Waymo says robotaxis must be safer than human drivers

Tesla argues autonomous driving can work with cameras the way humans use their eyes. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's vice president of AI, said, "It should be solved with cameras just like how every other human or animal lives around this world," adding, "Self-driving problem is thought of as a sensor problem.

It's actually not a sensor problem, it's an AI problem." Waymo takes a different path. Srikanth Thirumalai, Waymo's vice president of onboard software, said, "I think the bar is higher than human driving." Tesla aims for autonomy with fewer than 10 cameras and AI trained on billions of miles of real-world driving data, while Waymo pairs AI with 29 cameras, five lidars, and six radars and has deployed about 2,500 robotaxis across multiple US cities.

Thirumalai framed the lidar debate as a distraction from safety, urging engineers to work backwards from a safety bar and then iterate to lower sensor cost and improve software.

United States, multiple US cities

waymo, tesla, robotaxis, autonomous driving, lidar, cameras, radars, ashok elluswamy, srikanth thirumalai, safety bar