Waymo, Google’s technology company, began developing autonomous vehicles back in 2009 and in 2015, they started operating the vehicles on public roads. Currently, Waymo offers Robotaxis services in Phoenix, Arizona and San Francisco, with plans to expand to Los Angeles and Austin, Texas in the near future.
Google has made significant investments in developing the autonomous capabilities of their vehicles, including creating their own hardware such as sensors and a vision system that allows the vehicles to observe their surroundings in 360 degrees and detect objects up to 300 meters away. Users can activate the vehicle using buttons like “start driving,” “stop,” and “help.”
The vehicles are equipped with learning functions that allow them to predict routes of other vehicles in complex traffic scenarios. Waymo uses a graphical neural network to analyze interactions with other vehicles and forecast potential scenarios. In March, the company received permission to operate their autonomous vehicles in Los Angeles after conducting test trips around the city.
Competitors like General Motors and Amazon are also ramping up their efforts to develop autonomous vehicles, with the industry as a whole expected to see further expansion in the near future.