Google’s Waymo cuts cost of key self-driving sensor by 90%

Southfield/San Francisco: Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, has slashed the cost of a key technology required to bring self-driving cars to the masses and rolled it out on Sunday in an autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The breakthrough will let Waymo bring the technology to millions of consumers, John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive officer, said in a speech at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. He didn’t say when Waymo will get its self-driving cars in the hands of consumers, but he predicted the technology would show up “in personal transportation, ride hailing, logistics, and public transport solutions.” The executive also reported a big improvement in the performance of Waymo’s system during testing in California last year. “The world has to be mapped within millimeters and artificial intelligence has to be able to interpret the way humans really drive.” Fog, rain, snow Google was a pioneer in autonomous driving tech, but potential competitors—including Tesla and ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc.—have more aggressive plans to deploy their systems than Waymo. Krafcik noted that Waymo’s new radar system works with its existing sensors to be “highly effective in rain, fog and snow”—conditions that have so far posed hurdles for autonomous cars.