Google creates ‘Waymo’, your company cars self – employed- Forbes Mexico

By Alan Ohnsman

The group of driving autonomous of Google, which helped to turn the race between the automobile manufacturers and technology companies for the development of cars that handle alone, it has become an independent unit named Waymo.

"we are Now an independent company within the umbrella of the Alphabet," said John Krafcik, president and ceo of the new company, in a press conference in San Francisco today. "It is an indication of the maturity of our technology."

Krafcik, a veteran of the world automotive with decades of experience in Ford and Hyundai Motor, was hired in September of 2015 to help the R & D project within the transition of the division’s experimental Google, Google X, to a model generator of income. Chris Urmson, a scientist in robotics who led the program for six years, broke earlier this year and is reportedly planning to open your own technology company autonomous.

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Although Google was one of the pioneers in driving autonomously through artificial intelligence, now faces an intense competition to commercialize the technology. This year, Uber, the giant of the mobility, bought by Otto, a company that began with the support of former Google and has set itself the goal of developing autonomous vehicles as soon as possible.

in The same way, Elon Musk is pushing to Tesla Motors to lead the career of the self-autonomous and has begun to equip all of its electric vehicles with sensors and computing power to automate the control of the driving functions. Other car manufacturers including Ford, General Motors, Nissan, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Toyota and others are investing heavily in their own programs of vehicles automated.

Apple has indicated that it is also developing an autonomous vehicle, though it has not confirmed any plan to commercialize it.

u.s. regulators are already working to develop national guidelines on basic for the testing and deployment of vehicles without driver, which gave a advancement in last September, and Google has been a key member of an industry group which pressed for such standards.

Waymo is currently equipped with a fleet of 100 trucks Chrysler hybrid with sensors and on-board computers, which soon will join about 60 autonomous vehicle prototype that is being tested in Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas, Kirkland, Washington, and Phoenix, Arizona.

still, The company has not revealed when and how it will begin to generate income and Krafcik refused to discuss business plans specific for the announcement.

Read also: 2016: The year in which the cars drove alone

Although he said that the staff of Waymo is currently higher than a year ago, gave no specific figures. Waymo will continue to have its headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The company has tested its technology on more than 1,600 kilometres of simulated driving by computer, and as of November had led to 3.7 million kilometres of autonomous way in the real world. Since Google began testing systems of vehicles without a driver in 2009, its technology has advanced to the point where its use in the real world is very, very close.

"We are a company of technology-autonomous. We have been very clear that we are not an automotive company," said Krafcik. "We’re not in the business of making better cars, we are in the business of making better pilots."