Waymo's autonomous cabs are coming to Silicon Valley
Google has started developing autonomous vehicles in Silicon Valley. Now Waymo is offering its service with autonomous cabs there.
Autonomous Waymo cab in San Francisco.
(Image: Waymo)
Without a driver through Silicon Valley: the robotaxis from Alphabet subsidiary Waymo are now also driving in those places in the US state of California where many of the IT and high-tech companies are based.
The robotaxis are now available to customers in Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos and parts of Sunnyvale. Previously, only the company's employees were able to use the autonomous vehicles in Silicon Valley. The new deployment area covers a total of 70 square kilometers.
Back to where it all began
Today is a special day, according to a post by Waymo on the social media platform X. “We are returning to where the journey began.” There is also a 30-second video with iterations of autonomous driving from the past 16 years.
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However, the service is not yet generally available at launch, but only to residents whose address is within the area of operation. Waymo intends to expand the service over time.
Waymo has been allowed to offer its robotaxi service without restrictions around the clock in San Francisco for a good year and a half, and in Los Angeles since last fall. In addition, Waymo's electric Jaguars drive in Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta – in the latter two in cooperation with Uber. The service has been well received and is to be offered in other US cities in the future.
Videos by heise
Incidents with Waymo vehicles
However, the use of autonomous vehicles in road traffic has not been entirely smooth: at the beginning of 2024, a Waymo vehicle caused an accident with a cyclist, who was slightly injured. In Phoenix, the police stopped a vehicle that was driving on the wrong side of the road and ran a red light.
Opponents of autonomous cabs sometimes stop the vehicles by coning them, i.e., by placing a traffic cone on the hood. The vehicle then stops and a human has to remove the cone. In one extreme case last year, a Waymo vehicle was set on fire.
Our colleagues from c't 3003 tested one of Waymo's cabs in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year.
(wpl)
