Google-owned technology company Waymo began developing autonomous vehicles in 2009, and by 2015, the company was operating these vehicles on public roads. Currently, Waymo offers Robotaxis services in Phoenix, Arizona, and San Francisco, which consist of fully autonomous vehicles without drivers. Soon, these services will be available in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.
Waymo has invested heavily in the development of autonomous technology by creating its own hardware, including sensors and a vision system. These sensors include 360-degree observation sensors around the vehicle and object detection sensors up to 300 meters away. Radars that detect other vehicles and objects in motion are also part of this hardware. Users can control the vehicle using buttons like “start driving,” “lock,” “stop,” and “help.”
The Waymo vehicles have a learning function that predicts the routes of other vehicles in complex traffic scenarios. The software uses a graphical neural network to analyze interactions between Waymo vehicles and other vehicles while predicting potential scenarios. In March, Waymo received approval to operate autonomous vehicles in Los Angeles after a year of testing in the city.
Competitors like General Motors and Amazon are also investing heavily in developing autonomous vehicles to meet the growing demand for this technology in the market. This trend is likely to continue with other companies following suit in the near future as more cities begin to allow for fully autonomous transportation options.