Not content with helping you search for a plumber, motor breakdown advice, or your next summer holiday, Google is  now developing a piece of automotive technology that will seek out pedestrians for drivers, and ensure their car stops.

If the system comes to fruition in the way intended, it will also mean that pedestrians may not have to do the classic 'stop, look and listen’ before crossing the road.

The technology enables the car to 'listen' to its surroundings and subsequently take care of speed and direction of travel. On approaching a pedestrian crossing, the system will detect the beeping sounds emitted from the crossing apparatus.

The additional listening ability will work alongside the existing camera systems that are central to the car's function, says Google.

While some hazards may be outside the vision of the cameras, the listening device will be able to hear people or objects around corners. For instance, a crossing may be detectable even though it lies around the next corner, and the direction of moving pedestrians will be ascertained by the sound they make whilst walking – according to the California based tech giant.

Could this mean our cities will one day be full of beeping lampposts that tell cars where to go? Google allays such fears by suggesting birdsong sounds could be used instead. However, does that mean the appearance of a gang of feral pigeons could see a confused Google car stuck in the road until the blighters are scared off?

In any event, the Google driverless car is a long way from being a common sight on our roads, with street furniture and the law being just two areas that will require a good deal of attention before we are driven to work by or own hatchbacks.