The self-driving car Waymo might be on board to face Tesla in the market. The news came out as Waymo launched driverless vehicles between Downtown Phoenix and Sky Harbor International Airport.
The option to book the rides was made available from December 16, 2022, onwards.
Alphabet Inc has earlier hinted about the launching of no-driver vehicles in San Francisco. The company is still on wait to get approved to charge the rider-only cars in San Francisco. As of now, the company has ridden to their own employees, for guests, and also for particular chosen individuals in society.
Tekedra Mawakana, the Co-CEO of Waymo had said that they were ready to begin introducing the Waymo Driver in fully autonomous mode, which would be without a specialist behind the wheel.
He visions the introduction of this vehicle into the city as a major step on their path to deploying a fully autonomous commercial service. Although the question of when would be driverless vehicles appear on streets was not answered then.
Earlier the Waymo self-driving cars were rolling with a human safety driver in the city. Later it was permitted by the authorities to launch fully driverless cars on the street.
The service would be opening up completely before the public soon. The car is being popularized as Waymo robotaxi.
Back in 2018, the company announced the launching of the Waymo One. The people who were allowed to ride in it were those who have already participated in the test drive programs of Waymo.
They were referred to as early riders. Passengers would be enabled to book the rides through an exclusive app and passengers up to 3 adults plus a child would be allowed to travel at a time.
What Is Waymo?
What Is Waymo’s Self-Driving Car?
Waymo LLC is an American company that offers the services of autonomous driving technology-embedded cars. It was earlier known as the Google self-driving car project and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Alphabet Inc is the present parent company of Waymo, which is a subsidiary of Google.
The Google self-driving car project was launched in 2009 by Sebastian Thurn and Anthony Levandowski. In 2016, it underwent a restructure and was renamed Waymo.
It is now run under Co- CEOs Dmitri Dolgov and Tekedra Mawakans are the Co-Chief Executive Officers.
The idea of the robotaxis getting real was announced in 2013 as a taxicab service by the company under its then-name and leadership. Google had reportedly envisioned it as a new form of public transportation. In the following year, the company was able to obtain a patent for the advertising fee-funded transportation service.
The early rider program was launched in 2017, by Waymo, in Phoenix, Arizona. It conducted test drives with above 400 signed-up travelers. Following in 2018, the commercial program Waymo One was launched.
An app was released that had pick-up options. One year later, in 2019, autonomous vehicles were launched but with a safe human backup driver. That was the first ever autonomous car service worldwide that functioned with no safety drivers.
The public testing other than the test drive program with signed-up travelers was launched further in 2021. Waymo had hinted about bringing a robotaxi service to Los Angeles, California in October 2022.
It was in November that they passed the regulations of the California Public Utilities Commission and launched the robotaxi in San Francisco, California.
Waymo advertises its autonomous driving technology as one that never gets drunk, tired, or distracted. A unique feature attributed to the Waymo One is that when the car arrives before the passenger two letters that the passengers can pre-choose in front of the car thus making the identification process far easier.
Therefore the passengers no more have to struggle to find their booked rides. It has an option of the full-time availability of a Rider Support agent in case of any query or assistance.
Another feature is the availability of a lot of room. It comes as an advantage for travelers, especially those who are tall. You would no longer need to fold your legs and adjust throughout the ride.
Waymo One is reportedly designed in a way that would help passengers to relax. The car is also maintained under a daily cleaning program which makes no room for concern for hygiene and cleanliness.
Passengers can listen to any podcast or any streaming platform by directly connecting their mobile phone to the speaker system of the car.
How Waymo Is Going To Be A Challenge To Tesla?
Waymo’s street presence is going to be an excellent competition to the world’s leading electric car and advanced AV (automated vehicles) manufacturer, aka Tesla Motors.
The autonomous driving system of Waymo has more advanced features than Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system. Waymo has employed real-time data from LiDAR and such sensors and Tesla uses Mobileye forward-looking camera technology.
Also Read:- Tesla Releases Holiday Update For 2022 With Huge Surprises
Tesla AV Features
Elon Musk’s Tesla AV incorporates the features of:
◾ Autopilot
The autopilot system functions with the autosteering wheel. The autosteering system includes the circular gear and works on the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC).
On autopilot, the driver has to keep their hands on the wheel and have a look at the road, and the system will work on TACC by automatically steering, keeping up the pace with other vehicles, and braking down for slower traffic.
◾ Supercharging
Tesla provides an exclusive supercharging network. Although it is only offered in the United States and other national markets in which Tesla has established a presence.
Earlier the charging was free now it is a paid service that could be paid for by placing a credit card on the auto computer. Payment can be as per kilowatt or per minute.
◾ One Touchscreen
Tesla has a single touchscreen placed as a central screen. This feature is popular for its simple layout that could be used even if you are not techy.
Even the glove compartment could be accessed via buttons on the screen.
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