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Waymo Tests Autonomous Trucks in Arizona
Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car unit is expanding testing of its autonomous heavy-duty trucks to Arizona.
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Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car unit is expanding testing of its autonomous heavy-duty trucks to Arizona.
The trucks will be tested on Phoenix-area highways carrying various levels of freight. A pair of safety drivers will be onboard to monitor the tests and take control of the vehicles if necessary.
The modified big-rigs are equipped with similar sensors and software that’s used in Waymo’s fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans, which the company has been testing in Arizona and other states for several years.
Waymo briefly tested autonomous trucks in Arizona in 2017. More recently the company has been testing such vehicles in California and Georgia. Those programs include hauling supplies to Google’s data centers in Atlanta.
Waymo didn’t say how many vehicles are in its autonomous truck fleet. But it describes the Phoenix program as being in the advanced testing stage.
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