Waymo Announces Self-Driving Car Breakthrough

The conversation about the future of self-driving cars took an unexpected leap forward today, as Waymo announced its use of fully automated rides—with no human driver present.

1 minute read

November 7, 2017, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

Waymo has come a long ways since the early days of the Google Self-Driving Car project. | Roman Boed / Flickr

Waymo, the self-driving car company under the purview of Google-parent company Alphabet Inc., today announced a dramatic step forward in self-driving car technology.

"Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Waymo CEO John Krafcik said on Tuesday that company technicians are already hailing its Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in and around Phoenix via a mobile app and leaving it to the artificial intelligence operating the vehicles to figure out how to get to requested destinations," reports Alan Ohnsman.

According to Ohnsman, the announcement appears to make Waymo the first of many competitors "to operate an autonomous fleet without safety drivers."

Waymo shared a video announcing the breakthrough on YouTube, which you can watch below. The video also predicts that the public will soon be using self-driving vehicles in their daily lives. A post on Waymo's Medium site also offers more details.

FULL STORY: Our Driverless Future Begins As Waymo Transitions To Robot-Only Chauffeurs

Tuesday, November 7, 2017 in Forbes

Transportation United States Arizona Self-Driving Cars Automated Vehicles Waymo Google Cars Level Four Automation View More

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