a16z Podcast The Road to Autonomous Vehicles: Are We There Yet?
13 snips
Jun 26, 2023 Saswat Panigrahi, Chief Product Officer at Waymo, shares insights from his extensive experience in developing autonomous vehicles. He delves into the five levels of autonomy and discusses the ongoing debate between LIDAR and camera technologies. Safety is a critical theme, with emphasis on data integrity and regulatory collaboration. The conversation also touches on how AI is fine-tuning these vehicles and the societal implications of self-driving cars. Listeners will discover what it truly means for autonomy to arrive and where we go from here!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
First Driverless Experience
- Saswat Panigrahi first experienced a car with no driver control in 2017.
- His first truly driverless experience on public roads was in 2019.
Levels of Autonomy
- Waymo's autonomous vehicles have reached Level 4 autonomy, meaning no human intervention is expected.
- Level 5 autonomy, achievable anywhere and anytime, remains a future goal.
Challenges in Autonomous Driving
- Developing autonomous driving requires tackling unforeseen challenges and having a clear vision of societal benefits.
- The biggest hurdle has been technological, including building a reliable driver and a robust measurement system.