Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving vehicle unit is to build a plant in southeast Michigan dedicated to transforming vehicles into autonomous cars, the company has announced.

The new facility will be dedicated to mass production of level 4 autonomous vehicles, which can pilot themselves without a human driver under certain conditions, and will be the first such factory in the world, according to Waymo.

“In the US, the auto industry is synonymous with Michigan. Auto manufacturing has created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state and built an economic engine that helps fuel the entire country. Today, Waymo is excited to announce that we’ll grow our business in Michigan, as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation [MEDC] voted to approve our effort to establish our manufacturing presence to build our self-driving vehicles in the state, creating hundreds of jobs along the way,” Waymo announced in a Medium post.

Continue reading Waymo to build self-driving cars in Michigan at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Waymo has passed a major milestone in its self-driving research program after announcing that its vehicles have driven more than 10 million miles of public road testing.

The former Google self-driving car project, which was founded in 2009, has been driving on roads of 25 US cities in the states of California, Arizona and Michigan – all with differing road and traffic conditions and environments.

Its 10 million miles of real-world driving has also been coupled with seven billion miles driven in a virtual environment, which can recreate any scenario its cars encounter on real roads to test, refine and validate its software.

Continue reading Waymo completes 10 million miles of public road testing at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Waymo has set up a subsidiary called Huimo Business Consulting in Shanghai, according to a business registration filing.

This is a major development as China is a main battleground for AVs despite its restrictive legislation and because most of Google’s services (both Google and Waymo are part of Alphabet Inc) are blocked in China.

The document shows that the company’s activities will include the design and testing of AV parts, in addition to business and logistics consultancy.

Waymo has confirmed that it has set up this legal entity in China and that it has several people working there.

Continue reading Waymo opens Shanghai subsidiary at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Waymo is launching a pilot project in the Phoenix, Arizona, area – where it partners with local public transit authority Valley Metro – to facilitate access to public transport by offering first- and last-mile services using its self-driving prototypes.

Initially, the service will only be available to Valley Metro employees, but it will later on expand to include Valley Metro RideChoice travellers, a program that covers groups traditionally underserved by public transit.

Users will be able to use the Waymo app to be taken to the nearest public transportation option.

By Illya Verpraet

Continue reading Waymo partners with Phoenix public transport to provide last-mile AV services at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is expanding its partnership with driverless car firm Waymo, supplying up to 62,000 additional Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids to the project. The two companies are also engaged in discussions about licensing Waymo’s AV technology for use in retail FCA cars.

Vehicle deliveries are scheduled to start in late 2018, coinciding with Waymo’s plans to launch its self-driving transportation service that will allow the public to use Waymo’s app to request a vehicle.

Waymo currently operates its AVs without a safety vehicle in Phoenix, Arizona, and has been granted a permit to also do so on some California roads.

Continue reading Waymo to add up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacificas to its driverless fleet at ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International.