Waymo presents sixth generation of its autonomous ‘Driver’ technology
Waymo has announced that the new generation of the system has been improved in several ways: For example, it now only requires 13 cameras instead of the previous 29, and the number of laser radars has been reduced from five to four. The system also uses six radar sensors, as well as an “array of external audio receivers (EARs).”
The simplification of the system will not eliminate redundancies completely, however, as Waymo’s VP of Engineering, Satish Jeyachandran, explains: “Redundancies are essential in an autonomous driving system to provide safe backup functions for assured reliability and for unexpected weather.” Particularly driving during adverse weather conditions has been improved, with the company claiming that it can drive safely and reliably “even in extreme heat, fog, rain, and hail.”
Beyond the technical upgrade, Waymo has also been growing in other ways: the company recently passed the milestone of 100,000 paid rides per week.
Just last month, Google’s parent company Alphabet invested $5 billion in Waymo, with the intention of growing the subsidiary into “the world’s leading autonomous driving company.” Notably, the company had just passed the milestone of 50,000 paid rides per week, which means that the number has doubled in only three months.
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