My first Waymo ride: How open research shaped autonomous driving

From DARPA to production, why open datasets like Waymo's accelerate innovation in self-driving technology.

During a visit to Phoenix, AZ, I had my first Waymo ride. A friend’s suggestion came after I’d seen dozens of Waymo vehicles whizzing by.

Initially, I felt some trepidation, but after visiting their website and getting some encouragement from my friend, I decided to give this new mode of transport a try.

I stepped to the curb near my accommodation and opened the Waymo app on my phone. About eight minutes later, a sleek white Jaguar pulled up alongside me. I allowed the app to connect to the car via Bluetooth, and soon enough, the door handle popped up. I opened the car door and took my seat in the rear.

The car’s programming provided instructions on securely fastening my seatbelt. After pressing the “Start Ride” button on the rear console, we set off on our twelve-mile journey to the Franciscan retreat center in Scottsdale. I took another Waymo on the way back to my accommodations.

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Open research foundations in autonomous driving

Waymo is a commercial enterprise, and while it is not open source, its foundations were shaped by an open research culture. Waymo emerged from Google’s self-driving car project (started in 2009), which itself was influenced by DARPA’s autonomous vehicle challenges in the early 2000s.

Waymo contributes to machine learning through its Waymo Open Dataset, which enhances open source ecosystems by offering one of the world’s largest and highest-quality autonomous driving datasets. It allows researchers, developers, and educators to build, benchmark, and innovate without proprietary restrictions.

This dataset promotes advancements in perception, motion prediction, and end-to-end driving research. Collecting autonomous vehicle data is expensive, but open datasets democratize access. The Waymo Open Dataset is licensed under Apache-2.0.

Why openness matters for the future of autonomous vehicles

My first Waymo ride left me with more than just a convenient trip across Phoenix. Sitting in that quiet Jaguar, watching it navigate traffic with precision, I felt connected to a lineage that stretches from DARPA’s early robotics challenges to Google’s pioneering self-driving project.

What impressed me most was realizing how much of this progress has been fueled by the open exchange of knowledge. Waymo’s decision to release its high-quality dataset under a permissive license empowers researchers and developers everywhere to push the field forward. As I stepped out of the vehicle, I felt a renewed appreciation for how far autonomous technology has come and how openness continues to drive it into the future.

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This article is adapted from “The power of openness in self‑driving tech” by Don Watkins, and is republished with permission from the author.