Waymo’s new robotaxi will feature fewer sensors to help lower costs

Waymo published a blog post today previewing its new sixth-generation robotaxi, which is an electric minivan manufactured by the Chinese automaker Zeekr.

In the post, Waymo VP of engineering Satish Jeyachandran touts the new robotaxi as more high tech than past iterations, while also featuring fewer sensors to help reduce costs for the Alphabet-owned company. And within its high-powered computer, it contains all the learnings of the previous five generations of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, meaning it won’t have to do as much real-world testing as past models before it can be rolled out to the public.

But looming over Waymo’s assertion that its new robotaxi will be cheaper to produce is the possibility that it could also be subject to...

Continue reading…