Is this the "Kitty Hawk moment" driverless car companies have been seeking?
John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo One, announces the launch of a fully autonomous service ride-hailing service to the general public in Phoenix, Arizona.
Beginning today, October 8, we’re excited to open up our fully driverless offering to Waymo One riders. Members of the public service can now take friends and family along on their rides and share their experience with the world. We’ll start with those who are already a part of Waymo One and, over the next several weeks, welcome more people directly into the service through our app (available on Google Play and the App Store).
All Waymo One rides will be 100 percent driverless in the near term, according to Krafcik.
The announcement includes details of Waymo's process of getting to this benchmark achievement, or what Krafcik describes as its search for a "Kitty Hawk moment." The history of autonomous vehicle technology during the pandemic had previously been an up-and-down affair. The launch of Waymo One service to the public would seem, at least, to be a positive incremental step toward an autonomous future.
FULL STORY: Waymo is opening its fully driverless service to the general public in Phoenix
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Waymo, like Google a company of Alphabet Inc., has been offering self-driving ride-hailing service to the public for a year, providing 100,000 rides in the Phoenix area in the process.
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