INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightWaymoImage caption
Lidar is seen as crucial to the success of self-drive cars
Google
spin-off Waymo plans to sell the sensors it uses on its self-drive cars to other industries.The technology behind them was at the heart of
legal action last year, with Google accusing taxi app company Uber of stealing trade secrets.In a blogpost, Waymo said it was targeting its
Lidar (light detection and ranging) units at industries including robotics, security and agriculture not other self-drive cars.It did not
say how much it would cost.Lidar technology is seen by many as crucial to the success of autonomous vehicles
The sensors measure distance via pulses of laser light and generate 3D maps of the world around them.Head of Waymo's Lidar team Simon
Verghese said that his company, which has been developing the technology since 2011, had three different types of Lidar systems.Initially,
it will offer one Lidar unit - dubbed Laser Bear Honeycomb - to select partners
The sensor is used around the bumper of Waymo's self-driving vehicles and has a wide field of view."Offering this Lidar to partners helps
spur the growth of applications outside of self-driving cars and also propels our business forward," Mr Verghese said."We can scale our
autonomous technology faster, making each sensor more affordable through economies of scale."Waymo and Uber battled very publicly over the
technology last year, with Uber accused of stealing and using trade secrets related to Lidar.The companies reached a settlement that saw
cars but also maintained it had never done so.
