The road trip consists of about 10 vehicles driving around some Houston neighborhoods, including Midtown, Norhill and Greenway, and the Interstate 45, Interstate 10 and Interstate 69 highways. The vehicles will first be driven manually and then autonomously with a driver present behind the wheel, according to a Waymo representative.
Waymo says its goal is to test its technology in new cities and understand how Houstonians travel on the city's roadways. Company representatives plan to meet with residents and learn their transportation needs.
In other cities, Waymo teams have worked directly with local officials and first responders. The company also meets with local organizations that focus on accessibility considerations.
The road trip will be completed by the end of summer.
Waymo's self-driving car is similar to other autonomous vehicles with its lidar, camera and radar sensors, and artificial intelligence software.
In Texas, Waymo currently operates ride-hailing operations in Austin. The driverless vehicles also operate in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Initially, Waymo was one of the many autonomous vehicle companies that tested 18-wheeler trucks on I-45 between Dallas and Houston. However, the company pulled back on the autonomous truck tests in the state to focus its efforts and investments on ride-hailing, a decision made after encountering growth and increased rider demand, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Waymo issued a voluntary recall earlier this month of more than 1,200 self-driving vehicles equipped with the fifth-generation automated driving system, following reports of collisions with barriers such as chains and gates, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. No injuries were reported.
The company said it resolved the issue through a software update within the fleet before the report was filed. California's KNTV reported that federal law still requires a formal recall when a safety-related defect has been identified, regardless of whether a fix was deployed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into Waymo in May 2024, following reports of incidents involving the software, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The Times also obtained data from Waymo showing their driverless vehicles had 81% fewer airbag deployments, 78% fewer injury-causing crashes and 62% fewer police-reported crashes than human-driven vehicles going the same distance.
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