Waymo CEO says, "Self-Driving Cars Will Always Be Limited"

Medium reports: [edited]

Waymo, a division of Alphabet, has long been acknowledged as the leader in autonomous vehicle technology. Based on the limited data that’s been released, its vehicles are acknowledged as having driven the most miles in self-driving mode and have the lowest rate of 'disengagements' (when humans have to take over).

However, even Waymo's CEO, John Krafcik, now admits that the self-driving car that can drive in any condition, on any road, without ever needing a human to take control – what’s usually called a 'Level 5' autonomous vehicle – will never exist.

At the Wall Street Journal’s D.Live conference on November 13, Krafcik said that “autonomy will always have constraints.” It will take decades for self-driving cars to become common on roads, and even then they will not be able to drive in certain conditions, at certain times of the year, or in any weather.

In short, sensors on autonomous vehicles don’t work well in snow or rain – and that may never change.
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