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Waymo Driver

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We’re building a Driver that’s leading the way for the entire industry. Informed by unmatched experience and designed with safety at its heart, the Waymo Driver is our autonomous driving technology that never gets drunk, tired, or distracted.

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The Waymo Driver is The World’s Most Experienced DriverTM

With millions of miles driven through countless situations on public roads, and billions more in simulation, we've gathered incredible amounts of data to take autonomous driving technology further than anyone else.

The data to date indicates that the Waymo Driver is reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where we operate.

The Waymo Driver vs Driver assist

While many companies promote 'self-driving' features, what they often have is driver assist technology which still requires a human driver behind the wheel, paying full attention and ready to take over whenever the car encounters a situation it can’t handle.

The Waymo Driver is the embodiment of fully autonomous technology that is always in control from pickup to destination. Passengers don’t even need to know how to drive. They can sit in the back seat, relax, and enjoy the ride with the Waymo Driver getting them to their destination safely.

Seeing the road in multiple dimensions.

Over the past decade, Waymo has developed a single integrated system of sensors and compute designed to work together to give the Waymo Driver a comprehensive view of the world around it. Whether it’s day or night, near or far, the Waymo Driver is designed to clearly see what’s happening.

  • Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, paints a 3D picture of the vehicle’s surroundings. Lidar sensors are located all around the vehicle in order to send millions of laser pulses in all directions, then measure how long it takes for them to bounce back off objects. No matter the time of day, our lidar system gives the Waymo Driver a bird’s eye view of what’s around.
  • Our cameras give the Waymo Driver a simultaneous 360° view around the vehicle. They are designed with high dynamic range and thermal stability, to see in both daylight and low-light conditions, and tackle more complex environments. They can spot traffic lights, construction zones, and other scene objects, even from hundreds of meters away. There are 29 cameras on our Jaguar I-PACEs.
  • Radar uses millimeter wave frequencies to provide the Waymo Driver with crucial details like an object’s distance and speed. Radar is effective in rain, fog, and snow.
  • As the “brain" of the Waymo Driver, our onboard computer combines the latest server-grade CPUs and GPUs. It takes information provided by dozens of sensors on the car, identifies the different objects (like other cars and pedestrians), and plans a safe route towards your destination – all in real time.

Lidar

Cameras

Radar

Compute

  • Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, paints a 3D picture of the vehicle’s surroundings. Lidar sensors are located all around the vehicle in order to send millions of laser pulses in all directions, then measure how long it takes for them to bounce back off objects. No matter the time of day, our lidar system gives the Waymo Driver a bird’s eye view of what’s around.
  • Our cameras give the Waymo Driver a simultaneous 360° view around the vehicle. They are designed with high dynamic range and thermal stability, to see in both daylight and low-light conditions, and tackle more complex environments. They can spot traffic lights, construction zones, and other scene objects, even from hundreds of meters away. There are 29 cameras on our Jaguar I-PACEs.
  • Radar uses millimeter wave frequencies to provide the Waymo Driver with crucial details like an object’s distance and speed. Radar is effective in rain, fog, and snow.
  • As the “brain" of the Waymo Driver, our onboard computer combines the latest server-grade CPUs and GPUs. It takes information provided by dozens of sensors on the car, identifies the different objects (like other cars and pedestrians), and plans a safe route towards your destination – all in real time.
Waymo One Jaguar I-PACE

Backups you can count on

  • Secondary compute

    The Waymo Driver has a secondary on-board computer that’s always running in the background. It’s designed to bring the vehicle to a safe stop should it detect a failure of the primary system.
  • Backup collision detection and avoidance system

    Multiple backup systems—including independent collision avoidance systems—are constantly vigilant about the road ahead and behind the vehicle for objects such as pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles. They can slow or stop the car in the rare event that the primary system doesn’t respond.
  • Redundant steering

    The steering system features a redundant secondary drive motor system with independent controllers and separate power supplies.
  • Redundant braking

    A full, secondary braking system can bring the vehicle to a safe stop if needed.
  • Backup power systems

    Independent power sources are provided for each of the critical driving systems. They ensure that the Waymo Driver remains up and running during rare power failures or circuit interruptions.
  • Redundant inertial measurement systems for vehicle positioning

    This helps the Waymo Driver accurately track its motion along the road. These two systems cross-check each other and assume control from one another if a fault is detected in either system.
  • Cybersecurity

    Protecting the Waymo Driver from malicious activity is paramount. Waymo has developed a robust process to identify, prioritize, and mitigate cybersecurity threats in alignment with industry and government-defined security best practices.