Self-driving Waymo taxi milestone for Irish duo

TWO Irishmen in Silicon Valley will have noted the milestone earlier last week of Google self-driving car spinout Waymo officially launching its taxi service in Arizona.

Gerard Dwyer — a Tipperary native and UCD graduate — has been CFO of the business since 2016, prior to that he spent 10 years with Google.

Meanwhile, design engineer John Massey — a former lecturer in mechatronics at Blanchardstown IT — has been closely involved in the design of the car’s self-driving system, which uses lidar, radar, cameras and computer hardware.

Speaking to Ergo at the Waymo headquarters in California recently, Dwyer said one reason he takes a personal interest in the success of the technology — and in particular its potential to make the roads safer — is that one of his relatives and several former colleagues have been killed in car crashes.

In rural Ireland, he said, it has the potential to bring cheap mobility to people who may be currently reliant on poor public transport, while it also challenges town planners and even hotel developers to think anew.

Less on-street parking will be needed and fewer people will need hotel rooms if they can sleep in their cars while travelling home from a distant location.

Businesses might even sponsor self-driving taxis to bring customers to spend money with them, he added.

Irish startups should think about how the cars will be a platform through which to offer products and services on a route or in an area, and how they might be connected, quite possibly with Google’s help, he suggested.