Americans with experience of driverless cars warming to the idea
A new study conducted by Arizona State University suggests there’s public enthusiasm for greater use of autonomous vehicles. Participants in a six-month experiment among older and disabled residents in the Phoenix metro area said they felt AV services were safe, convenient and even preferable to traditional taxis or ride-share options. The results are part of […]
Waymo welcomes first passengers in San Francisco
Google’s self-driving car division Waymo has announced it is starting a driverless car service in San Francisco called the Waymo One Trusted Tester Programme. It says Trusted Tester is a research-focused programme that, for the first time, will invite San Franciscans to actively help it shape the future of fully autonomous ride-hailing. “We’ve been driving […]
Waymo gets another $2.5bn investment
Google’s driverless car division has announced a further US$2.5 billion (£1.8 billion) of investment. In a blog post, co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov say they’ll use this latest round of investment to “continue advancing the Waymo Driver, as well as continuing to grow our team. “With tens of millions of miles driven on public roads […]
Waymo’s CEO steps down
The boss of Google’s driverless car division, Waymo, is stepping down after five and a half years in charge. In a blog post, John Krafcik (pictured) has written that after an “exhilarating” time leading this team, he’s decided to “kick-off new adventures”. “To start, I’m looking forward to a refresh period, reconnecting with old friends […]
Waymo boss says driverless development harder than “launching a rocket and putting it in orbit”
The CEO of Google’s Waymo driverless car project has admitted that rolling out fully driverless cars is “an extraordinary grind”. John Krafcik told the Financial Times, “I would say it’s a bigger challenge than launching a rocket and putting it in orbit around the Earth . . . because it has to be done safely over and over and […]
Waymo opens fully driverless service in Phoenix
Google’s driverless car division Waymo is opening up its driverless car taxi service to customers across the American city of Phoenix. It’s three years since selected people were able to try out the driverless service in the city, thanks to the company’s investment in high definition maps which allowed the vehicles to navigate journeys in […]
Waymo expands self-driving lorry project
Google’s driverless vehicle division Waymo is opening a new depot in Dallas, Texas to try out a fleet of autonomous 18-wheeler HGVs. The company’s told Forbes Magazine that it will hire local truckers to assist with evaluations on the highway. Forbes adds that the mapping of roads in Texas and New Mexico with high-definition cameras […]
Volvo and Waymo working on electric ride hailing service
Carmaker Volvo has agreed a deal with Google’s driverless car division Waymo to develop an electric driverless ride-hailing service. The companies aim to integrate Waymo’s fully self-driving technology – the Waymo Driver – into what they call “an all-new mobility-focused platform”. Volvo is also including its partners Polestar and Lynk & Co in the project. […]
Waymo resumes driverless testing
Google’s driverless car project Waymo is restarting testing, having suspended it in March to protect employees from Coronavirus. In a blog post on its website it says people in Phoenix, Arizona will see Waymos back on the road Arizonans will begin to see some Waymo vehicles back on the road, “after careful consideration and active […]
Waymo virtually driving 20 million miles a day
Google’s driverless car division Waymo has reached the milestone of simulating a daily total of 20 million miles of autonomous driving on virtual roads as it tries out new scenarios for its software. SiliconAngle.com reports that the testing replicates congested roads, intersections and other challenging driving environments with engineers able to tweak these simulations to make […]
