A company with a different approach to autonomous driving

The company is called Wayve, it is English and was founded in 2017. They have been working silently for more than 6 years, and have just received a capital injection of more than 1 billion dollars to continue their work. You can see the company’s WEBSITE at https://wayve.ai/

Their approach to solving the problem of autonomous driving of a car is different from Waymo and other companies, and they call it “Embodied AI” which they say learns by interacting with traffic in the real world. .

They have some cars driving around London, but they do not offer autonomous taxi services. They offer themselves as a partner for OEMs, meaning their “system” could be integrated into a model from one of the different automakers.

Unlike other competitors that rely heavily on highly detailed maps and high-end LIDAR sensors, Wayve is betting on a system that learns from real-world experience, mimicking the way humans drive.

Wayve’s technology is based on the idea that artificial intelligence can learn to drive by observing and acting in the real environment. To do this, their vehicles are equipped with cameras, sensors and machine learning software that allow them to perceive the world around them, understand the rules of the road and make safe driving decisions.

In the photo below you can see a Wayve car driving through London

As vehicles travel on streets, they collect data on the behavior of other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, as well as traffic conditions and road signs. This information is used to continually train the AI system, improving its ability to navigate complex environments and make accurate decisions in real time.

One of the key aspects of Wayve’s technology is its ability to learn incrementally from experience. This means that the system does not need to be pre-loaded with detailed maps or exhaustive data sets to function.

Instead, you can start learning from scratch and continue to improve over time as you expose yourself to more real-world situations. This continuous learning capability is crucial for the development of autonomous driving systems that can operate safely and reliably in a wide range of scenarios.

Video of a tour of London: https://youtu.be/mU3TFv9Zi4I

The recent capital injection of more than $1 billion into Wayve is a clear indication of the potential that investors (SoftBank, Microsoft and NVIDIA) see in its technology. This funding will allow the company to expand its research and development team, expand its testing operations and accelerate the development of its products.

The approach to solving the problem is innovative, and less expensive than that followed by Waymo and others. It is not clear that it will allow it to become a leader in autonomous driving, but its commitment to AI is very interesting and could be decisive.

They are very adamant that their system could lead to a significant reduction in traffic accidents, as well as greater efficiency and comfort in transportation. And that is a good selling point for a car manufacturer and for users.

It is important to note that self-driving technology, after many years and a lot of money invested, is still in its early stages of development and that there are significant challenges that must be addressed before it can be widely deployed.

But Wayve’s approach is interesting. And I wish them the best.