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During a recent earnings call, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Waymo may in the future sell self-driving cars for personal ownership. This news sparked considerable interest. When questioned about Waymo's long-term business model, Pichai stated that in addition to expansion with partners like Moove and Uber, Waymo is considering future options for personal ownership. Image Note: Image generated by AI.

At the recent 2025 China EV100 Forum, Academician Zhang Yaqin of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the Tsinghua University Institute for AI Industry predicted an exciting development: self-driving technology will reach its 'ChatGPT moment' in 2025. This statement has generated significant industry anticipation for the future of autonomous driving. Zhang Yaqin stated that self-driving will be the largest embodied AI application within the next five years, and this technology will pass the 'new Turing test' for the first time. He further elaborated that while 2025 is a crucial year for self-driving...

Waymo, the autonomous driving division of Alphabet, has announced plans to launch tests of its self-driving car technology in Tokyo in early 2025. This will mark the first time the company's autonomous taxis operate on public roads outside of the United States. The expansion into Japan is part of Waymo's 'Road Trip' initiative, aimed at deploying its technology across multiple cities and conducting field tests, each facing unique challenges. In Tokyo, Waymo’s autonomous taxis will encounter different traffic conditions compared to the U.S., including left-side driving.

Tesla recently confirmed through a job posting that it plans to establish a 'remote operations' team to remotely control its upcoming fleet of robotaxis. This move is an important step for Tesla in achieving its robotaxi service, while also drawing on the experiences of market leader Waymo. There are significant differences in autonomous driving strategies between Waymo and Tesla. Waymo employs various sensors, including cameras and LiDAR, to operate its already commercialized autonomous rideshare services in multiple markets.

It has been reported that Alphabet plans to invest an additional $5 billion into its autonomous driving subsidiary, Waymo, over the coming years. This significant announcement was made by Ruth Porat, Alphabet's Chief Financial Officer, during the company's second-quarter earnings call. Porat stated that this "multi-year investment" will align with the investment levels of recent years, aiming to support Waymo's efforts to solidify its position as a global leader in autonomous driving technology.

The Waymo research team has launched MotionLM for predicting the behavior of road traffic participants. Unlike traditional methods, MotionLM utilizes language modeling and does not require complex optimization programs. This method demonstrates exceptional performance in predicting the behaviors of road participants and is applicable to autonomous vehicles. MotionLM can simulate temporal causal relationships, enhancing prediction accuracy. This innovative approach is expected to promote advancements in the autonomous driving field.