“The combination of Waymo’s early start and Google backing has propelled it to the forefront of the robotaxi industry, driving more than 200mn miles fully autonomously with passengers. However, it is now facing competition from new entrants in not only Silicon Valley but the UK, China and beyond. Many are betting that starting with a clean slate in the new era of AI will allow them to scale more quickly and cheaply than Waymo. Tesla and Wayve believe this AI-first approach can be taken much further, and operators differ on what technology they believe is required for a safe and viable vehicle. While Waymo uses an expensive array of custom hardware, its rivals’ systems use fewer cameras and radar sensors — and with some even potentially doing away with lidar altogether, claiming it is not necessary — to make a much cheaper self-driving car. ”
Source : How AI is powering the next generation of robotaxis
