Waymo Starts Selling Sensors to Lower Cost of Self-Driving Cars

Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, is getting into the sensor business.

Waymo is set on Wednesday to begin selling the laser-mapping sensors used on its driverless vehicles to other companies—as long as the customers don’t compete with its core robotaxi business. The sensors, known as lidar, shoot lasers off objects to determine what’s nearby. The next generation of warehouse robots, security systems, and even autonomous tractors could all be built with this technology.