Technology – Waymo

Waymo 360 Experience

Step into our immersive film to discover all the technology that powers our fully self-driving cars, and feel what it’s like to ride with Waymo.

Watch 360° Video

How it works

Our vehicles have sensors and software that are designed to detect pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, road work and more from up to three football fields away in all 360 degrees.

In the following situation, our vehicle is about to drive straight across an intersection with many other road users nearby, including a cyclist up ahead.

Our sensors and software detect and predict the behavior of not only the cyclist, but of all the road users around us. We rely on 5 million miles of real world experience to teach our cars to navigate safely and comfortably through everyday traffic.

Our sensors observe that the cyclist has extended their left arm. Detecting the cyclist's hand signal, our software predicts that the cyclist will move to the left side of the lane.

Our software plans for our vehicle to slow down and make room for the cyclist to pass safely and comfortably ahead of us.

Why this matters

Driving is not as safe or easy as it should be. Our goal is to build a safer driver, and we believe our fully self-driving technology could make it easier and safer for everyone to get around.

The world around us

1.25 million

deaths worldwide due to vehicle crashes in 2014

32,675

deaths in the United States due to vehicle crashes in 2014

6%

increase in traffic fatalities in 2016, reaching the highest point in nearly a decade

There’s a clear theme to the vast majority of these incidents: human error and inattention.

94%

of crashes involve human choice or error in the US.

U.S. fatalities associated with human choice or error (2014)

9,262 Speeding

9,967 Alcohol

3,179 Distraction

846 Drowsiness

Journey

Follow our progress since we started as the Google self-driving car project in 2009.

On the Road

Follow the progress we’ve made on public roads and learn more about our early rider program.