Waymo Completes First Fully Driverless Taxi Ride in San Francisco
Waymo achieves a major milestone by completing its first completely driverless ride in San Francisco using a specially equipped Jaguar I-Pace. The company builds on previous experience in Phoenix to safely navigate the complex city streets without a human behind the wheel.
Waymo achieves a major milestone by completing its first completely driverless taxi ride in San Francisco using a specially equipped Jaguar I-Pace. Although the company operates autonomous vehicles in the city since 2021, this marks the first time a car navigates the streets without a safety driver behind the wheel.
CEO Tekedra Mawakana expresses excitement about bringing rider-only technology to the city that many Waymo employees call home. The company applies valuable lessons learned from its fully autonomous service in Phoenix and recent testing with San Francisco Trusted Testers to ensure a safe launch for its first employee riders.
A released video of the milestone drive shows a split screen of the normal camera view and the vehicle's detailed perception system. The advanced sensors clearly detect all surrounding road users in high resolution, even capturing the moving legs of cyclists as they pedal through the city.