Apple Hires High-Profile Senior Waymo Engineer for Self-Driving Car Project

Apple has hired Jaime Waydo, an autonomous vehicle expert who previously worked as a senior engineer at Google's Waymo, reports The Information. An Apple spokesperson confirmed the hiring, but declined to provide details on what she would be working on.

Waydo, who served as head of systems engineering at Waymo, was "instrumental," according to former colleagues that spoke to The Information. She was in charge of verifying the safety of Waymo's prototypes and provided input on when it was safe enough to launch on-the-road tests in Phoenix in 2016.

lexussuvselfdriving2
Prior to working at Waymo, Waydo was a senior engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more than a decade, where she helped develop a rover vehicle that has driven on Mars.

The Information speculates that Apple's hiring of Waydo could indicate that it is making progress towards launching a prototype vehicle, but the report also says that the car project continues to suffer from a "lack of communication among teams."

Apple originally had ambitious self-driving vehicle plans that included a full autonomous vehicle, but those plans were scaled back and Apple shifted focus to autonomous driving software. Apple has been testing Lexus vehicles equipped with its autonomous driving software since April 2017.

In May, Apple signed a deal with Volkswagen to use Volkswagen vans for its on-campus shuttle program called "PAIL," which is designed to transport employees around its various campuses and office buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Volkswagens will be autonomous, powered by Apple's self-driving software.

Apple's self-driving shuttle program has been described as behind schedule and "consuming nearly all of the car team's attention," with the company having no clear idea of what it will do with the autonomous driving project beyond the shuttle efforts.

Related Roundup: Apple Car

Top Rated Comments

OddyOh Avatar
69 months ago
Waydo worked for Waymo. Weird.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Return Zero Avatar
69 months ago
Waydo worked for Waymo. Weird.
I guess her name should be Waydid now...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
69 months ago
I don't want an Apple car. I want an Apple computer that doesn't suck. Apple has lost its way.
They need to rename this site macwhiners.com. Insufferable.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
morjesta Avatar
69 months ago
With all the restrictions Apple puts on fixing their phones by 3rd parties. I can imagine, "Oops, flat tire? Well you can only use Apple proprietary tire or we will deactivate your car" And with the planned obsolescence, your car will be forced to be upgraded every 2 years. And careful with the software updates, cause it will throttle your top-speed due to degraded batteries.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RoobyRoobyRoo Avatar
69 months ago
I don’t get where Apple is going with this project. If they’re not going to build an Apple Car what’s the point.
I think the prevailing idea right now is that they create the software and license it to manufacturers, which avoids them having to deal with the mountain of problems related to trying to actually release a vehicle while still getting them a foothold in the market of autonomous vehicles.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M.PaulCezanne Avatar
69 months ago
They aren't going to buy Tesla because Tesla is not profitable and is in danger of bankruptcy, frankly.

Apple doesn't do no profit.
Yeah, leave that to Amazon.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 17 With StandBy, Live Voicemail, Improved Autocorrect, FaceTime Video Messages and Tons More

Monday September 18, 2023 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the latest operating system updates that are designed for the iPhone and iPad. As with all of Apple's software updates, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 are available for free. iOS 17 is compatible with the iPhone XR/iPhone XS and later, while iPadOS 17 runs on the iPad mini 5 and later, the iPad 6 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, the second-generation 12.9-inch...
flighty standby

Best Apps With New iOS 17 and watchOS 10 Features

Monday September 18, 2023 3:02 pm PDT by
With the release of a new operating system, there are multiple features and design elements for developers to adopt. Now that iOS 17 is out, many major apps are getting interesting updates today, which we've rounded up below. watchOS 10 also has a new design language, so there are a range of Apple Watch updates to check out too. Flighty (Free, Premium Subscription) Popular flight tracking...