Waymo is ready for you to test its self-driving cars
Eight years and 2 million miles after Google began to build self-driving car technology, it’s ready for passengers.
Waymo, the search giant’s renamed autonomous car company, will begin taking applications Tuesday from Phoenix-area residents who want to be among the hundreds of riders testing out an expanded fleet of Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid minivans outfitted with Waymo’s myriad autonomous car sensors.
A range of automotive and technology companies have said they aim to produce self-driving cars for ride-hailing programs by around 2020. They include Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Volvo, Nissan and BMW.
But Waymo’s Arizona initiative shows it’s getting a lot closer to the goal.
By licensing its hardware and software to would be ride-hailing companies, Waymo can look to recoup its multiyear investment in the science while ride-hailing start-ups can eliminate the most expensive part of their business model: the driver.
“I’d say our business model on this is TBD (to be determined), and the most important thing that’s going on here is learning more about how people would actually use such a service,” Waymo CEO John Krafcik told USA TODAY a few hours before the announcement. “It’s our first interaction with real people in our cars. This is a big, big step for us.”
Although under Arizona law self-driving cars can be tested without a human safety driver at the wheel, the Pacificas will at least initially have a Waymo employee at the wheel.
“But they’ll be there to help us gather more information about the way people use our rides,” Krafcik says. “The car will be doing all the driving.”
Uber’s self-driving car program was first to pick up passengers in a test program that launched last summer in Pittsburgh. Waymo’s pilot program appears to have a more comprehensive scope.
The expanded program will make use of 600 self-driving Pacificas, a huge increase from the 100 vehicles delivered last year by partner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Krafick’s blog post on the news includes directions on how to sign up for the Phoenix program, which launches after a few months of tests with select residents.
The additional 500 custom Pacificas, which Waymo will then outfit with its sensors, will begin production next month, according to Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.
“The collaboration between FCA and Waymo has been advantageous for both companies as we continue to work together to fully understand the steps needed to bring self-driving vehicles to market,” he said in a statement.