How Does Behind the Innovation: AI & ML at Waymo Work?

Waymo uses AI and ML, which are like super-smart helpers that learn how to drive cars by watching and practicing every day.

Imagine you're learning to ride a bike. At first, you wobble a lot, but after trying many times, you get better. That’s what AI does, it helps the car figure out how to move around on the road. And ML, or machine learning, is like your brain getting smarter each time you fall off and stand back up.

The car has lots of eyes, cameras, sensors, and lasers that work together. These are like a kid’s toy bin full of tools: one sees color, another feels distance, and some track movement. All these tools send messages to the AI, which puts them all together to understand what's around the car, like knowing if there’s a person walking or another car coming.

Just like you learn from your mistakes, the car learns by trying different things. If it goes too fast and almost hits something, it remembers that lesson next time. The ML system keeps getting better each day, just like how you get faster at riding a bike after falling off once or twice.

So, together, AI helps the car see clearly, and ML makes sure it gets smarter every day, no magic needed!