Technology
Waymo details onboard computing redundancy and hardware backup systems
The autonomous vehicle company disclosed technical details on how its dual processors, backup braking, and custom chips handle potential failures without human intervention.
The short version
- Waymo revealed details about its sixth-generation onboard computing architecture, featuring dual processing systems running in parallel to prevent single points of failure.
- The vehicle hardware incorporates secondary steering, backup braking systems, and separate power supplies to safely bring robotaxis to a stop if primary systems fail.
- While hardware redundancies guard against physical component failures, software challenges remain a separate operational risk, as highlighted by a past software recall involving 3,871 vehicles.
Key facts
- Waymo disclosed details on its onboard computing system, which uses dual processors running full workloads in parallel so a secondary system can take over immediately if the primary fails.[Fox News]
- The company's sixth-generation sensor system includes 13 cameras, lidar, and radar, with data processed entirely onboard by a custom 5-nanometer chip delivering over 1,000 TOPS of performance.[Fox News]
- Backup steering, secondary braking hardware, and independent power sources are built into the vehicle to maintain control or bring it to a safe stop during critical failures.[Fox News]
- Remote assistance personnel provide contextual information when requested by the automated driving system but do not continuously monitor or remotely drive the vehicles.[Fox News]
- Waymo reported that its safety analysis through March 2026 covered over 220 million fully autonomous miles and showed fewer serious or fatal injury crashes compared to human drivers in similar regions.[Fox News]
What remains uncertain
- Hardware redundancies do not eliminate risks from software interpretation errors or unexpected road situations, such as those that previously caused vehicles to enter closed construction zones.[Fox News]