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Waymo Puts L.A. on the Robo Map

Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car is mapping high-traffic areas of Los Angeles to help determine if the city would be conducive for future robo-taxi applications.

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Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car is mapping high-traffic areas of Los Angeles to help determine if the city would be conducive for future robo-taxi applications.

 

Three of Waymo’s modified Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans will create detailed high-definition 3D maps of L.A.’s roads, including the popular “Miracle Mile” section, and surrounding landscape. The vehicles will be driven by Waymo employees.

Waymo—which has tested its self-driving vehicles elsewhere in California (San Francisco and Silicon Valley) and Arizona, Michigan, Florida and Washington—has no immediate plans to do so in LA. The company launched its first for-pay autonomous shuttle service (with a backup driver onboard) last December in California.

The company’s permit in California would allow it to operate self-driving cars in L.A. But local regulations that require some shared mobility providers to share data with the city could present a hurdle, media reports note.

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