Waymo and Jaguar will build up to 20,000 self-driving electric SUVs
Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover have inked a deal that will add tens of thousands of all-electric I-Pace SUVs to the Alphabet unit's growing lineup of self-driving taxis. The I-Pace, which made its global debut earlier this month, is not as much of a people-mover as Waymo's Chrysler Pacifica minivans, but it will serve as a more high-end ride for those willing to pay a premium for their driverless transportation.
The first prototype I-Pace with Waymo's self-driving technology will hit the road for public testing at the end of 2018, and officially become part of Waymo's commercial ride-hailing service starting in 2020. Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover's engineers will work in tandem to build these cars to be self-driving from the start, rather than retrofitting them after they come off the assembly line. Long-term, the companies say they plan to build up to 20,000 vehicles in the first two years of production, with the goal of serving a potential 1 million trips a day. It's unclear how much money would be trading hands under the deal.
Related: Waymo Orders Thousands More Chrysler Pacifica Minivans for Driverless Fleet
Google/Waymo Announces Testing of Self-Driving Trucks in Atlanta, Georgia
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https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/30/16948356/waymo-google-fiat-chrysler-pacfica-minivan-self-driving
Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, has reached a deal with one of Detroit's Big Three automakers to dramatically expand its fleet of autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced today that it would supply "thousands" of additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymo, with the first deliveries starting at the end of 2018.
Neither Waymo nor FCA would disclose the specific number of vehicles that were bought, nor the amount of money that was trading hands. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan starts at $39,995. A thousand minivans would cost $40 million, so this was at the very least an eight-figure deal.
Waymo currently has 600 of FCA's minivans in its fleet, some of which are used to shuttle real people around for its Early Rider program in Arizona. The first 100 were delivered when the partnership was announced in May 2016, and an additional 500 were delivered in 2017. The minivans are plug-in hybrid variants with Waymo's self-driving hardware and software built in. The companies co-staff a facility in Michigan, near FCA's US headquarters, to engineer the vehicles. The company also owns a fleet of self-driving Lexus RX SUVs that is has been phasing out in favor of the new minivans. (The cute "Firefly" prototypes were also phased out last year.)
Also at Ars Technica and Bloomberg.
Previously: Apple Expands Self-Driving Fleet From 3 to 27 Cars
Waymo officially expands self-driving effort into trucks
Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving company born out of Google X, is seen by many as the leader in the field of self-driving.
After focusing on autonomous passenger cars to soon launch a self-driving ride-hailing service, the company is now expanding the effort to trucks. The company has been known to have been working on a truck program since last summer, but they confirmed it today in a blog post.
[...] Now the program is expanding to Atlanta, Georgia, which they will make the home of Google's logistical operations. From there, Waymo will ship cargo to Google's data centers. They say that you will be able to see Waymo's blue trucks on the road as soon as next week as part of the pilot program
Also at TechCrunch, Ars Technica, and Reuters.
(Score: 1, Troll) by c0lo on Wednesday March 28 2018, @12:52AM (6 children)
Public testing for a period of about 2 years. What could possibly go wrong?
(a pat on my back for moving in an isolated outer suburb and using the train for commute. Otherwise, I'd need to get myself an armored vehicle for the same level of protection)
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:09AM (4 children)
Waymo on Uber crash: Our car would have been able to handle it [mercurynews.com]
It's plausible that "bad boy" Uber has made the driverless industry look dangerous when the circumstances surrounding the crash could actually be unique to Uber:
Uber’s need for self-driving cars before running out of money may endanger the entire industry [qz.com]
Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Were Struggling Before Arizona Crash [nytimes.com]
So a company well known for corporate misconduct, disdain for regulation, and illegal activities appears to have rushed its driverless program. Google/Waymo could be in a far better position to deploy safe driverless cars.
That's not to say that "perfected" driverless cars will cause no crashes or pedestrian deaths. But the Uber death video showed that the LIDAR didn't look like it was even being used whatsoever, and the lone test driver was not paying attention, whereas other companies are reportedly using a driver + engineer.
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(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:27AM (3 children)
Could. Will it?
Are 2 years enough to answer to this question?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Troll) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:40AM (1 child)
Look at TFA. Google is laying down the cash. They are going for it. You just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the
deathsshow.Also, I habitually use "weasel words" like "could" now.
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(Score: 1, Flamebait) by c0lo on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:49AM
FTFY 👍
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Wednesday March 28 2018, @06:01AM
Two years to deploy a general function AI of near-human capability?
I'm guessing no.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:45AM
Here's another one: Uber’s use of fewer safety sensors prompts questions after Arizona crash [reuters.com]
They dumbed down the LIDAR system. That could save a buck or two, but that's not worth it when LIDAR costs are falling an order of magnitude or more [soylentnews.org]. Use what works today, worry about cost as the (rushed, in Uber's case) rollout approaches.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:00AM (6 children)
A company that plans to deploy a fleet of Jaguars cannot be taken seriously.
In any case a taxi driven by a human is what an intelligent person will use for the near term.
Why ?
Because who the hell wants to risk his life using a service which WILL have glitches for years to come ?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:17AM (1 child)
Why's that?
You do realize that alongside the $70k+ Jaguars, they are going to use $27k+ Chrysler Pacificas? And probably other vehicles as well.
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(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:38AM
"You do realize that alongside the $70k+ Jaguars, they are going to use $27k+ Chrysler Pacificas?"
-
Well, at least their taste in vehicles is consistently bad !
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:38AM (1 child)
They will probably spread the high-end/luxury cars around, but concentrate them in higher income cities, areas, and near airports for business travelers (compare to UberBLACK or UberLUX).
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(Score: 1, Troll) by c0lo on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:55AM
For the affluent peeps: consider using the Waymo luxury cars only after Trump passes the estate tax cuts.
Meanwhile, the Uber's are cheaper and safer for the passenger!
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday March 28 2018, @07:51AM (1 child)
On the positive side, if the car is ever in an accident you can always blame a mechanical failure. With a Jag, no one would ever doubt it.
There is a long running joke among auto-mechanics... If you buy a Jaguar, always buy two; that way, you have one to drive while the other is in the shop for repairs.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:28PM
The way I remember it: with a Jaguar, at least you have somewhere comfortable to sit whilst you wait for the mechanic to turn up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:57AM (3 children)
Be extra-careful when crossing the street at night.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @02:00AM (2 children)
How about: Use the crosswalk or die crossing the street.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @07:27AM (1 child)
As long as the crosswalk has raiseable bollards to stop any driverless cars, fine.
Otherwise, a crosswalk is even less of an obstacle than a pedestrian.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @07:34AM
The Uber killer on wheels is at least capable of slowing down before intersections, where the crosswalks typically are. So crossing there instead of some random spot along the median could give you a higher chance of survival.
But it is a moot point now that Uber has suspended all testing in Arizona, California, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @03:12AM (2 children)
What happens to all them Pacificas Waymo bought?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @03:58AM
They will use both.
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(Score: 1) by Sulla on Wednesday March 28 2018, @04:00AM
Into the trash heap where they belong
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam