Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company owned by Alphabet Inc., is taking a major step forward by expanding its self-driving services to include highway travel. The company has been testing its self-driving cars on city streets for over a decade, but now it is ready to tackle the challenges of highway driving.
Waymo has been gradually expanding its services, starting with autonomous rides around the clock in San Francisco and recently expanding to include tens of thousands of riders in the coverage area. The company has also opened services at Phoenix’s airport, partnered with Uber, and expanded operations in Los Angeles.
This latest development, however, marks a significant milestone for Waymo. In a recent blog post, the company announced that it has been working towards highway driving for a year and now its employees can take fully autonomous rides on highways without a safety driver. The employees are encouraged to provide feedback on their experiences to further improve the technology.
While city streets present various challenges like pedestrians and stoplights, highway driving adds a new level of complexity. Waymo believes that including highways in its self-driving services will decrease route times, especially for rides from the airport, potentially cutting travel time in half.
Waymo’s decision to expand its services to highways is backed by its strong safety record and experience in building and operating self-driving trucks on highways. The company is confident in the capabilities of its autonomous technology and aims to convince the public of its potential to make roads safer.
As Waymo continues to scale its operations, it faces the ongoing challenge of building trust and convincing skeptics about the reliability of self-driving technology. The success of companies like Waymo in creating a sustainable business out of self-driving cars will determine the future of autonomous transportation.
The expansion of self-driving services to include highway travel is a significant step towards a future where robotaxis can be a widely used and trusted mode of transportation. Waymo’s dedication to continuously improving its technology and addressing new challenges showcases its commitment to paving the way for a safer and more efficient transportation system.
The source of the article is from the blog mendozaextremo.com.ar