On: The 5th-generation Waymo Driver

[pgodzin]

> With our fifth-generation hardware, we’ve simplified the design and manufacturing process so it can be production-ready, and our latest sensors deliver more performance than ever before, at half the cost of our previous generation.

Has LIDAR just gotten that much cheaper?

[dannyw → pgodzin]

It's not uncommon for new prototype-level technologies to become significantly cheaper when you (i) improve processes and (ii) increase scale.

[azernik → pgodzin]

Yup - on the order of halving in price every two years for equivalent models (https://www.thedrive.com/tech/17297/velodyne-just-cut-the-pr...)

[ec109685 → pgodzin]

They aren’t trying to sell their cars to the general public.