Skip to main content

Honda and Waymo in discussions on self-driving technology

Honda R&D the R&D subsidiary of Honda Motor is entering into formal discussions with Alphabet’s Waymo, with a view to integrating its self-driving technology with Honda vehicles. This technical collaboration between Honda researchers and Waymo's self-driving technology team would allow both companies to learn about the integration of Waymo's fully self-driving sensors, software and computing platform into Honda vehicles. As part of the discussion on technical collaboration, Honda could initially prov
December 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
1683 Honda R&D the R&D subsidiary of Honda Motor is entering into formal discussions with Alphabet’s Waymo, with a view to integrating its self-driving technology with Honda vehicles.

This technical collaboration between Honda researchers and Waymo's self-driving technology team would allow both companies to learn about the integration of Waymo's fully self-driving sensors, software and computing platform into Honda vehicles.

As part of the discussion on technical collaboration, Honda could initially provide Waymo with vehicles modified to accommodate Waymo's self-driving technology. These vehicles would join Waymo's existing fleet, which are currently being tested across four US cities.

If both parties agree to enter into a formal agreement, Honda R&D engineers based in Silicon Valley, California and Tochigi, Japan, would work closely with Waymo engineers based in Mountain View, California and Novi, Michigan.

Honda previously announced its intention to put production vehicles with automated driving capabilities on highways sometime around 2020 related to its goal of a collision-free society.  In addition to these on-going efforts, this technical collaboration with Waymo could allow Honda R&D to explore a different technological approach to bring fully self-driving technology to market. These discussions are an initial step that will allow Waymo and Honda R&D to further explore the potential of a broad range of automated driving technologies.

Related Content

  • August 17, 2016
    Ford targets fully autonomous vehicle in 2021
    Ford has announced its intention to have a high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle in commercial operation in 2021. The new vehicle will be a Society of Automotive Engineers-rated level 4-capable vehicle without a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. It is being specifically designed for commercial mobility services, such as ride sharing and ride hailing, and will be available in high volumes. SAE level 4 is one level below full automation and is defined as ‘mode-specific performance by an automated
  • January 28, 2019
    Google spin-off Waymo to open ‘world’s first Level 4 AV’ factory in Michigan
    Waymo, the company that began as Google’s driverless car project, has pledged to open a facility in Michigan, US, to produce advanced autonomous vehicles (AVs). In a statement, Waymo insisted: “This will be the world’s first factory 100% dedicated to the mass production of Level 4 AVs.” Level 4 automation means that no human interaction is required, and the vehicle is able to adjust in the case of things going wrong – but there is an option for manual override. This is still some way from Level 5, in
  • August 29, 2013
    Honda experiments with pedestrian and motorcycle safety
    Honda has demonstrated its experimental vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) and vehicle-to-motorcycle (V2M) technologies, aimed at reducing the potential for collisions between automobiles and pedestrians and between automobiles and motorcycles. The vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) technology uses a car equipped with dedicated short range communications (DSRC) technology to detect a pedestrian with a DSRC-enabled Smartphone and provides auditory and visual warnings to both the pedestrian and drivers. According to Ho
  • November 2, 2016
    Ertico coordinates big data debate
    David Crawford finds that agreeing a common data standard for auto manufacturers’ onboard sensors, navigation system companies and map makers is proving a complex task.