In what has the potential to turn the whole issue Topsy-Turvy, Uber has refuted Waymo’s allegations that it is using technologies that originally belonged to the latter and that were stolen by employees who eventually made their way to the former. The cab aggregator has backed itself with a pretty strong argument this time around though. The company has said that it’s in-house, custom technology isn’t ready for roads yet and as such it is still using commercially available LiDAR.
Well, this probably wasn’t an easy confession. Uber literally told the world that it’s in-house tech was not ready, whereas Waymo’s is already part of its cars and is operating out on the roads. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and if this confession can allow Uber to save its neck and continue it’s self-driving program unhindered, well so be it.
The company also said that regardless of whether one of its top executives arrived on-board accompanied by a load of illegally obtained files from Waymo, these were never uploaded to an Uber computer and all the tech the company has, is either its own or has been legally obtained through third party providers.
Speaking on the topic, Uber’s associate general counsel Angela Padilla said:
Waymo’s injunction motion is a misfire: there is no evidence that any of the 14,000 files in question ever touched Uber’s servers and Waymo’s assertion that our multi-lens LiDAR is the same as their single-lens LiDAR is clearly false. If Waymo genuinely thought that Uber was using its secrets, it would not have waited more than five months to seek an injunction. Waymo doesn’t meet the high bar for an injunction, which would stifle our independent innovation—probably Waymo’s goal in the first place.
Uber is openly admitting that it purchases its LiDAR systems from Velodyne. Interestingly, this particular supplier has also worked with Waymo in the past. Also, in total opposition to what the paperwork filed with the Nevada DMV says, Uber claims that it has never deployed a custom LiDAR system in any of its vehicles. If the company manages to convince the judge of all this when the case hits the court in October, it would in all likelihood, be able to continue its program unhindered.
At the center of the case is Anthony Levandowski, who according to Waymo, made off with 14,000 documents that contained details about the technology the company was developing. According to Waymo’s allegations, Levandowski used the tech to start his own venture Otto, which was later acquired by Uber. At present, Levandowski is placed in a key role with regards to Uber’s self-driving efforts.
Uber also argued that its 4 lens LiDAR systems were totally different from Waymo’s single lens ones.
Waymo took one Uber schematic (inadvertently sent to a Waymo employee) and made several assumptions based on that one document to conclude that Uber’s LiDAR used a single-lens design. Waymo could not be more wrong, and Uber’s design could not be more different.
The company has called the paperwork files with Nevada DMV, in which Otto talks about a custom LiDAR, a mistake. Meanwhile, a whole bunch of searches made of Uber personnel and devices have failed to yield anything substantial. It is now up to judge Alsup to rule on whether or not Uber’s self-driving program should be allowed to continue while it is still led by Anthony Levandowski.
