Waymo shifting robotic cars into next gear
Reporters ride in vehicles equipped with company’s self-driving technology
ATWATER, CALIF. — Google’s selfdriving car spinoff is accelerating efforts to convince the public that its technology is almost ready to safely transport people without any human assistance at all.
Waymo, hatched from a Google project started eight years ago, showed off its progress this week during a rare peek at a closely guarded testing facility located southeast of San Francisco. That’s where its robots complete their equivalent of driver’s education.
The tour included giving reporters rides in Chrysler Pacifica minivans travelling through faux neighbourhoods and expressways that Waymo has built on a former Air Force base.
The minivans smoothly cruised the roads — driver’s seat empty and passengers in the back — at speeds of up to 56 km/h. By contrast, the Waymo-powered minivans that have been driving volunteer riders in the Phoenix area still use safety drivers to take over control if something goes wrong.
Waymo’s real goal is to get to the point where people in cars are nothing but passengers.
Waymo CEO John Krafcik said the company will be making some cars and freight trucks totally driverless fairly soon, though he didn’t provide a specific timetable. “We are really close,” he said. “We are going to do it when we feel like we are ready.”
Waymo hopes to infuse its technology into ride-hailing services such as its current partner, Lyft, and big-rig trucking companies. It also intends to license its automated system to automakers such as Fiat Chrysler, which is already using it in 100 Pacifica minivans.