Driverless cars are making serious progress. Waymo’s most recent disengagement report showed that the self-driving car software performed much better in 2016 than it did in 2015. Despite the cars traveling more miles overall, the software system had fewer disengagements. California requires that all companies testing self-driving cars submit a disengagement report each year. Disengagements […]
Tag Archives: Waymo
Uber looked into partnering with automaker for self-driving project
Uber’s self-driving project could have been a collaborative effort between the ride-hailing giant and a major automaker, according to a report by The Information. In the summer, Uber rejected an acquisition offer for the self-driving unit by an unnamed automaker. That led executives to discuss the possibility of further collaboration with automakers, to offset some […]
Google retires Firefly car to focus on mass-produced vehicles
Google’s self-driving division Waymo has announced it will be retiring the Firefly car, the nearly iconic pod-like vehicle that was manufactured in-house to experiment. Waymo is now moving to mass produced vehicles, like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. It received 600 minivans from Fiat Chrysler last year and is in the process of outfitting the vehicles […]
Fiat Chrysler joins BMW, Intel self-driving consortium
Fiat Chrysler has joined BMW’s growing consortium of automakers, tech companies, and suppliers, all working together to accelerate the creation of semi-autonomous and driverless vehicles. Alongside Fiat and Chrysler, FCA owns the Jeep, Maserati, and Dodge car brands, covering almost all consumer vehicle sizes. That should allow the consortium to modify self-driving software down to […]
Waymo patents collapsible self-driving car design
Google’s self-driving division, Waymo, has received a patent for an automotive design where the car loses rigidity before a crash, minimizing the damage to the rider and any other cars. Waymo would achieve this by reducing the tension of hood, panels and bumpers before an accident, according to Silicon Beat. The release of tension should, […]
What are the pros and cons of being a self-driving car engineer?
“Self-driving car engineer” is one of the latest buzzwords in the market. Many engineers are leaving their current job as they want to contribute to the autonomous car space or secure their future by working on cutting-edge technology. Autonomous cars popularity has also reflected on the learning platforms where content creators are eagerly sharing their […]
Waymo’s self-driving cars spend day with emergency vehicles
Waymo’s self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans spent a day with Chandler, Ariz Fire & Police Department, testing the car’s detection system for emergency vehicles. The minivans are outfitted with Waymo’s latest suite of sensors, which can hear from twice the distance and can also see flashing lights from much farther away. See Also: Google narrows case […]
Waymo tests self-driving minivans in Death Valley
Self-driving cars are going to be fitted with a whole lot of sensors, chips, and other electronics, so it makes sense to check that all of this works in extreme environments. That’s why Waymo sent its self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans to California’s Death Valley this summer, which has the highest recorded temperature in the world, […]
Waymo narrows case against Uber as court date nears
Waymo has dropped three of the four patent claims against Uber, as it tries to narrow the case against Uber before the October court date. The lawsuit centers on Anthony Levandowski, an ex-Google exec who allegedly stole 14,000 confidential documents when he left the company to start Otto, which was then sold to Uber. Levandowski […]
Waymo’s going to Phoenix to work on Avis’ self-driving fleet
Waymo, the self-driving division inside of Alphabet, has partnered with car rental company Avis to manage its fleet of autonomous cars in Phoenix, Arizona. Avis will be responsible for cleaning the car, managing oil and tire changes, and performing regular safety inspections. It will not manage the specialized hardware, like Waymo’s Lidar sensors. See Also: […]
Waymo picks ex-Tesla engineering chief to build them a driverless car
Google’s self-driving division Waymo has hired Satish Jeyachandran, the former director of hardware engineering at Tesla, a close competitor in the self-driving race. Jeyachandran will lead the hardware division, according to Bloomberg, focused on building Lidar, radar, cameras, sensors, and silicon for the company’s self-driving cars. See Also: Waymo working on competitor to Uber’s self-driving […]
Waymo could be a $70 billion business, says Morgan Stanley
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced last December that its self-driving project would have its own division inside the corporation. That division became Waymo, which analysts at Morgan Stanley believe could be worth $70 billion if it is ever spun-out to a standalone company. The analysis works off the assumption that Waymo cars and […]
Texas makes self-driving cars legal again, no human driver required
Texas, like Finland, never had a law blocking self-driving cars from public roads, until Thursday when Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that set out the rules of the road. The re-legalization makes a few things clear for automakers and tech companies testing their autonomous vehicles in The Lone Star State. First, self-driving cars without […]
How are connected cars moving out of the lab and onto the highway?
Today it might seem that “self-driving” cars are just around the corner, with companies such as Google, Uber and Apple investing billions in developing cars that can safely drive passengers without human intervention. But despite this promising early work, the truth of the matter is that we are still likely a decade or more away […]
Waymo working on competitor to Uber’s self-driving trucks
Waymo, the self-driving division of Google, has confirmed that alongside an expansion to its autonomous car efforts, it is looking to develop self-driving trucks. “We’re taking our eight years of experience in building self-driving hardware and software and conducting a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck,” a Waymo spokesperson said […]
Uber fires head of self-driving division during Google’s lawsuit
Uber fired the head of its self-driving unit, Anthony Levandowski on Thursday. He has been accused of stealing trade secrets from Google’s self-driving division, Waymo, in 2014 when he left the company. Levandowski contract with Uber was terminated after he failed to supply the court with information requested, according to The New York Times. Uber […]
Researchers want to cut autonomous car testing time by 99%
Researchers out of the University of Michigan believe they have developed a process by which autonomous cars can be tested thoroughly in a fraction of the time. In fact, their proposal would reduce autonomous car testing time by as much as 99%. Autonomous cars are coming, but how soon depends on factors like regulation, development, […]
I’m riding here! New York City prepares for autonomous cars
Get ready New York City — Driverless cars are coming your way soon. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced that a program to allow testing of self-driving vehicles is officially open to applications from manufacturers of cars or companies working for those manufacturers. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced that a program to allow testing […]
New study shows just a few driverless cars help ease traffic
In a world where self-driving cars are rapidly hitting our streets, some argue that the benefits of autonomous vehicles, such as safer roads, will not be experienced until they make up the majority of vehicles on the road. The concern is that humans are capable of too many errors, causing a kink in the safety […]
Uber lawsuit goes to trial, after judge rules in Waymo’s favor
Waymo, Google’s self-driving division, has been granted permission to take Uber to trial in a trade secrets lawsuit. Judge William Alsup ruled that Uber could not settle the lawsuit through private arbitration, which would have avoided the lawsuit details becoming public. Anthony Levandowski, an ex-Google engineer in the self-driving division, has been accused of stealing […]