Autonomous Vehicle Research at Waymo

In this episode of the Practical AI podcast, Daniel Whitenack and Chris Benson interview Drago Anguelov, VP and Head of AI Foundations at Waymo, about the advancements and challenges in autonomous driving since 2020. Drago discusses Waymo's expansion to multiple cities, safety performance, partnerships with Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, and the evolution of their autonomous vehicle technology. The conversation covers the architecture of driverless cars, public perception and trust, the role of AI and simulation in creating world models, and the research areas driving progress in the field, including vision language models and scalable simulators. Drago also touches on the potential for autonomous vehicles to improve traffic flow and safety, highlighting Waymo's commitment to saving lives through the expansion of their technology.