Waymo Stories August 24
Alphabet wants to compete with the likes of Lyft and Uber, but it’s been very slow to expand “Waymo One” outside of Phoenix. That’s now changing with the launch of Waymo One Trusted Tester in San Francisco.
Waymo Stories June 3
For the past few years, Waymo has been operating in Phoenix, Arizona, as a fully autonomous ride-hailing service. Those in the Metro Phoenix area will now see Waymo One as an option in Google Maps.
Waymo Stories April 2
The head of Alphabet’s self-driving division surprisingly announced today that he’s leaving the company after five and a half years. Waymo will now be led by co-CEOs.
Waymo Stories March 8
One of the biggest arguments for autonomous vehicles is increasing road safety. Waymo today released a study that used simulations to show how its cars would have responded to real-world fatal crash scenarios.
Waymo Stories March 3
All of Waymo’s passenger vehicles to date have been painted white, thus accentuating the various autonomous sensors. That might be changing in the future as Waymo CEO John Krafcik this evening shared a very sleek Jaguar I-Pace in black.
Waymo Stories February 17
Waymo begins testing autonomous vehicles with riders in San Francisco
After successfully opening Waymo One as a public driverless ride-hailing service in Phoenix, Waymo is beginning to test autonomous vehicles with riders in San Francisco.
Waymo Stories January 20
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.
Waymo Stories January 12
Waymo One adds windshield display to distinguish fleet of identical cars
Unlike other ride-hailing services, all the vehicles currently used for Waymo One are identical. Waymo’s solution for differentiating cars is to add a screen behind the windshield that displays a custom two-letter code.
Waymo Stories October 8, 2020
Since 2017, Waymo has offered a limited access to a sometimes “fully driverless” ride-hailing service, Waymo One, to select residents of Phoenix. Starting today, Waymo’s fully driverless rides will gradually become available to all customers in the Phoenix area.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories March 4, 2020
Earlier this week, Waymo revealed a $2.25 billion external investment round to help expand its offerings. That expansion is also being aided on the technological front, with Waymo today detailing 5th-generation self-driving sensors.
Waymo Stories March 2, 2020
Waymo Stories February 6, 2020
Waymo Content Search can find billions of objects encountered over 20M miles in seconds
As of early 2020, Waymo self-driving vehicles have driven 20 million miles on public roads. That makes for vast amounts of recorded sensor data to improve the autonomous system. Waymo today detailed its Content Search tool and database with billions of encountered road objects.
Waymo Stories December 5, 2019
One year ago, Waymo launched a public self-driving ride service in Phoenix, Arizona. To mark that anniversary, Waymo One is getting an iOS app, while the Alphabet division shared usage details for the Lyft/Uber competitor.
Waymo Stories November 21, 2019
Waymo explains how first responders should handle self-driving cars [Video]
Ahead of more and more self-driving cars appearing on the road, Waymo today published an instructional video on how first responders should interact with its autonomous vehicles in case of roadside emergencies.
Waymo Stories November 7, 2019
Last year, the legal saga between Waymo and Uber came to a close following a $250 million settlement. An “independent software expert” was installed to ensure that the ride-hailing company does not leverage any Alphabet tech for its self-driving cars. Uber may now have to license from Waymo or redesign its vehicles to avoid any further trouble.
Waymo Stories October 10, 2019
Waymo One launched late last year in Phoenix, Arizona as the first public self-driving car service. However, those rides still have a human safety driver behind the wheel that is ready to take over in case of emergencies. The Alphabet company is now getting ready to test “completely driverless Waymo cars.”
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories July 8, 2019
Alphabet’s Waymo has been running its One program in Phoenix for the past several months, with several perks for riders along the way. Today, it’s been revealed that Waymo has been testing out Wi-Fi for riders within its self-driving vehicles.
Waymo Stories July 3, 2019
As Waymo continues its push for a driverless future, the Alphabet company is trying to expand to more regions. This week, the state of California has granted Waymo a permit to transport passengers in its self-driving vehicles.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories May 29, 2019
Waymo’s autonomous technology can be adapted to other vehicles, with the Alphabet company last year detailing work on self-driving trucks. These larger AVs are now returning to Phoenix, Arizona for additional testing.
Waymo Stories May 24, 2019
‘Meet Waymo contest’ offers free trip to ride self-driving cars in Phoenix
Late last year, Waymo launched the first autonomous ride service in Phoenix, Arizona. Before a wider launch, the Alphabet company has the big task of making self-driving cars inviting to the public. Waymo is now launching a contest that includes an all-expenses-paid trip to Phoenix.
Waymo Stories May 7, 2019
With Waymo One last year, the Alphabet division finally began monetizing its decade-long work in autonomous vehicles. Another revenue source for Waymo is making its self-driving cars available on other ride-sharing networks. The company is now partnering with Lyft to provide self-driving cars for riders in Metro Phoenix.
Waymo Stories April 23, 2019
Earlier this year, Waymo announced that it was opening a Michigan factory to retrofit Chrysler Pacificas and Jaguar I-Paces with self-driving tech. The Alphabet division has now selected a factory in Detroit and is planning to make it operational by mid-2019.
Waymo Stories April 16, 2019
At the end of last year, Waymo One launched as the world’s first public self-driving car service. The Android app for Waymo One is now officially available on the Play Store, with the Alphabet division opening a waitlist for Phoenix, Arizona. The app today reveals several details about how the autonomous service will function.
Waymo Stories April 11, 2019
Alphabet’s relationship with Uber is wide-ranging and increasingly contentious. The ridesharing company filed its S1 today ahead of an initial public offering. A number of details about the relationship were revealed, including Uber’s usage of Google Maps and the Waymo threat.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories March 11, 2019
Late last year, Waymo One launched as a self-driving car service in Phoenix after nine years of development. The Alphabet division still has a long rollout ahead of it, but it can begin recouping R&D costs. A new report today details how Waymo is looking for outside investors.
Waymo Stories March 6, 2019
In addition to operating a Lyft/Uber competitor, commercial trucks, and possibly licensing self-driving tech to carmakers, Waymo has another way to monetize its decade-long work on autonomous vehicles (AV). The Alphabet division will begin selling LIDAR sensors to robotic, security, and other companies that don’t directly compete with it.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories January 22, 2019
Late last year, Waymo One launched as Alphabet’s public self-driving car service in Phoenix, thus culminating an almost decade-long research project. Waymo now has to build more cars ahead of future expansion, with the company choosing Michigan to manufacture additional autonomous vehicles.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories October 30, 2018
Earlier this month, Waymo announced that its autonomous vehicles have driven 10 million miles since 2009 across 25 cities in the United States. Now, California has just authorized the Alphabet division to begin driverless testing on public roads.
Waymo Stories October 10, 2018
Alphabet has multiple on-going ride-sharing efforts from Waymo and self-driving vehicles to Waze Carpool. Housed within Google, the latter is expanding its take on ride-sharing across the U.S. today, while the Alphabet company hit a major milestone.
Waymo Stories August 24, 2018
According to a report today out of China Money Network (via TechCrunch), Alphabet subsidiary Waymo has established a subsidiary of its own in China.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
Waymo Stories July 12, 2018
From Electrek:
It sounds like ordering 20,000 vehicles from an automaker gets you on top of the list for deliveries.
Jaguar has now delivered its first production all-electric I-Pace in the US and Waymo got several for testing its autonomous driving technology. expand full story
Waymo 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.
Waymo 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.
