Waymo Brings Self-Driving Trucks to Phoenix-Area Freeways
Google’s self-driving vehicle division is bringing autonomous trucks to the Phoenix area. Waymo announced May 29 that its self-driving tractor-trailers will start driving on freeways this week and will expand to more routes over time.
May 30, 2019Waymo Inches Forward as Self-Driving Frontrunner With 1,000 Riders
The first major self-driving taxi service needed six months to reach 1,000 customers, another sign that growth may be slow as companies try to build businesses around autonomous vehicles.
Alphabet’s Waymo to Revive Detroit Plant With Self-Driving Cars
Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo has picked an idled American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. facility in Detroit as the site where it will equip vehicles made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive with self-driving technology.
April 23, 2019Uber’s Investment in Autonomous Tech Tops $1 Billion Since 2015
Uber Technologies Inc. has spent more than $1 billion on autonomous vehicle technology to compete with giants such as Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and General Motors Co.
April 12, 2019Waymo Begins Marketing Self-Driving Sensors
Waymo on March 6 began selling the laser-mapping sensors used on its driverless vehicles to other companies — as long as the customers don’t compete with its core robotaxi business. The sensors, known as lidar, shoot lasers off objects to determine what is nearby.
Waymo Announces Plan for Autonomous-Vehicle Factory in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. — Google self-driving car spinoff Waymo said Jan. 22 that it will bring a factory to Michigan, creating up to 400 jobs at what it describes as the world’s first plant “100%” dedicated to the mass production of autonomous vehicles.
Levandowski Launches New Venture Pronto to Offer Level 2 Automation to Class 8 Truckers
Autonomous vehicle pioneer Anthony Levandowski has formed a new software company called Pronto. Its first aftermarket product, Copilot, provides camera-based self-driving technology for the Class 8 market.
Waymo, Uber Driverless Projects Make Scanning Sensors Cheaper
Google’s Waymo, Uber and carmakers GM and Mercedes-Benz are among the companies working to put driverless vehicles in showrooms. That competition also should help lower prices that can reach $75,000 apiece for the sensors that scan a car’s surrounding environment so it knows how to drive itself.
Waymo Program in Arizona Focuses on Commuters Using Public Transit
Self-driving vehicles typically are described as a disruptive technology that will make traditional modes of public transportation obsolete, but a recent announcement by Chandler-based Waymo is challenging that narrative.
Why GM and Waymo Rely on Allies in Self-Driving Race
An automaker like General Motors Co. brings two advantages to the development of self-driving vehicles: knowledge of how to build a car and the factories to do it. Silicon Valley’s biggest entrants into autonomous vehicles, particularly Alphabet Inc., have legions of coders and piles of cash.