Tag: Self-Driving Car
A Waymo engineer told us why a virtual-world simulation is crucial to the future of self-driving cars
James Stout was convinced that he'd become a neuroscientist, but a shift to computer science led him to Google and later Waymo, where he works on the company's virtual-realty testing simulation, Carcraft.
A Waymo employee reveals how the company is putting their self-driving cars to the test
Stephanie Villegas is a googler who studied art before going to work for the Google Car project, now Waymo. She helped located unused real estate at a former US Air Force base in California to transform into a massive proving ground for self-driving vehicles.
Waymo could be worth $175 billion — here’s the history of the Google Car project
Waymo, formerly the Google Car project, is almost ten years old. After more than 8 million self-driving miles, Waymo is preparing to commercialize in 2018 and 2019. Morgan Stanley has pegged Waymo's value at $175 billion.
Ford is taking on Waymo and GM’s Cruise by creating its own standalone self-driving division
Ford announced on Tuesday that it will create a separate division to manage its self-driving efforts. As with GM and its Cruise division, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC will be able to court outside investment.
The first all-electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs in the US are now part of Waymo’s test fleet
The Jaguar I-PACEs will be used for testing, prior to the all-electric vehicle being outfitted with Waymo's self-driving technology and launched in a ride-hailing service in 2020. Waymo expects 20,000 I-PACEs to join its fleet.
Uber is hiring dozens of ‘mission specialists’ to help relaunch its autonomous vehicle program after deadly Arizona crash
Uber says it's replacing a fleet of drivers who had been charged with monitoring its self-driving cars. The new group will consist of 55 "mission specialists" who will provide technical feedback to developers. The move comes months after an Uber self-driving vehicle killed a pedestrian in Arizona.
Mercedes parent company will start testing an Uber-like service using self-driving cars in California next year
Daimler will launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in California during the second half of 2019, the company announced on Wednesday. The ride-hailing service will be free for users during its pilot phase, a Daimler representative confirmed.
GM’s $2 billion deal with a Japanese tech giant may give the automaker a big advantage in the race to develop self-driving cars
The deal has given GM equity value that it can use to attract new talent. Cruise has grown dramatically since GM bought it in 2016; what started as a 40-employee startup now has 800 people working it. GM President Dan Ammann said that another leg of significant growth is on the way.
The self-driving Uber car that killed a pedestrian was not designed to automatically brake in an emergency: NTSB report
The car registered the pedestrian six seconds before impact, the report says, but relied on the operator to manually brake.
Apple teams up with Volkswagen to make a fleet of self-driving passenger vans
The partnership between Apple and Volkswagen is seen by some as bittersweet for the consumer-electronics giant, which had higher hopes for its self-driving car project when it first launched in 2014.