Self-Driving Car Stories January 20, 2021
Ahead of his term ending, President Trump late this evening issued 143 clemencies. One of the pardons was for Anthony Levandowski, who was convicted of stealing Google’s self-driving technology before departing for Uber.
Self-Driving Car Stories June 25, 2020
Besides operating a ride-hailing service, Waymo is offering its self-driving technology to carmakers. The latest deal sees Waymo partner with the Volvo Car Group.
Self-Driving Car Stories August 27, 2019
Federal prosecutors charge Anthony Levandowski for stealing Google self-driving secrets
Early last year, Waymo reached a nearly quarter billion dollar settlement with Uber that ended an ongoing trial over stolen self-driving technology. Federal prosecutors today charged former Google and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski with theft of the former company’s trade secrets.
Self-Driving Car Stories June 27, 2019
Besides running a public ride service, Waymo is partnering with car makers and working on self-driving trucks to monetize its autonomous technology. The latter effort is getting a boost with the hiring of just over a dozen former Anki engineers.
Self-Driving Car Stories June 20, 2019
Waymo has largely been testing and operating self-driving cars in the United States. The Alphabet division today announced a partnership with Renault and Nissan to bring autonomous vehicles to France, Japan, and other parts of the world.
Self-Driving Car Stories March 20, 2019
Waymo planning 85,000-square-foot Technical Service Center for Mesa, Arizona
In a post on Medium, Waymo has confirmed massive expansion plans for a Technical Service Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Self-Driving Car Stories February 13, 2019
One metric to rank self-driving technology and advancement is by looking at the rate of disengagements. California mandates that companies testing in the state report this figure every year and Waymo shows a marked decrease in 2018 while driving more miles.
Self-Driving Car Stories February 5, 2019
Waymo reportedly in talks with Renault-Nissan Alliance on self-driving partnership
Besides offering a Lyft and Uber competitor, Waymo is also exploring self-driving trucks as it makes its technology available to carmakers in order to monetize its decade-long work on autonomy. A report today revealed a possible partnership with the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance.
Self-Driving Car Stories December 31, 2018
The advent of any new technology is accompanied with complaints, as seen with Wing’s delivery drones, but in the case of self-driving cars there have been more radical expressions of discontent. As Waymo tests and operates vehicles in Phoenix, some Arizona residents have taken to threatening or even damaging the cars.
Self-Driving Car Stories December 5, 2018
Nine years since the Google Self-Driving Car Project began and over 10 million autonomous miles later, the company today announced the launch of Waymo One. The Alphabet division is launching the first public self-driving service in Phoenix, Arizona and fully detailing how hailing an autonomous vehicle works.
Self-Driving Car Stories November 27, 2018
Waymo hires former NTSB chair to be first Chief Safety Officer
Waymo is slated to launch a public self-driving car service in Phoenix sometime in the next two months. Ahead of that, the Alphabet company is hiring both a Chief Safety Officer and a Chief Business Officer.
Self-Driving Car Stories November 14, 2018
For the past year, Waymo has been testing an autonomous ride service in Phoenix, Arizona ahead of public availability. CEO John Krafcik last night revealed that a launch is coming in the next two months, while another report details how the Alphabet company will be directly competing against Lyft and Uber.
Self-Driving Car Stories November 6, 2018
Waymo just announced that it was granted permission to autonomously test vehicles in California. Though widely regarded as having the lead in self-driving, the Alphabet division still has accidents. However, the latest was the fault of the car’s safety driver.
Self-Driving Car Stories July 31, 2018
Waymo is gearing up for the self-driving future by exploring how the new technology impacts existing infrastructure and creates new experiences. The latest involves a partnership with an Arizona public transportation system to have autonomous vehicles solve the “last mile” challenge.
Self-Driving Car Stories July 25, 2018
Waymo announced in the past month that it’s driving a million miles roughly every month, while its Phoenix pilot has 400 daily riders. That year-long program is revealing insights about people’s first interactions with autonomous vehicles, with the Alphabet division today announcing new partnerships with local businesses.
Self-Driving Car Stories July 20, 2018
Waymo autonomously drives one million miles in a month, 25K miles per day
Waymo is set to launch a public ride sharing service later this year, with the pilot program hitting the one year mark last month. The Alphabet division today announced its latest milestone of autonomously driving eight million miles since its inception as Google’s Self-Driving Car project.
Self-Driving Car Stories June 13, 2018
Last April, Waymo launched an Early Rider program in Arizona to let the public experience self-driving cars to get to places. Ahead of a commercial launch, the Alphabet division has detailed what it’s learned in a year about operating an autonomous ride service.
Self-Driving Car Stories May 31, 2018
After ordering thousands of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in January, Waymo is drastically expanding its self-driving fleet with an 62,000 more vehicles. It comes ahead of the Alphabet division’s first ride service this year, while the company is also in discussions to allow others to sell cars that feature its autonomous technology.
Self-Driving Car Stories May 30, 2018
Widely regarded as the leader in autonomous vehicles, Waymo is slated to launch a public ride service later this year in Arizona. To build public awareness for the Uber/Lyft competitor and its technology, the Alphabet division appears to be embarking on an advertising campaign with the first ad going live today.
Self-Driving Car Stories May 4, 2018
Reports are coming in this afternoon of an accident involving a Waymo Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The crash in Chandler, Arizona only resulted in minor injuries, with early accounts suggesting that the autonomous vehicle was not at fault.
Self-Driving Car Stories March 5, 2018
Waymo is widely regarded as the leader in self-driving, so much so that Uber is willing to partner with the Alphabet division to supply autonomous vehicles for its ride service. This news comes following Uber’s settlement last month, as well as the company’s less combative stance.
Self-Driving Car Stories February 28, 2018
Reaching a settlement with Uber earlier this month, Waymo’s latest technological milestone is driving 1 million miles in under 3 months for a grand total of 5 million. Meanwhile, the Alphabet division has released a 360 degree video that shows what its vehicles are seeing in real-time.
Self-Driving Car Stories February 9, 2018
On the fifth day of the Waymo v. Uber trial in San Francisco, the two tech giants announced that they’ve reached a settlement. The case has officially been dismissed with Uber paying the Alphabet division approximately a quarter of a billion dollars.
Self-Driving Car Stories January 29, 2018
Waymo’s 2017 culminated with the announcement that its fully autonomous public ride service was coming soon to Arizona. The Alphabet division is now continuing that momentum with the purchase of more self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans.
Self-Driving Car Stories January 22, 2018
Just over a week after news of Waymo returning to San Francisco to train its autonomous fleet, the Alphabet division has announced a new city. The self-driving Chrysler Pacifica will soon be tested on the roads of Atlanta, Georgia.
Self-Driving Car Stories January 12, 2018
Waymo made great strides throughout 2017 that culminated with the announcement that a public ride service is coming soon to Phoenix. Now, Alphabet’s self-driving division is returning to San Francisco to test its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica vehicles.
Self-Driving Car Stories November 28, 2017
The Waymo case against Uber was due to begin in October, but was delayed to give the Alphabet division more time to examine last-minute evidence. Rescheduled to begin next week, the trial has again been postponed after information and other bombshell allegations that Uber withheld have surfaced.
Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have driven 4M miles, last million over past six months
Back in May, Alphabet’s Waymo announced that its autonomous vehicles have driven three million miles on public roads since the program’s inception in 2009. Six months later, that total has increased to four million miles.
Self-Driving Car Stories November 7, 2017
Following eight years of development and a recent public awareness campaign, Waymo’s self-driving cars are now transporting passengers without a human behind the wheel. These fully autonomous rides started in mid-October and in the coming months will expand to the public as part of a ride-hailing service.
Self-Driving Car Stories October 12, 2017
Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber was surprising on a number of fronts, including Google and Alphabet’s normal hesitancy towards suits. However, as it stated, Waymo found Uber’s actions a particularly large affront. Reuters has now discovered what Waymo is demanding from Uber in settlement talks to stop the case from going to trial.
Self-Driving Car Stories October 9, 2017
With Waymo rumored to launch a ride-hailing service in the coming months, the Alphabet division is launching a public education campaign about self-driving cars. First rolling out in Arizona, Waymo wants to inform the world about the advantages of autonomous vehicles.
Self-Driving Car Stories September 15, 2017
Lawsuits are always fascinating in what information gets brought to light as part of the proceedings, and Google’s are no different. One inadvertent slip-up has revealed that Google spent $1.1 billion developing its autonomous technology from 2009 to 2015.
Self-Driving Car Stories September 13, 2017
Back in June, Waymo was rumored to be working on self-driving semi trucks, with images of such a vehicle emerging later that month. Meanwhile, the Alphabet division also began exploring a ride-sharing service in Phoenix this year.
During an interview today, CEO John Krafcik confirmed Waymo’s work on both and how their autonomous technology might first come to market through either of those uses.
Self-Driving Car Stories August 23, 2017
While real-world experience is important for training self-driving cars, virtual driving is increasingly playing a bigger and bigger role for Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division. This Carcraft virtualization works in tandem with a “secret base” known as Castle where Waymo has built a city that can quickly be reconfigured to different testing scenarios.
Self-Driving Car Stories July 11, 2017
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car company, has been test-driving its custom Chrysler Pacifica minivans in Phoenix, Arizona for the last couple of months. This public-facing testing is to help teach Waymo’s cars and minivans how to drive independently on public streets. Now, the company has been working with a local police and fire department to train the self-driving minivans to better recognize and react to emergency vehicles…
Self-Driving Car Stories July 10, 2017
This past Friday saw a flurry of developments in Waymo’s case against Uber, including the Alphabet company toning down its patent infringement claims to focus on trade secret theft. As part of the upcoming October trial, a magistrate judge has granted Uber the ability to depose Larry Page.
Self-Driving Car Stories July 7, 2017
At the insistence of the presiding U.S. District Judge, Waymo has reduced the number of patent-infringement claims it is waging against Uber to all but one. Rather, the Alphabet division (via Bloomberg) will be focusing on the theft of trade secrets in its upcoming trial.
Self-Driving Car Stories May 15, 2017
Interior
At Google I/O this week, Audi and Volvo will show off infotainment systems in their cars built around the Android operating system. To be clear, these aren’t one of the 300 Android Auto compatible car models that have launched since 2014. expand full story
Self-Driving Car Stories May 14, 2017
Waymo has been telegraphing over the past few months that its autonomous technology is ready for wider use. Now, the Alphabet division has signed a deal with Lyft to boost its effort and bring self-driving cars into the mainstream.
Self-Driving Car Stories April 25, 2017
Last week, we reported on Electrek that by adding 300 Chevy Bolt EV to its self-driving test fleet, GM was on its way to having the biggest captive self-driving test fleet in the world, but Waymo just crushed that dream today.
Waymo, formerly Google’s self-driving effort and now an official Alphabet company, announced that it is deploying 500 self-driving Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan in Phoenix. Interestingly, it’s not only about gathering data from driving since they will also give actual rides to the public through a new program. expand full story
Self-Driving Car Stories April 6, 2017
The last time we talked about Google’s former self-driving car head Chris Urmson was back in the summer of 2016, and since then, he has gone on to found a stealth (also self-driving-related) startup by the name of Aurora Innovation. Now, SEC filings (via Axios) reveal that the startup has raised over $3 million in venture capital…
Self-Driving Car Stories February 13, 2017
Alphabet’s self-driving car unit hasn’t been a stranger to the inconvenience of constantly rotating staff, but now we’re hearing about one interesting piece of Waymo’s situation in particular that helps explain recent trouble retaining talent. According to a new report out of Bloomberg, early staffers were paid in an unusual way that later severely inflated compensation and led to exodus of early staff…
Self-Driving Car Stories January 9, 2017
At the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, Waymo CEO John Krafcik went into detail about Google’s self-driving technology and its new in-house built sensor suite. He also revealed that the fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans announced last month will hit the road by the end of January (via The Verge).
Self-Driving Car Stories December 19, 2016
In October, we got our first look through spy shots at the Chrysler Pacifica minivans that Google has been outfitting with its self-driving technology. Today, Chrysler and Waymo, the new Alphabet company created out of Google’s self-driving effort, have officially unveiled the final design of a Chrysler Pacifica with self-driving hardware. expand full story
Self-Driving Car Stories December 13, 2016
Google has announced today at a small press event in San Francisco, California that its self-driving car project is spinning off into its own company and getting a new name: Waymo. This news follows a report from earlier today that Google has backed off plans for radical self-driving cars in run-up to its launch…
An electric self-driving Chrysler Pacifica is Google’s first confirmed partnership
Google has long said that it has no plans to manufacture self-driving cars itself, instead partnering with auto makers, but it had been thought that it might press ahead with cars without steering wheels or pedals. However, a new report from The Information suggests that parent company Alphabet has now ‘backed off’ these plans in favor of something more conventional.
The report also echoes a much earlier one on the company’s intentions for the self-driving car project …
Self-Driving Car Stories October 9, 2016
While Tesla’s fleet recently reached 222 million miles driven on Autopilot in about a year, Google’s fleet of self-driving cars just passed the 2-million miles mark last month after 7 years on the road. As we previously discussed, Tesla’s Autopilot miles are not really equivalent to Google’s self-driving miles, but it still gives us a good indication of the speed at which each company is deploying their semi-autonomous and autonomous programs.
Now Google is about to speed up its effort by deploying a lot more vehicles through its partnership with Fiat-Chrysler to build a fleet of self-driving Pacifica, Chrysler’s new plug-in hybrid minivan. The first few prototypes were spotted in Mountain View over the weekend. expand full story
Self-Driving Car Stories September 23, 2016
Google’s self-driving cars are no stranger to accidents, but rarely are the autonomous cars at fault and rarely do those accidents cause any significant damage. Today, it seems, may be an exception for the latter case, with one of the Mountain View company’s Lexus self-driving vehicles sustaining major damage in an accident involving a commercial van…
