Summary
- Waymo is planning to expand its service and testing by taking a road trip to more than 10 additional cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego
- The company uses road trips to improve its AI, where they bring a small fleet of vehicles to a new city, drive autonomously with human specialists providing feedback, and apply learnings to refine the Waymo Driver’s capabilities
- Waymo is also providing fully autonomous rides for employees in Los Angeles on freeways, with plans to eventually expand this capability to all riders
- The company may launch commercial operations in a few more cities in 2025 and expand its service area in existing markets like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
- Readers can contribute financially to support independent cleantech coverage that accelerates the cleantech revolution, and can also sign up for daily or weekly newsletters for 15 new cleantech stories a day
Article
Waymo is planning to expand its service and testing in 2025 by embarking on a road trip to over 10 additional cities. The company has not disclosed how many cities it will start Robotaxi service in this year, but it is speculated that it will roll out in a few more cities, possibly three. The first cities on the road trip itinerary are Las Vegas and San Diego. Waymo has shared that these road trips help improve the AI of its autonomous driving system, the Waymo Driver. By testing the vehicle in different regions, the company can gather data and insights to enhance the performance of the technology.
During the road trips, Waymo brings a small fleet of vehicles equipped with the Waymo Driver to new cities or revisits familiar ones. Initially, human specialists drive these vehicles manually to provide context for the AI system. Once the Waymo Driver familiarizes itself with the environment, the vehicles can begin driving autonomously. Human specialists provide feedback on the driving experience and flag unique nuances that come with operating in new areas. The engineering team evaluates the performance of the Waymo Driver in a virtual replica of the location to measure its generalizability. Through applied learning from these trips, Waymo can refine the capabilities of the technology and improve its service experience.
Additionally, Waymo is expanding its service for employees in Los Angeles by offering fully autonomous rides on freeways. While this service is currently limited to employees, the company aims to extend this capability to all riders in the future. Waymo views freeways as an essential part of the LA experience and is working towards providing fully autonomous rides to all riders within its expansive service area. This initiative reflects the company’s progress in developing its autonomous driving technology and preparing for broader commercial operations.
Looking ahead to 2025, Waymo is anticipated to have a significant year of expansion. There are expectations for the company to launch commercial operations in a few more cities, expand its service area in existing markets such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and further develop its autonomous driving technology. The progress and expansion of Waymo are crucial in advancing the cleantech revolution and accelerating the adoption of sustainable transportation solutions. As the company continues to innovate and grow, it relies on support from readers and individuals interested in independent cleantech coverage to help drive the evolution of clean technology.
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