Uber and Alphabet have now started offering robotaxi rides in the American city of Atlanta as part of their strategy to expand the service in the U.S.
In this way, Waymo’s robotaxis, owned by Alphabet, are available through the Uber app and provide service within a 160 square kilometer radius around Atlanta, but they do not yet travel on highways or even to the roads near the airport.
The vehicles feature Waymo’s autonomous driving technology, known as Waymo Driver, which is integrated into electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs.
Waymo’s robotaxis in Atlanta and other American cities, such as Austin, where the service arrived in March, operate without any human supervision on board, using Lidar sensors and sophisticated radars that are not used in the current robotaxi from Tesla, which began experimental rides in Austin last weekend.
Elon Musk’s brand, previously seen as a pioneer in autonomous vehicles, is now facing strong competition from Waymo, as well as Chinese rivals like Baidu’s Apollo Go and WeRide, which also has a partnership with Uber.
In the cities of Atlanta and Austin, Waymo rides are available only through the Uber app, while in other cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, passengers book their rides on the Waymo One app. Currently, Waymo has over 1,500 autonomous vehicles in its fleet available in the U.S.
