Waymo‘s autonomous vehicles (AV) officially entered Austin roads this week without a safety operator after months of testing. Austin is the fourth city in which the company has implemented their driverless cars.
The Waymo Driver will shuttle employees within 43 miles of the city, including downtown, the company said. Rides for the public will become available at a later date, according to Waymo. There is currently a waitlist for those who want to be one of the first to participate in the ride-hailing service, Waymo One.
Originally, Waymo started as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, with the goal of developing AVs. Over the years, the project evolved and made significant advancements in self-driving technology.
Waymo’s cars have undergone extensive testing on public roads, accumulating millions of miles of driving experience. They most recently were able to start charging for rides in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This next advancement in local AVs comes after a similar car tech company, Cruise, suspended their autonomous operations in Austin and beyond. They are facing federal inquiry for pedestrian accidents in San Francisco, where Waymo is also currently under investigation for a crash with a cyclist.
Cruise also had operational difficulties in Austin, causing an extreme traffic jam in West Campus last year. Although Texas passed regulations for AVs at the state level in 2017 and 2021, this preempts local authority from intervening. Even though the city of Austin can’t regulate the Waymo Driver or any other AV, city officials are willing to work with the companies on an individual basis.
Waymo has developed its own proprietary hardware and software systems for self-driving vehicles, including sensors, computer vision algorithms and artificial intelligence technology. One of its co-CEOs, Tekedra Mawakana, will discuss the company’s multi-city safety plan during South by Southwest next week.
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Photo courtesy of Waymo
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