Waymo says that for the first time, its producing all the technology that enables its cars to completely drive themselves in-house.
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Waymo envisions the technology as the leading system in self-driving cars.
Speaking of safety, Waymo says it’s had a four-fold improvement in performance of its vehicles in the a year ago, as measured by the number of disengagements (when a safety driver has to stop the self-driving software and take over manual control).
The trials will take place in California and Arizona, according to Waymo chief executive John Krafcik. While its competitors depend on secondary supply chains and workarounds to adapt their software to outsourced hardware, Waymo can develop the two concurrently as one harmonious system. Google now has an entire fleet of 100 self driving hybrids ready for testing. Thus far, Waymo boasts almost 2.5 million miles on the road with its self-driving cars, and by the end of 2017, it will likely have passed 3 million miles. Not long after, Waymo, as the Alphabet autonomous vehicle subsidiary is called, unveiled its first self-driving vehicle under the new name, saying it would launch sometime in 2017.
Krafcik said building the hardware in-house, in addition to its self-driving software, has brought down costs and increased reliability.
Disengagements take place when the human drivers inside the auto are forced to take back control of a self-driving vehicle to prevent an accident or respond to technical issues.
The minivans are scheduled to hit the roads next month, Krafcik said, and will be the first cars equipped with Waymo’s custom-built hardware. Krafcik says the company plans to push those costs even lower as it looks to scale its business.
Google has kept the industry speculating about whether it would try to build its own vehicle, but the update confirms the emphasis on taking other companies’ vehicles and outfitting them with Waymo tech.
“That’s a four-time improvement.in just the last 12 months”, he said. In 2016, that rate shrank to 0.2 disengagements per thousand miles.
Waymo, the Google spin-off self-driving auto startup is all set to launch its first fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica branded minivans on the road as January 2017 draws to a close. By taking this step, Waymo can control the development of its hardware hand-in-hand with its software, putting its future in its own hands.
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While other companies are demonstrating self-driving capabilities in certain circumstances – on lane-separated highways or in slow-moving urban traffic, for example – Krafcik emphasized that Waymo’s goal is a totally autonomous vehicle.
