Gabriel Walker
Mar 06, 2024
The image shows a Jaguar I-Pace, Waymo One's cab. — Waymo
Waymo One, the US-based driverless ride-haling service, has begun fully autonomous testing of its services in Austin in a bid to expand its operations across all the US states.
The company's decision to come to Austin comes after it successfully launched its service in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in the past few months.
Launching the ride-hailing service in Austin was announced by Waymo in August last year as to be the fourth state among various others which the company has long aimed for.
Read more: Waymo's robotaxi service to hit the streets in Los Angeles
First ever people to embrace driverless rides in Jaguar I-Pace vehicles will be the company employees. The footage below displays what Waymo recorded from the camera propped on the radar set atop the vehicle.
The full-fledged availability of cab-booking service is something the company attained in 2024, or around the end of the year 2023, as in 2023 the US-based company was engrossed in testing its operation to ensure that its autonomous service is reliable, not encountering any malfunctions or mishap, and be deemed as a safer commuting medium compared to the one wherein manning the vehicle is indispensable (non-autonomous vehicles).
The primary objective of the company behind introducing this technology is inherent in its emphasis to normalise nicely and be adaptable to new environments.
The area where Waymo is testing its autonomous vehicles, the Jaguar I-Pace, is 43 square miles in Austin, including the “heart of downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, Hyde Park and more.”
Waymo One in 2016 had conducted in Austin the “world’s first fully driverless ride on public roads — no police escort, no closed course, and most importantly, no test driver” with the help of the Firefly prototype.
Moreover, to launch its operations in the San Francisco Peninsula and Los Angeles, Waymo also received the approval from the regulatory entity this month after its operations were inspected thoroughly.
