Google’s self driving van
Waymo, Google’s self-driving car division, will start testing its new fleet of minivans on public roads in California and Arizona later this month.
The minivans, built in collaboration with Fiat Chrysler, are Chrysler Pacifica hybrids outfitted with Waymo’s own suite of sensors and radar. Waymo and FCA announced their partnership in May.
In a speech at the Detroit auto show Sunday, CEO John Krafcik revealed that Waymo built the sensors, radar and software for the new minivans itself.
Krafcik said the company felt the system would work better if it was developed specifically for selfdriving instead of using off-theshelf parts.
‘‘A single integrated system means that all the different parts of a self-driving car work together seamlessly,’' Krafcik said.
Waymo also was able to significantly lower the cost of the system, Krafcik said. The rooftop lidar _ which uses lasers to give the car a three-dimensional picture of the world _ cost $75,000 a few years ago. Waymo has brought that cost down by 90 percent and has developed its own short-range and long-range lidar, he said. Waymo’s long-range lidar can see a football helmet two football fields away.
Krafcik didn’t say exactly how Waymo lowered the costs. But the announcement could concern suppliers like Velodyne, which makes lidar systems used by Ford Motor Co. and others, and Delphi Corp., which is developing its own autonomous driving system.
Waymo has said it doesn’t plan to build its own cars, but provide self-driving systems to established carmakers. In addition to FCA, Honda Motor Co. recently announced it’s in talks with Waymo about using its technology in Honda vehicles.