The next time Waymo talks about its fully autonomous driving technology, you will not see Alphabet’s subsidiary use the term “autonomous driving”. That’s because the company wants to differentiate the technology it is working on from semi-autonomous driver assistance systems that are often and incorrectly grouped under the label.
“It may seem like a small change, but it is important, because precision in language is important and can save lives,” said the company. “Unfortunately, we see that some automakers use the term ‘autonomous driving’ imprecisely, giving consumers and the general public a false impression of the capabilities of driver assistance technology (not fully autonomous) … Combining the terminology standard will not only avoid misunderstandings and confusion, it will also save lives. ”In practical terms, one of the first expressions you will see coming out of this change is Waymo’s renamed public education campaign, which is now known as Let’s Talk Autonomous Driving.