Waymo Takes Its Self-Driving Cars to Virginia
Key takeaways
- Drivers will operate the mapping vehicles for now, Waymo says.
- Moving from mapping to a full-blown robotaxi service takes 12 to 18 months and “a lot of money,” he told state government officials.
- Virginia’s Autonomous Driving Work Group is working to understand how policymakers might craft regulations for autonomous vehicles in the state.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Eric Thayer/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Self-driving cars aren’t yet permitted to operate in Virginia. But Alphabet-owned Waymo began transporting its cars to the state last week, a Waymo representative told Virginia officials, to map Arlington and Alexandria, in the northern part of the state.
For most autonomous vehicle companies, mapping, or the creation of sensor-aided and ultra-precise digital representations of streets and the features around them, is the first step required to launch a local robotaxi service. Drivers will operate the mapping vehicles for now, Waymo says.
Ethan Teicher, a spokesperson for Waymo, confirmed the move to WIRED and called it “an important preparatory step should the Commonwealth authorize fully autonomous ride-hailing.” Still, he said, the company does “not currently have plans for a commercial service there.”