Waymo robotaxis makes 100,000 trips a week

Waymo robotaxis no longer needs drivers.Image: Cornerstone

Self-driving taxis are now a reality in at least three U.S. cities. Google’s sister company Waymo has surpassed 100,000 rides a week, and will soon be able to take advantage of the cheaper technology.

Robotics company Waymo has reached another milestone: Its cars are now making more than 100,000 rides with passengers per week. The Google sister company broke the 50,000 mark just in May. The service then became available to anyone in San Francisco with no waiting list. Waymo is also active in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

The company’s cars are expensive because of the computers, cameras and sensors they require, but Waymo is working to cut costs. The next generation of vehicles and software will need just 13 cameras instead of the previous 29. The number of laser radars that scan the area around the cars is being reduced from five to four.

Waymo’s sixth-generation system will now be integrated into Chinese company Geely’s Zeekr electric vehicles. Waymo is currently on the road in converted Jaguar iPace vehicles, which are also battery-powered.

New robotaxi on road tests

Waymo is particularly advanced in developing self-driving software and transporting passengers in driverless robotic taxis in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

The new Zeekr vehicle is currently being tested with safety drivers behind the wheel. Waymo has not yet provided any information on when it will be integrated into commercial fleets. Waymo CEO Satish Jayachandran told CNBC that he assumes the final two generations of the system will be on the road side by side. The company has several hundred Jaguars in operation.

There are hardly any competitors to Waymo.

Waymo currently has virtually no competition in the robotaxi space. General Motors’ Cruise was on a rapid expansion path, but it grounded its vehicles for months after a pedestrian was dragged several feet by one of its vehicles in San Francisco. Cruise’s vehicles are gradually returning to the road. Amazon’s Zoox is still working on launching driverless taxi rides in Las Vegas.

Tesla also wants to show off a prototype of an autonomous vehicle in October. However, it could be years before the car hits the road. In addition, many experts are skeptical because Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously wanted to ditch laser radars for cost reasons, and wants to achieve autonomy only using cameras.

(Democratic Action Party/Environmental Protection Agency)

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