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Compute is the brain of the Waymo Driver, translating raw sensor data into real-time driving commands. Operating demonstrably safe, physical AI on the road demands a fundamental shift towards a system engineered for deterministic, low-latency performance. Over the past decade, we have co-designed our hardware, sensors, and algorithms side-by-side to solve the unique constraints of real-world edge compute. We’re offering the first look under our trunk to share our approach to compute, our custom silicon, and how we collaborate with industry leaders to build the most capable computing system on the road.
Compute systems for autonomous driving handle highly diverse workloads. At Waymo, we are designing a state-of-the-art system that would be considered impressive for a data center, with the added complexity of an in-vehicle operating domain and real-time requirements. Unlike traditional driver-assist computing, our system handles the entire task of driving without a human backup, demanding significantly higher performance. Drawing from more than 200 million miles of fully autonomous experience, we engineer our compute around three non-negotiable requirements:
