Waymo Reaches 20 Million Autonomous Miles While Tackling San Francisco Streets
Waymo's self-driving technology reaches a major milestone of 20 million real-world miles as it intensifies testing in the complex environment of San Francisco. The Alphabet subsidiary also expands its autonomous trucking operations with a new hub in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Waymo's autonomous vehicles officially log more than 20 million miles on public roads, along with an impressive 20 billion miles in simulation. The Alphabet subsidiary relies on a combination of LiDAR, radar, and cameras to generate a detailed 3D view of the vehicle's surroundings that humans can easily understand. This advanced sensor array allows the Waymo Driver AI to spot small, distant objects like an open truck door or a person jumping out to deliver a package.
The company ramps up its testing efforts in San Francisco, where its fleet now drives over 100,000 miles every week. Navigating the city's narrow streets, steep hills, and complex intersections serves as an ideal testing ground for the technology. Waymo Driver adapts to local driving behaviors, such as understanding which lane to use at specific intersections and matching the slower speeds of other cars climbing steep slopes.
Beyond its passenger vehicle milestones, Waymo expands its autonomous trucking ambitions by building a new hub in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and partnering with Ryder for fleet management. Although fully autonomous driving remains several years away from becoming mainstream, these significant strides show that Waymo continues to aggressively develop and refine its self-driving technology.