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Waymo is the first Californian company allowed to test robots on public roads without a human driver behind the wheel, the group said Tuesday.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted Waymo a permit allowing up to 40 fully autonomous cars to drive day and night in the streets of the city, rural highways and highways at a maximum posted speed of 65. mph.
The company did not specify when the vehicles could roll. Waymo, like most companies that test autonomous cars, has long been putting drivers and emergency engineers on the front seats of vehicles for safety reasons and collecting data on the performance of the car. The license he's got is the first of its kind in the state.
"Our vehicles can safely handle fog and light rain, and testing under these conditions is included in our license," Waymo said in a blog post. "We will progressively begin driverless testing on city streets in a small area and, over time, expand the area we will be entering as we gain confidence and experience."
The company's Chrysler Pacifica white mini-vans will drop off novice drivers around its headquarters in Mountain View and nearby towns like Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto. Waymo employees will always be on board to start, but not in the driver's seat. Finally, the company will offer rides to the public, as in Arizona.
Prior to expanding beyond the towns of Santa Clara County, Waymo will comply with the requirements of the DMV to inform new communities and submit an application to the DMV.
Waymo, Google's standalone unit, parent company of Google Alphabet, is the founder of the global autonomous car development race, having launched the secret project "Google Moon" launched in 2009. Its success has convinced others that autonomy was achievable. in the near future, prompting automakers, tech companies and startups to inject billions of dollars into what they believe to be a revolution as transformative as the invention of the car itself.
Waymo has been testing its autonomous fleet for years, which now has about a hundred vehicles in California. But, like the other 60 independent driving companies in California, drivers were willing to take control in case of a problem. Nationwide, it tests about 600 cars in 25 cities.
In February, the California DMV finalized regulations for the operation of driverless California cars. Waymo applied for a permit to do so in April.
"California has been working in this direction for a number of years and we will continue to keep public safety in mind as this technology evolves," said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto in a statement.
However, some consumer rights advocates warn that they think robot cars are not ready for the public road and threaten safety. This argument gained credibility as a result of large-scale accidents, including one in Arizona in March, when an autonomous Uber car struck and killed a pedestrian while she had it. detected on the roadway. The car's rescue driver was watching a video, although drivers are expected to remain vigilant.
John Simpson, Privacy Watch and Technology Officer at Consumer Watchdog, described driverless cars as "video games, except that lives would be at stake".
Some states, such as Arizona, where Waymo has been testing truly autonomous cars for more than a year, are already allowing driverless cars. Until now, California only allowed them on private test tracks such as the GoMentum station in Concord and the former Castle Air Base in Merced County, where Waymo is testing.
To give up on human drivers, the DMV requires companies to provide $ 5 million in insurance or bonding and self-certify that their autonomous cars can navigate the roads and have been tested in the areas where they operate. planned operations. Cars must comply with all federal safety regulations. For the moment, this means that the robot cars must be equipped with a steering wheel, a brake pedal and other manual controls, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet published a derogation allowing cars to omit manual commands.
Other California requirements include companies that have remote operators that can communicate with passengers and send recommendations to the car on how to proceed if the robots are blocked. Due to transmission delays, operators do not drive cars remotely. Companies must also have a plan to interact with law enforcement. Waymo released his plan this month; this involves an education for first responders and the opportunity for them to easily contact Waymo's 24/7 helpline.
Waymo's license allows driverless cars to drive only their employees and members of the public who do not pay. The DMV has a separate permit system to offer driverless paid trips.
In the Phoenix area, Waymo offers travel to some 400 households who use an app to call their robot cars during their daily commutes to school, work, parties, etc. Most still use reserve drivers. "Help us shape the future of autonomous cars," says Waymo's website aimed at locals in Arizona, as "beginner cyclists". The company says it is in Arizona that it will be offering for the first time a commercial robotic taxi service.
The company is planning a similar program for early users in California for people living in its planned service area, but has not yet specified when this project will begin.
Carolyn Said is a writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @caid
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