Waymo One Partners With Google Maps to Offer Autonomous Rides

Waymo One will be added in the ‘ride-sharing and transit’ tab of the Google Maps app.

By Agencies | Updated: 4 June 2021 12:07 IST

Waymo One Partners With Google Maps to Offer Autonomous Rides

Waymo has improved its technology, which will be used for tackling city's iconic topographical variety

Highlights

Waymo was formed in 2009 as a project within Alphabet's Google unit
The first tests will be with Waymo employees
The company said it has improved its lidar vision system

Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo said on Thursday it had partnered with Google's Maps to let users book fully autonomous ride-hailing services through the app.

The service, called Waymo One, will be added in the "ride-sharing and transit" tabs of the Maps app, Waymo said. Waymo One currently offers fully autonomous rides in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, US.

Waymo, formed in 2009 as a project within Alphabet's Google unit, is widely considered the leader in developing self-driving technology. But it is years away from building large-scale businesses, while rival Tesla has been selling its semi-automated driving system.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Back in February, Waymo said it would begin testing its driverless ride-hailing service on the streets of San Francisco.

The move expands the testing for the autonomous vehicles, that have been in use in the Phoenix, Arizona area since 2017.

The first tests will be with Waymo employees, to gain feedback before expanding to more riders.

Waymo has improved its technology, which will be used for "tackling the city's iconic topographical variety - from rolling hills to sandy ocean highways, tiny side streets to huge freeways, bike lanes to tram tracks, and everything in between," a company blog post said.

The company said it has improved its lidar vision system — that uses lasers to detect surroundings — as well.

"Our highly sensitive cameras can spot traffic lights changing at a long distance... And our cameras and lidar can instantly spot a jaywalker sprinting across our path and act appropriately," the statement said.

It's an all television spectacular this week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, as we discuss 8K, screen sizes, QLED and mini-LED panels — and offer some buying advice. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.