Waymo announces sixth-generation self-driving cars.
Alphabet’s Waymo revealed details about its latest “sixth generation” self-driving technology on Monday. Its new self-driving technology integrated into Geely’s Zeekr electric vehicle should be able to handle a wider range of weather conditions without requiring as many expensive cameras and sensors on board.
The company invited CNBC to its garage in Mountain View, California, to see a new robotaxi under development. Satish Jeyachandran, Waymo’s vice president of engineering, said the team “believes we can bring this generation to market faster than the previous generation,” citing advances in machine learning technology and semiconductor performance.
Waymo’s commercial robotaxi service first launched in the United States at the end of 2018.
As Waymo works to expand its existing service, Waymo One, in Sun Belt cities such as San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, executives are sharing details about the upcoming robotaxis.
Today, Waymo provides about 50,000 paid driverless rides each week, mainly in San Francisco and Phoenix. In June, the company dropped its waitlist, Waymo rides available to everyone in San Francisco. Waymo has completed more than 2 million rides to date.
Last month, Alphabet announced it would invest in New $5 billion Its self-driving car division first launched as Google’s “Driver Project” in 2009.
Jeyachandran told CNBC that the funding will be used primarily for expansion, including adding new robotaxis to its fleet once the 6th generation testing and validation is completed. He said he expected Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE and Geely Zeekr vehicles to “coexist.”
The upcoming Waymo-Zeekr is a boxy vehicle with roughly the same footprint as the existing Waymo I-Pace SUV.
However, the Zeekr’s interior may suit some riders better. It includes a low step and a high ceiling with more legroom between rows of seats, among other features.
Waymo has announced the sixth generation of its self-driving cars and driving technology, which has more legroom and fewer cameras and sensors.
CNBC technology reporter Jennifer Elias
Waymo continues to customize sensors and software (including lidar, radar, etc.). These sensors and software are installed around Zeekr to provide the car system with a “360-degree view” of obstacle recognition and avoidance. The sensor also comes with wipers that remove most dirt and precipitation.
Waymo said that in order to reduce the cost of each robotaxi, it has reduced the number of cameras on the vehicle from 29 to 13 and reduced the lidar sensors from 5 to 4. The company is currently testing its sixth-generation vehicle on public roads with professional drivers.
Waymo is also doing some testing and validation work in Detroit, Buffalo, New York and New York state to learn more about how its self-driving cars perform in different types of traffic and weather.
Although Didi and Didi Chuxing offer commercial robotaxi services Pony.ai Waymo is already up and running in China but currently faces little competition in the United States. Domestically, Cruise, owned by General Motors, suffered a setback when its self-driving cars were temporarily taken off the road, while Uber and Ford halted early self-driving projects. Tesla It has not launched a driverless car yet, but plans to launch its “dedicated robotaxi” in October.
