The latest generation of technology that powers Waymo’s self-driving taxis is now being used on public roads.
Confirmation that the sixth generation of Waymo drivers has begun fully autonomous operation – without human safety drivers – comes in a blog post by the company’s vice president of engineering, Sathish Jayachandran. This technology was initially previewed in 2024 and has been tested since then, being introduced in Waymo’s new Ojai robotaxi, which is based on the Zeeker Mix, a Chinese-market electric vehicle sold by automotive giant Geely.
Over the next few years, the Ojai and Hyundai Ioniq 5 will become the dominant vehicles in Waymo’s fleet, which has until now been made up of modified versions of Jaguar’s I-Pace. The company, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, said it will manufacture thousands of robotaxis on an annual basis at its factory.
At this stage, autonomous rides in Ojai are only available to employees and their guests, but Waymo said the service will soon be available to the public.
According to Jayachandran, the sixth-generation technology, which is specifically designed to be compatible with multiple vehicle platforms, will enable Waymo to operate at scale in more diverse environments, including extreme weather – traditionally problematic areas for autonomous vehicles.
The package reduces the number of sensors (from the fifth generation) to 13 cameras, four lidar and six radar units, resulting in a reduction in cost.
However, Waymo also claimed that performance had improved.
“By Taking advantage of breakthroughs in AI And by validating the system through our rigorous security framework, we can now accelerate our journey on the road with unprecedented velocity and confidence,” he wrote.
In the US, the company is established as the robotaxi market leader, having driven nearly 200 million autonomous miles over the past seven years and recently attracted $16 billion in funding, giving it a valuation of $126 billion.
With this type of support it is expanding rapidly. this week, nashville Becomes the latest city to welcome fully autonomous operations by joining the san francisco bay area, Phoenix metro areaLos Angeles, Miami, atlanta And Austin.
Waymo said it will see continued growth and expects to deliver more than one million paid robotaxi rides per week by the end of the year.
