Google is putting its self-driving car technology into a new company which it will call Waymo, the firm has announced.
Google’s parent company commonly known as Alphabet will own this new business known as Waymo. It signals a push to commercialize the technology which Google has been developing for more than 10 years. In accordance to the words of John Krafcik – Google “Steve Mahan rode alone in one of our prototype vehicles, cruising through Austin’s suburbs. Steve is legally blind, so our sensors and software were his chauffeur."
Furthermore, Mr Krafcik talking about the formation of this new company, he gave the following words; "We believe that this technology can begin to reshape some of the ten trillion miles that motor vehicles travel around the world every year, with safer, more efficient and more accessible forms of transport." Mr Krafcik is also expected to become Chief Executive of Waymo. The company said it will try to apply the technology behind self-driving vehicles to other purposes. While other companies, most notably electric car maker Tesla, have managed to roll out elements of self-driving technology to real roads, Google has been taking a far more cautious approach. This suggests increased urgency in finding immediate commercial uses for the technology which, so far, has only been used by Google in tests. The Waymo announcement could suggest that Google will deviate from its original goal of only offering 100% self-driving vehicles.
Lastly, Mt Krafcik said, "We can see our technology being useful in personal vehicles, ride-sharing, logistics, or solving 'last mile' problems for public transport.”