Development of the automatic driving car "Firefly" without Google's Waymo handle and pedal is over

Independent from Google's automatic driving car projectWaymo"Is a two-seater automatic driving car that has neither a handle nor a pedalFireflyIt is known to have been developing. Waymo announced at Medium that it is focusing on stopping the development of Firefly completely and focusing on the manual and automatic switchable hybrid type "Chrysler Pacifica" that took over Firefly's automatic driving system I will.

From post-it note to prototype: The journey of our Firefly
https://medium.com/waymo/from-post-it-note-to-prototype-the-journey-of-our-firefly-30569ac8fd5e


Firefly is an automatic driving car originally developed as a platform for experiment and learning, for the first time in 2014Production prototypeWas announced. Developing an automatic driving car from scratch is said that Google 's development team gained a deep understanding of Google' s installation site, computer integration method and so on.


Firefly on the roofLIDAR· We have installed parts on the black dome that integrates camera and sensors, and Waymo's automatic driving car, independent of Google, inherits this design. As a result of successful automated driving tests of several million km on Firefly, Waymo has completed a hybrid Chrysler / Pacifica with a similar dome. In some areas for general driversChrysler · Pacifica loanWe are also doing.

Unlike Firefly, Hybrid Chrysler Pacifica has both a handle and a pedal, so it is possible to switch between automatic operation and manual operation. Waymo plans to focus on the project to automate Chrysler / Pacifica, which is a mass-produced car in the future, aiming to spread more automatic driving skills to more people. The hybrid type Chrysler · Pacifica's LIDAR · viewing system and the new AI platform have already exceeded the performance of Firefly and realize full-speed automatic operation whereas Firefly's maximum speed is 25 mph per hour (about 40 km per hour) doing.


Firefly, which made a significant contribution to Google and Waymo's automatic driving project over the past three years, future development will be a stop. Some Firefly are in Mountain View, CaliforniaComputer History MuseumAnd the LondonDesign MuseumIt is said that it is exhibited.