I'm wondering what this pivot will do the morale in the Chauffeur team. There has been so much turbulence in the team with several key members leaving to form their own company because they were so frustrated with the pace. I can't imagine partnering with a traditional automaker will increase the pace.
Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
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Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#12Is that surprising? I never assumed that Google was planning to build actual cars with this tech. I suppose I never really thought that deeply about how it would roll out, but if I had, I would have guessed partnerships with others in the industry. If they can nail "self-driving tech" as well as they've nailed search, they'll potentially earn licensing fees from all vehicles, rather than from the slice of vehicles th…
This. The point is to sell a few hundred million licenses for the software, as software companies like to do.
Car companies likely don't want to further increase already large R&D budgets to build their own self-driving tech, so the "synergies" of doing this are excellent.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dying? The article says Google will be concentrating on selling their tech to existing car makers rather than producing their own car. Nothing more. Which makes perfect sense. Personally I never thought Google building the entire car was their planned end game.
The article is marketing speak. It's dead. That's how they talk when they kill a product but don't want to say that. Which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I suspect a self driving car, on city streets, without general AI, is impossible. It'll only work on prepared, limited access roads (like highways). Next step: Instrument highways for self driving cars. In-City self-driving cars is dead.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#14But they are working with other car makers. Regardless, Google kick-started a lot of other car makers to start developing self-driving cars or made it OK for other car makers to be more public about their efforts. Similarly to Tesla in pushing EV's in other car makers.
> Regardless, Google kick-started a lot of other car makers to start developing self-driving cars or made it OK for other car makers to be more public about their efforts.
Exactly! This part of Google's legacy is severely under appreciated. People were rolling their eyes when Google originally presented their plan. Amazing how quickly it went from science fiction to reality.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#15I'm wondering what this pivot will do the morale in the Chauffeur team. There has been so much turbulence in the team with several key members leaving to form their own company because they were so frustrated with the pace. I can't imagine partnering with a traditional automaker will increase the pace.
> I can't imagine partnering with a traditional automaker will increase the pace.
Right? I was thinking exactly the same. One would think that having a car built in-house enabled them to iterate that much quicker. Then again, Google is full of smart people, so there surely is a reason behind this decision.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#16> The Information reports that Google’s self-driving car unit — known internally as Chauffeur — is working with establish automotive names to develop cars which will include some self-driving features, but won’t ditch the steering wheel and pedal controls.
Self-Driving cards to self-driving technology was the exact same news which was reported out of Apple "Project Titan" too. It seems to be a trend in this self-driving car space.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#17The headline is a bit misleading, it looks like Google is not going to manufacture self driving cars, but will develop self-driving technology. I'm not sure how this is a surprise.
Well, given how deep its pockets are and its past propensity to try on big projects, I'd say it was surprising.
What's more surprising is that both Apple and Google seem to have ended up in this same place.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#18It seems a bit strange to go the software only route when Tesla and Uber already have working hardware & software.
Apple and Google missed the chance to spend their piles of cash and buy either Tesla or Uber. Now it is too late. All four are going to be battling head-to-head.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#19It's fascinating to see Google and (purportedly) Apple move in a similar direction away from developing their own actual cars and instead building the software platform. It makes a lot of sense for Google, who have always struggled with selling products direct to consumers. It is more surprising for Apple, but makes sense if you look at how they can add the most value.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Are cars going to be (even more) commoditised at the low end and differentiated by the platform on top of it (Apple, Google, Tesla) in the same way phone carriers were commoditised by the iPhone? My gut is that they won't (industrial design is a huge part of choosing a car manufacturer), so the dynamics between platform and carrier (Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, etc) are going to be fascinating to see unfold. The traditional car industry moves at such a glacial pace, yet you have two tech titans ceding a lot of control to them.
Of course, you then have the "apps" that will run on top of them, like Uber. How they interplay with it all is another dimension too. Tesla has fired the first shot here by restricting usage of non-Tesla car pooling services. It is a worrying thought to think that buying a BMW might mean I'm locked into only renting out my car through Apple-approved car riding services (and while I can't see Apple creating their own car pooling service, never say never).
Tesla seems to be the only player doing the entire stack from top to bottom. Very reminiscent of early Apple.
Re: Google has reportedly stopped developing its own self-driving car
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article is marketing speak. It's dead. That's how they talk when they kill a product but don't want to say that. Which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I suspect a self driving car, on city streets, without general AI, is impossible. It'll only work on prepared, limited access roads (like highways). Next step: Instrument highways for self driving cars. In-City self-driving cars is dead.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
I think he does.
We must let go delusional thinking that with current AI we can safely throw autonomous car in a dense urban area.
Using autonomous car to improve mobility in rural area (eg. for elders people) would prove much more applicable as a paid service and complemental to public transportation.
But if mainstream geeks and investors keep dreaming about K2000 they will be deceived by current AI.