in a head to head battle with Uber, which has invested heavily in self driving cars

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GoogleThe screens, which could be mounted on the doors or hood could flash alerts like 'Stop', 'Safe Cross' or a traffic sign that would inform pedestrians about what the car is doing. The speaker system could vocalize the text shown on the screens and send out other alerts

The fleets, which would include a range of large and small vehicles, could be deployed first in confined areas like college campuses, military bases or corporate office parks, Bloomberg's source claims.

Experts say the move could allow consumers to test the technology.

'These potential ride-for-hire services could allow consumers to experience the technology and embrace it in a bigger way,' Thilo Koslowski, vice president and automotive practice leader at Gartner, told Bloomberg.

'That would help not just Google but the entire industry.'

Google's autonomous vehicles have logged more than 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) on public roads, mostly around San Francisco and Austin, Texas.

Google and Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin said in September that self-driving cars may first appear as a hire service, as 'having the vehicle come back to us every day' meant Google could rapidly update the machines.

Bloomberg first reported in February that Google was developing a rival to Uber.

Uber, meanwhile, has hired more than 50 staff from Carnegie Mellon Univeristy for its self driving project.

'They took all the guys that were working on vehicle autonomy — basically whole groups, whole teams of developers, commercialization specialists, all the guys that find grants and who were bringing the intellectual property,' recalls a person who was there during the departures, according to the Verge.

'These guys, they took everybody.'

Uber has not revealed the work being done in the lab.

'We are excited to join the community of Pittsburgh and partner with the experts at CMU, whose breadth and depth of technical expertise, particularly in robotics, are unmatched,' said Jeff Holden, chief product officer of Uber, revealing its office there.

'As a global leader in urban transportation, we have the unique opportunity to invest in leading-edge technologies to enable the safe and efficient movement of people and things at giant scale.

'This collaboration and the creation of the Uber Advanced Technologies Center represent an important investment in building for the long term of Uber.'

'Uber is a rapidly growing company known for its innovative technology that is radically improving access to transportation for millions of global citizens,' said Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon.

'CMU is renowned for innovations that transform lives.

'We look forward to partnering with Uber as they build out the Advanced Technologies Center and to working together on real-world applications, which offer very interesting new challenges at the intersections of technology, mobility and human interactions.'

Google, meanwhile, recently secured a patent for technology to communicate with pedestrians from its cars.

SELF-DRIVING CARS ARE FIVE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO CRASH - BUT ACCIDENTS ARE NOT THEIR FAULT Researchers found self-driving vehicles had 9.1 crashes, compared to just 1.9 for those with a human operator. Self-driving cars are more accident-prone than ordinary cars, a new study has claimed. Researchers found self-driving vehicles had 9.1 crashes, compared to just 1.9 for those with a human operator. However, the report found that none of the accidents were the fault of the self-driving car. Self-driving cars were rear-ended 50 per cent more often than traditional vehicles, according to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. It concluded 'self-driving vehicles were not at fault in any crashes they were involved in.' Researchers analysed the cumulative on-road safety record of self-driving vehicles for three of the ten companies currently approved for such vehicle testing in California - Google, Delphi, and Audi. They then compared the safety record of these vehicles with the safety record of all conventional vehicles in the US for 2013. Overall, they said 'the distance accumulated by self-driving vehicles is still relatively low, about 1.2 million miles, compared with about 3 trillion annual miles in the US by conventional vehicles.' They also pointed out that tests have been confined to 'safe' areas, so 'Self-driving vehicles were thus far driven only in limited (and generally less demanding) conditions (e.g., avoiding snowy areas).' The study's authors, Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, concluded: 'We currently cannot rule out, with a reasonable level of confidence, the possibility that the actual rate for self-driving vehicles is lower than for conventional vehicles. 'The current best estimate is that self-driving vehicles have a higher crash rate per million miles travelled than conventional vehicles, and similar patterns were evident for injuries per million miles travelled and for injuries per crash. Advertisement

Screens and/or a speaker system could be used to help the cars and humans coexist safely on the road.

The details of the patent reveal the car will be able to sense when a person is standing in front or close to it and will then decide the next step to take.

The screens, which could be mounted on the doors or hood could flash alerts like 'Stop', 'Safe Cross' or a traffic sign that would inform pedestrians about what the car is doing.

The speaker system could vocalize the text shown on the screens and send out other alerts.

The patent says, 'the vehicle may include sensors which detect an object such as a pedestrian attempting or about to cross the roadway in front of the vehicle.'

'The vehicle's computer may then determine the correct way to respond to the pedestrian.'

'The vehicle may then provide a notification to the pedestrian of what the vehicle is going to do or is currently doing.'

This past Halloween, Google was teaching cars how to recognize children in their costumes, part of a feature that is educating them how to react and act around children.

And this patent takes this feature one step forward by including all pedestrians.

There is also an indication of an eye or robotic arm will be added that could notify pedestrians the car has 'seen' them.

The arm could mimic that of a humans, as it 'sweeps' for pedestrians to cross, but the message could come across unclear when it's coming from a robot and not a real person.

Currently, no sketches have been released of how the system would work or look, but it appears to be similar to a system Nissan showed off last month.

However, Google applied for their patent back in 2012.

For Nissan's futuristic vehicles, it envisions an outward-facing display in side of the windshield that tells pedestrians when the car is about to stop or if it wants someone to cross ahead of it.

In the company's video, it shows a driver pushing a button and the steering wheel unravels then recedes back into the dashboard.

There is also an indication of an eye or robotic arm will be added that could notify pedestrians the car has 'seen' them. The arm could mimic that of a humans, as it 'sweeps' for pedestrians to cross, but the message could come across unclear when it's coming from a robot and not a real person

These new vehicles can only be summoned on a smartphone from a garage to meet the driver and will greet them by name.

Nissan's Teatro for Dayz, another autonomous car revealed last month, is described as a vehicle for the 'digital native' and social media generation.

The all-white car is designed to serve as a 'clean canvas' that can be modified.

Colour changing lights also allow the car's interior to be altered depending on the driver's whims.

Nissan said: 'Share natives could change Teatro for Dayz's interior design, matching the look to the season, the weather or simply the vibe of the day.

'Some might choose to share a dreamy scene with close friends far away.'

'Others might decorate for an online party and share the moment with friends.'