Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)
Author | Alice
Edit | Juice
According to foreign media 9to5Google, Waymo, the largest autonomous driving company in the United States, has reached a cooperation with Geely Automobile to integrate Waymo Drive's automatic driving program into extreme krypton cars to create a fully autonomous vehicle with pure electric vehicles.
It is reported that the new car positioning is similar to MPV, will not be equipped with a steering wheel and pedals, and will be used for Waymo's autonomous driving fleet in the future to carry out commercial travel services.
JiKr Automobile is a high-end intelligent electric brand under the Chinese car company Geely Automobile. In addition, brands such as the British supercar brand Lotus, the Swedish brand Volvo and mercedes-Benz Smart belong to Geely Automobile.
The cooperation between Waymo and Geely Automobile, with its strong technical and manufacturing background, may bring a milestone car to the Robotaxi field.
First, built for travel services to emphasize comfort
According to foreign media reports, this extreme Kr commercial vehicle jointly created by Geely and Waymo is designed for transportation as a service (TaaS).
Currently, Waymo's self-driving fleet consists of Chrysler Grand Jairon and Jaguar I-Pace, and it is worth noting that these vehicles are not self-driving production cars, but waymo's self-driving cars that are modified in the later stages.
According to the news released by waymo's official website, the new car will focus on the comfort, convenience and preferences of Waymo One passengers, and the new car will have a flat bottom plate for passengers to get on and off.
As can be seen from the published renderings, the new car adopts a B-pillar-free design, passengers will be more convenient to enter and exit the door, the interior of the carriage, head and leg space is relatively spacious, and the riding comfort is higher.
▲ Waymo's new car rendering with Extreme Krypton
In addition, Waymo also announced some details of the car, in addition to having "sufficient head space, leg space", the new car will also be equipped with adjustable seats, the car screen and charging interface and other devices are also within reach. The entire cabin is easy to configure and extremely comfortable.
As can be seen from the currently published renderings, the vehicle's main sensor stack is on the roof, and several devices are also installed around the body.
Second, no steering wheel and pedals will be made in Sweden
The manned Robotaxi currently in operation has a driver's seat, but the cockpit of this new car is very different.
Waymo said the car won't come with a steering wheel and pedals, only a touchscreen in the center of the front of the cockpit. Current U.S. law requires a driver's seat for a manned Robotaxi.
▲ Rendering of the interior of waymo's new car in collaboration with Extreme Krypton
Therefore, it is unclear whether future production vehicles will adopt this design.
"While ensuring a level of safety that meets U.S. federal vehicle standards — Waymo One passengers will one day experience a cockpit environment without steering wheels and pedals." The passenger-centric, pure electric self-driving car will be manufactured in Sweden and will be introduced to the U.S. market in a few years, but did not disclose the specific time.
Conclusion: The commercialization of driverless mobility is another step
On October 8, 2020, Waymo announced the opening of a driverless taxi service without safety officers to the public in Phoenix, and it was the first time that an autonomous driving company had opened a fully driverless taxi to the public.
Waymo, which has countless "first" titles and is also a leader in the field of driverless taxis, has announced the development of self-driving cars with a new design concept that refreshes the trend of future design of Robotaxi cars.
It is believed that the release of the new autonomous driving car jointly built by Waymo and Geely will further accelerate the commercialization process of driverless travel.