Waymo built custom LiDAR after off-the-shelf sensors proved too unreliable
Dmitri Dolgov · The future of driving is autonomous with Dmitri Dolgov of Waymo · Nov 23, 2023 · at 21:43
Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov explains the hardware engineering choices made during the development of Waymo's third-generation autonomous vehicle prototype, the Firefly.
0:00 / 0:15exact quote · 15.6s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“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.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Dmitri Dolgov
Dolgov: Autonomous taxis in most major US cities within 10 years
“I definitely agree with the latter, and I would not dismiss the former. 10 years is a, you know, reasonably long time, and, you know, things can happen nonlinearly.”
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.”
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.”
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 …”
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…”
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 …”