Revs Institute to Feature Waymo’s “Firefly” vehicle
First fully autonomous passenger vehicle to drive on public roads joins over 100 of some of the most significant cars in history at Revs Institute®, Naples, Florida.
The first self-driving passenger vehicle to drive on public roads, Waymo’s now retired Firefly joins over 100 of some of the most significant cars in history at Revs Institute®, Naples, Florida. The Firefly completed the first-ever autonomous trip on public roads in Austin, Texas in October 2015.
Revs Institute seeks to foster a new level of understanding for the status of the automobile as a cultural icon and foremost agent of change and human progress. The Waymo donation marks the prominence of the museum as a world-renowned repository for automotive technological milestones.
“Having arguably the earliest autonomous car at Revs Institute, whether or not autonomy becomes a major thing, is directly on point to our mission,” says museum Founder, Miles Collier.
Trailblazing automobiles from history are displayed at the museum. These cars are chosen for their aesthetic, technological, or ground-breaking excellence.
The internal combustion engine dominated human mobility in the 20th century. But now, electric and driverless automobiles could offer another major technological evolution:
“The plug-in electric automobile is back from the wilderness and this time it probably will win. The Firefly is an exciting example of driverless technology, a possible way
forward in transforming personal transportation as we know it. And it is the first such attempt,” explains Collier.
The Firefly represents an important step in Waymo’s journey of over ten years, developing selfdriving technology. In 2014, Waymo (then the Google self-driving car project) wanted to
explore what a fully self-driving vehicle could look like, so they created the prototype, nicknamed “Firefly,” that was designed from the ground up to be fully self-driving.
For Waymo, the donation of this experimental car represents an important step in its mission to develop the World’s Most Experienced Driver™.
“We’re excited to partner with Revs Institute to share the journey of self-driving technology with curious audiences of all ages, and inspire tomorrow’s mobility visionaries, engineers, and designers,” says YooJung Ahn, Waymo’s Head of Design. “I’m thrilled to see the Firefly continue on as a self-driving icon, the first fully autonomous passenger vehicle on public roads.”
*Revs Institute gratefully acknowledges the insights and commitment of our late friend, Paul Ingrassia. Paul’s gracious help led to the realization of this permanent exhibit opening to the
public on February 22nd, 2020.
About Revs Institute
Widely regarded as one of the top automotive museums in the world, Revs Institute®, in Naples, Florida, USA, is dedicated to the study of the automobile. It exists to foster a new level of understanding of the automobile, not only as a technological device, but as an important agent for social and economic change.
Housed in the museum are the Miles Collier Collections of over 100 influential automobiles that meet rigid standards for historic significance, rarity, technical, aesthetic or social significance. Revs Institute also has an extensive library and archive of artifacts, books, periodicals, photos, ephemera, brochures, advertisements and multilingual technical publications.
The library is available as a research resource to all those interested in automotive history. Revs Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, housed in an 80,000 square foot, purpose-built facility.
For more information, including hours, tour times, and ticket prices, visit revsinstitute.org or call (+1) 239-687-7387. Advance Reservation Only. Regrettably, walk-up visitors cannot be accommodated.
About Waymo
Waymo is a self-driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has been focused on improving transportation for all people by building the World’s Most Experienced Driver™. To date, Waymo has driven over 20 million miles autonomously on public roads across 25 U.S. cities and conducted over 10 billion miles of simulation testing. For more, visit www.waymo.com
Revs Institute contact: Mark Vargas, [email protected] (+1) 239-687-7387
Waymo contact: Sandy Karp, [email protected]
