Google spins off their self-driving car division to create Waymo

Right now it is unknown what Waymo’s business model will be, though many expect that they will use a partnership model which will ally Waymo with existing vehicle manufacturers to create self-driving cars. This business model makes a lot of sense as it makes Waymo a technology company and will allow them to focus on their self-driving transport technology and not traditional car design.   

 

 [Waymo] is not a car company, there’s been some confusion on that point. We’re not in business of making better cars, we’re in the business of making better drivers.

 

 

Jon Krafcik states that Waymo wants to create what they call level 4 and level 5 self-driving technologies, with level 4 achieving computer control that can handle the vehicle in most situations outside of rare conditions like severe weather and level 5 requiring no human intervention to function apart from starting the system and specifying a destination.    

Google’s original plan was to release self-driving cars by 2020, though at this time Waymo has not made any official announcements regarding the release of vehicles utilising their self-driving technology to the public. 

 

You can join the discussion on Waymo, Alphabet’s Self-Driving technology company on the OC3D Forums.