We all must have thought about this at least once in our lives. Driverless rides. How it would feel to sit in a car and to be driven to your destination without a driver behind the wheel. Like in the fictional movies, where they used to show rich businessmen traveling in driverless cars, fully autonomous, and voice-activated even! Well, once just a dream and fiction, is now a reality.
Presenting autonomous driving, manufacturers and engineers around the globe collaborate with experienced professionals in other brands and organizations in bringing out projects envisioning a world that could one day start having autonomous driving technology, and it would become the ‘new normal’.
Sustainability initiatives, Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), and environmentally conscious practices are being adopted by organizations with a mission aimed toward achieving zero carbon emissions, decreasing pollution levels and greenhouse gases, and reducing the reliability of fueled vehicles. This transitional shift towards a more clean, green, and renewable-powered source is already taking place with electric vehicles. The next step in technology innovation is being targeted towards manufacturing and engineering fully autonomous cars that are driverless.
Autonomous driving technology integrates both hardware and software systems to achieve its mission. With machine learning (ML) systems and Artificial Intelligence (AI), sensors, processors, and algorithms, these cars are engineered to map out and store details of their environments and surroundings, using high-definition mapping and radar imaging, decision-making technology, and environmental perceptions. The common aims that automotive manufacturers and engineers who work on autonomous driving technology projects are to accomplish certain goals, such as – reducing road accidents, eliminating man-made errors, reducing traffic congestion, improving mobility and transport, and encouraging sustainability initiatives and practices.
Therefore in this article, we will be sharing insights into the explorative story behind one such company – WAYMO, which was founded in 2009 in California, USA. The Co-founders – Anthony Levandowski and Sebastian Thrun initially led Google’s self-driving car program as part of Alphabet. The present co-CEOs – Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov took over and are now together leading Waymo, in its mission – “to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going using autonomous driving technology”. The trailblazing duo is paving the path for efficient transportation and mobility with self-driving cars for future generations to experience on their roads.
About Tekedra and Dmitri – co-CEOs at Waymo:
The co-CEOs at Waymo are – Tekedra N. Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov. Both of them came into office and were appointed in the year 2021. The headquarters of Waymo is established and located in Mountain View, California, USA.
Tekedra Mawakana’s education was a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Political Science, Economics, and Women’s Studies from Trinity Washington University. She also has a Doctor of Law Degree from Columbia Law School. Tekedra has a career working in various companies in leading positions such as – Associate, Board Director, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Advisory Council. Joining Waymo in 2017, she climbed the professional ladder quickly and worked as the Chief External Officer (CXO), Chief Operating Officer, and Board of Directors, and then was promoted to co-CEO alongside Dmitri, in the year 2021. Leading the company with years of experience in leadership, technology, automotive, mobility, and entrepreneurial sectors, Tekedra has been a powerful influence in the industry.
Dmitri Dolgov is the co-CEO alongside Tekedra Mawakana at Waymo. Having a Master’s Degree in Physics and Maths from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and a Ph.D in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. After being Google’s distinguished Software Engineer heading software in the company’s self-driving car project and the Chief Technology Officer, Dmitri was appointed as co-CEO at Waymo.
These two influential pioneers and co-CEOs are successfully leading the “World’s Most Experienced Driver”.
About WAYMO:
Waymo was originally co-founded by Anthony Levandowski and Sebastian Thrun, as a project and program in self-driving cars under Google’s Alphabet. Waymo was founded in the year 2009 and is established in California, USA.
Waymo One is “The World’s First Autonomous ride-hailing service.” Available all day and night to pick you up and drop you at your destination, Waymo One meets you at whichever part of the city you are in, such as – San Francisco and Phoenix. This self-driving ride-hailing service provided by the company offers people the needed convenience, consistency, and safety. The autonomous car is completely electrically powered which is sustainable to the environment and the ecosystem.
Waymo shares that there have been over 1.35 million recorded vehicular deaths where drivers have crashed, out of which around 36,096 road deaths were recorded in 2019, in the United States alone. The company states that 94% of car crashes are due to human-made errors. Hence with the commitment to safely take care of the passengers inside and outside the cars, Waymo has provided the people with safety and ease in getting them wherever they want to go. To reach and engage more with the people, and to be available and easily accessible, Waymo has developed an app downloadable on the Apple Store as well as Google Play. Therefore with Waymo, “the future of transportation is here”.