Google's self-driving project becomes independent Waymo after abandoning its car-making plan

Recently, Google's self-driving car project announced its independence from Google and established a company called Waymo. At the same time, company executives said that its self-driving technology will also be released soon.

John Krafcik, CEO of the new company Waymo, said at a press conference in San Francisco: "We are currently at a critical turning point. The establishment of a new company means that our technology has matured. Our autonomous driving technology will soon be available to everyone and is expected to be applied to various fields."

Before Waymo became independent, Google's self-driving project had been part of Google's mysterious department, Google X. Krafcik pointed out that the name Waymo means "A new way forward in mobility" and said that Waymo will soon demonstrate mass production technology for self-driving.

Waymo's autonomous driving system uses radar, camera and lidar sensor technology, and is currently focusing on Level 4 and Level 5 technology. Waymo's chief software engineer Nathaniel Fairfield revealed that the system's sensors can cope with complex weather conditions.

Krafcik reiterated that Waymo is not interested in producing self-driving vehicles, but only in developing self-driving technology, which is likely to be used in car sharing, transportation, trucking, logistics and private cars.

Many automakers only want to develop partial self-driving technology, and the vehicles still need human supervision. The difference is that Google's ultimate goal is fully self-driving technology without human control. Google's self-driving vehicles have now driven 2 million miles, and the focus of testing has shifted to the tricky situations that vehicles encounter on the streets.

Although no deals have been announced, the move means Google will finally be able to monetize its research beyond the siege of two dozen companies vying to be the first to mass-produce self-driving cars.

Google's self-driving project has attracted much attention since its establishment seven years ago, and has always been at the forefront of self-driving technology. However, it is now being challenged by technology companies such as Apple and Uber, as well as traditional car companies.

In October 2015, Google's self-driving car was tested for the first time in Austin, Texas, USA. At that time, there was only one blind person in the test car, while in regular tests, an engineer would sit in the passenger seat to control the vehicle.

In May, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) teamed up with Google to apply Google's self-driving system to 100 of FCA's minivans.

Hire more engineers

Over the past year, Google has expanded its project, hiring more engineers and expanding its testing centers from two to four.

In August this year, Chris Urmson, who had served as the chief technology officer of the self-driving project since its inception, left Google. Although there have been many personnel changes, some new appointments mean that the experimental stage of the self-driving project has passed.

In July this year, Google's self-driving project appointed its first general counsel. A month later, it hired Airbnb executive Shaun Stewart as director of the self-driving project, mainly responsible for the commercialization of Google's self-driving technology.

Krafcik, 55, was previously CEO of Hyundai Motor America and a longtime Ford executive before joining Google in September 2015.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.