Watch out for Google's offspring Waymo

[joe.pistell]

Waymo announces it's partnership with Honda to make totally new, driverless delivery robots.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...g-down-pact-with-honda-could-include-delivery

Also, Waymo's CEO speaks to the how his tech would not have had that pedestrian death last week.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Did Waymo Just Put Uber in Second Place?
https://slate.com/technology/2018/0...place-when-it-comes-to-self-driving-cars.html

The courtroom fight between Uber and Waymo is over; now the race to get an autonomous ride-hailing service to market is back on. On Friday, we learned that Waymo—the self-driving car arm of Google parent Alphabet—has made one huge stride: The company applied to become a transportation network company in Arizona on Jan. 12, and its permit was approved on Jan. 24, Quartz reports. This nod from the Copper State means Waymo can begin operating a commercial service that would compete with human-powered ride-hail companies like Uber and Lyft, charging passengers for rides in its self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

 

[craigh]

Waymo is also the only one doing this proper, as safe as I think they can and not stretching beyond their limits.
Props to them - I think it's going to pay off in the long run.

If you want to watch this space, the best (typically unbiased) coverage is on TheDrive.com

http://www.thedrive.com/tech/18150/waymo-self-driving-cars-are-the-most-competent-ca-reports-say
http://www.thedrive.com/opinion/166...ghts-ignorance-at-heart-of-self-driving-lobby

 

[Steve Stauning]

Waymo appears to be so fully focused on true autonomous vehicles and their plans so aggressive for commercial release, they are real and (almost) present danger to the traditional ownership model in ways that could begin impacting dealers sooner than any of us imagined.

 

[craigh]

Waymo appears to be so fully focused on true autonomous vehicles and their plans so aggressive for commercial release, they are real and (almost) present danger to the traditional ownership model in ways that could begin impacting dealers sooner than any of us imagined.

In major cities maybe.
I think we are at least a decade away from this making sense outside of major cities where they can build the necessary technology.

I live near Toronto and they've got a giant Google project going on.
I'm hoping to see them experiment with some of this stuff there.

https://sidewalktoronto.ca

 

[Alexander Lau]

Since Pittsburgh has a Google office, I'm surprised that Waymo hasn't had more of a presence here.

Uber are all over the streets of Pittsburgh in the form of Volvo XC90 SUVs

Don't forget about Argo AI (I've met this dude)
https://driverless.wonderhowto.com/news/argo-ais-first-driverless-car-is-spied-pittsburgh-0179495/

Argo AI is an artificial intelligence company, based in Pittsburgh and established to tackle one of the most challenging applications in computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence: self-driving vehicles. With engineering hubs in Pittsburgh, Southeastern Michigan and the Bay Area of California, the company plans to have more than 200 employees by the end of 2017. For more information regarding Argo AI and its work, please visit: www.argo.ai.

Ford gave them $1B
https://media.ford.com/content/ford...o-ai-new-artificial-intelligence-company.html

 

[craigh]

Ford gave them $1B
https://media.ford.com/content/ford...o-ai-new-artificial-intelligence-company.html

Ford's goal is to have a pedal-less and wheel-less car by 2021.
I think that's too soon. I also think $1B was a huge investment in a company that had yet to prove anything.

Time will tell if it works out or not, but $1B over 5 years might be enough..

Looks like they're gearing up their legal team though. Best to do this before the first fatality.
https://www.goinhouse.com/jobs/4694384-attorney-at-argo-ai?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Rick Buffkin]

Watch Out For Google's Offspring - Waymo????

Oh... you can bet I'll def be on the look out for Waymo! That I can promise you!!!

 

[Alexander Lau]

Another group, on the streets of Pittsburgh (stealing Carnegie Mellon University's robotics talent or poaching Uber's) and San Fran.
https://aurora.tech/

 

[Alexander Lau]

Watch Out For Google's Offspring - Waymo????

Oh... you can bet I'll def be on the look out for Waymo! That I can promise you!!!