Alphabet Creates Waymo Self-Driving Car Business in Move Toward Commercialization

According to the Verge, more news on the company’s driverless vehicle aspirations is expected later today.

It was earlier revealed that Google planned to abandon its plans to build an autonomous vehicle from top to bottom, in favour of partnering with automotive manufacturers that can produce the body of the auto.

The second tells us that Google – or should we say Waymo – has chose to lay off its intention to build a vehicle without pedals or steering wheel, and will instead focus on partnering with other automakers for a more conventional vehicle. This announcement followed shortly after rumours surfaced that Apple had gone in a similar direction with its driverless project. The new company is called Waymo, and it will operate on its own under the Alphabet umbrella, rather than as a division of Google.

Google’s latest round of extensive road testing has involved Lexus SUVs and the company’s very own small pod-cars.

“As we look at this space and the opportunities ahead of us, we see so much”, John Krafcik, Waymo’s head, said in the New York Times.

Google completed the world’s first fully autonomous trip in 2015 when a legally blind man drove through suburban Texas, relying exclusively on the auto to pilot. Waymo’s self-driving vehicle tech won’t be as ambitious as first conceived, at least to start. But the “fully driverless” system may still come with a steering wheel and brake pedals, as was required by regulators. Self-driving technology is awesome in all these categories.

The growing competitive climate has caused Google co-founder Larry Page to rethink his company’s mission, according to The Information. General Motors acquired the self-driving vehicle startup Cruise Automation this year, and Ford is expanding aggressively in Silicon Valley with a research and development centre. Krafcik reassured reporters that Google remained focused on delivering fully self-driving vehicles. It has also lost crucial personnel on the project, sometimes to competitors. We’re not in the business of making better cars. Second, CES has emerged as a show of choice for automakers to reveal electric cars and self-driving technology. Waymo has numerous cars in their fleet already, including their own vehicle that they built from scratch.