Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, responds to Guy Raz's forecast regarding the 10-year timeline for commercial robotaxi deployment in US cities.
Assertion Supported
Google pivoted to full autonomy after test drivers slept at the wheel
“One was what we learned from people using the driver assist system. They would overtrust it. They, you know, would put on makeup and, you know, text and, you know, one guy actually fell asleep.”
Disclosure
Dolgov: Waymo accepts legal responsibility for actions of its autonomous driver
“For the actions of, you know, the Waymo driver. The responsibility, you know, lies, you know, with Waymo.”
Assertion Supported
Swiss Re study: Waymo eliminated bodily injury claims over 4 million miles
“That study that Swiss RE has done was very encouraging that when they looked at, you know, almost four million miles of, you know, our fully autonomous operation, they found that massive reduction in, you know, a hundred percent reduction in the bodily injury …”
Disclosure
Dolgov: Waymo never seriously considered manufacturing its own cars
“I don't think we ever seriously entertained building a car. It just never made sense, you know, to me, you know, or others to, you know, do that. Like we're not a car company. Building cars hard, right? There's many companies that, you know, spend a hundred ye…”
Assertion Supported
Waymo built custom LiDAR after off-the-shelf sensors proved too unreliable
“The sensors at that time, you know, didn't have the level of reliability or capability that we would need, that we would trust, you know, to go to full autonomy. So we build, you know that generation had our own lighters and, you know custom sensor suite.”
Insight
Waymo riders typically stop paying attention to the road within minutes
“What we very consistently see, and I guess I would love if To hear if that matches your experience, but once people get in the car, just, you know, after a couple of minutes, they get very comfortable and they go back to, you know, doing whatever they want to …”