Mexican Media Brands
Waymo Leads the Way in California Self-Driving Tests
Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo unit’s fleet of 75 vehicles completed some 352,500 miles in autonomous driving mode in California during a recent 12-month period—nearly three times as many miles as the next highest tester.
Share
Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo unit’s fleet of 75 vehicles completed some 352,500 miles in autonomous driving mode in California during a recent 12-month period—nearly three times as many miles as the next highest tester.
Waymo reported 63 human takeovers—a rate of 0.178 disengagements per 1,000 miles driven—during tests between December 2016 and November 2017. The disengagement rate is down slightly from 2015 and 2016 levels, according to the company.
Waymo’s results compare with 125,000 autonomous miles driven by 96 vehicles operated in California by Cruise Automation, the Silicon Valley startup acquired in 2016 by General Motors Co. Cruise reported 105 disengagements for a rate of 079 per 1,000 miles driven.
No other company reported more than 7,000 miles of autonomous driving on public roads during the period. Another seven companies—including BMW, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen—had permits for the period but didn’t test on public roads.
Licensed testers are required to report mileage and disengagements to the California Dept. of Motor Vehicles. Disengagements fall into six broad categories. They may be “discrepancies” in hardware, software or vehicle perception of its surroundings.
Disengagements also may be triggered when an autonomous vehicle makes an unwanted maneuver or the vehicle encounters reckless behavior by human-driven vehicles nearby.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Things to Know About Cam Grinding
By James Gaffney, Product Engineer, Precision Grinding and Patrick D. Redington, Manager, Precision Grinding Business Unit, Norton Company (Worcester, MA)
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
-
Multiple Choices for Light, High-Performance Chassis
How carbon fiber is utilized is as different as the vehicles on which it is used. From full carbon tubs to partial panels to welded steel tube sandwich structures, the only limitation is imagination.
