Google's Self-Drive Tech Project Becomes Waymo

CARS.COM — Google is plotting a new course for its self-driving vehicle program by spinning the project into a new business unit called Waymo. As a division of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, Waymo will continue to pursue autonomous-drive mobility solutions for a vast range of driving applications.

It is also going head-to-head with fierce competition throughout the automotive and tech industry.

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“We believe that this technology can begin to reshape some of the 10 trillion miles that motor vehicles travel around the world every year, with safer, more efficient and more accessible forms of transport,” wrote John Krafcik, CEO of Google’s self-driving car project, in his online announcement regarding the introduction of Waymo. Krafcik also stated that helping to eliminate the approximately 1.2 million lives lost in road accidents remains a key driving force behind this initiative.

Since the program’s inception in 2009, Google’s self-driving prototypes have covered the equivalent of 300 years of driving time, wrote Krafcik, formerly of Ford and Hyundai. This is broken down into a staggering 2 million miles of real-world testing, along with an estimated 1 billion miles of computer-based driving simulations.

“We can see our technology being useful in personal vehicles, ride-sharing, logistics or solving last-mile problems for public transport. In the long term, self-driving technology could be useful in ways the world has yet to imagine, creating many new types of products, jobs and services,” he wrote.

Krarcik also referenced Google’s first fully self-driven ride in October 2015. Steve Mahan, a legally blind man, was shuttled through the suburbs of Austin, Texas, without any human interference or input delivered to Google’s autonomous vehicle.

The driving result was impressive, even if the car itself left a lot to be desired. Despite being covered with road-scanning sensor arrays, the pod-like car’s rudimentary build, lack of safety equipment and top speed of 25 mph made it a work in progress.

This might explain why Google/Waymo has recently made waves in the automotive and tech world, thanks to partnerships with Uber, Lyft, Ford, Volvo and, most recently, an agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to build and test a fleet of around 100 self-drive-equipped Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

These moves signal that Waymo could target more of the software build and engineering behind autonomous vehicles without spending the time and massive financial investment needed to bring its own vehicles to market. Apple has made similar on-again, off-again overtures in regard to whether it would engineer its very own self-drive vehicle or work with outside automakers.

The race to bring self-drive vehicles to market continues at full speed, even if some of the names have changed.