Image: Waymo
Waymo said its latest robotaxi system has been optimised for cost, can handle more weather conditions and is being trained faster than previous generations.
Alphabet-owned Waymo has revealed the next generation of its self-driving technology, as it continues plans to rapidly expand its robotaxi services.
Waymo said the sixth generation of its autonomous vehicles comes with more capabilities, better sensors and the ability to operate in harsher weather conditions.
The latest system comes with 13 cameras, four LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors, six radar sensors and various external audio receivers. Satish Jeyachandran, Waymo VP of engineering, said this sensor suite will provide greater performance “at a significantly reduced cost, without compromising safety”.
“It provides the Waymo Driver with overlapping fields of view, all around the vehicle, up to 500 meters away, day and night and in a range of weather conditions,” Jeyachandran said. The company said its latest system will be able to handle rougher weather conditions, thanks to improved understanding of how the weather impacts its technology.
The company has been focused on expanding steadily across the US this year and got approval in March to significantly expand its driverless taxi operations in the state of California.
By mid-May, Waymo said its robotaxi service had grown to more than 50,000 paid trips each week in the cities of San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Jeyachandran said all of this real-world driving experience is being used to train and improve its latest self-driving systems.
“Our sixth-generation sensor suite already has thousands of miles of real-world driving experience under its wheels and millions more in simulation,” he said. “The Waymo Driver learns from the collective experiences gathered across our fleet, including previous hardware generations.
“This shared knowledge drastically reduces the miles needed to train and validate the underlying foundation models that autonomously drive our vehicles, accelerating and enhancing the development of each new generation of Waymo Driver.”
Waymo received a significant boost from its parent company Alphabet last month, which invested an additional $5bn into its autonomous vehicle venture. The company has also been expanding its robotaxi capabilities and is trailing their use on freeways.
But while Waymo is pushing ahead with its expansion plans, the automated vehicle sector has suffered multiple knocks in the US in recent years, due to accidents and concerns about the safety of these vehicles.
GM-owned Cruise took a serious hit when one of its robotaxis dragged and pinned a hit-and-run victim in San Francisco. This incident saw Cruise lose its robotaxi privileges in California and cut a significant number of staff.
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