The startup Waabi, founded by a former executive of Uber’s Advanced Technology Group, has just launched a turnkey solution to make any truck autonomous. It would suffice for manufacturers to integrate this device into the manufacturing process of semi-trailers.
If you are interested in the self-driving car market, you may know Waabi. This startup, founded by Raquel Urtasun, former Chief Scientist of Uber’s Advanced Technology Groupcreated a surprise in June 2021 by raising no less than $83.5 million.
Among the supporters of the young company, we find big names like Uber, Aurora Innovation, Radical Ventures, 8VC and OMERS Ventures. The founder of Waabi is a artificial intelligence specialist who once led the autonomous vehicle division of the famous ride-hailing company.
And after this highlighting, the startup has just announced this Wednesday, November 16, 2022 the launch of a new “turnkey” solution for semi-trailer manufacturers who wish to make their fleet autonomous. This product, called Waabi Driver, is designed as a complete autonomy solution that OEMs can integrate into their vehicles during the manufacturing process.
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Waabi presents a “turnkey” solution to make heavy goods vehicles autonomous
“Waabi Driver is a system based on machine learning, which greatly speeds up development and allows it to learn the complex decisions needed to operate safely on the road”, said Raquel Urtasun. After her fundraising, the founder of Waabi announced that the startup’s goal was to focus on heavy truck transport using its proprietary software to automate driving on commercial routes.
However, the company is entering an already busy market, especially in the United States. Many companies have already invested in this technology such as Waymo, Aurora, TuSimple, or even Kodiak Robotics which has partnered with Ikea. Of course, we cannot forget Tesla with its semi-autonomous Tesla Semi truck.
Otherwise, Waabi launches as self-driving technologies face some mistrust. The robotaxi startup Argo IA recently closed following the sudden departure of its main financial partners, namely Ford and Volkswagen. Moreover, according to her, early startups centered around self-driving overpromised and overspent, before failing to meet high expectations. Conversely, Waabi’s ambitions are more modest, less costly by being focused on AI and simulation.This approach contrasts with the traditional method, which is fragile, overly complex, and requires laborious code adjustments. Waabi Driver training takes place in Waabi World, the company’s simulation program”, she explains.
Source : The Verge
