On January 29, Alphabet's self-driving division, Waymo, revealed its intention to extend the testing of its autonomous driving technology to more than 10 new cities by 2025. Following successful trials in various cities, the company underscored the technology's ability to adapt well to diverse environments, prompting the expansion.
Apart from the ongoing testing in Truckee, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Upstate New York, and Tokyo, the expansion will encompass trials in San Diego and Las Vegas, with additional cities yet to be disclosed.
Waymo's spokesperson stated, During these trips, we'll dispatch a limited fleet of vehicles to each city, operated by trained human autonomous specialists who will be in control at all times.
The testing will kick off with manual driving through the busiest and most intricate parts of each city, including downtown areas and highways.
According to The Verge, which was the first to report the news, Waymo plans to deploy less than 10 vehicles in each city, where they will be manually driven for a few months.
In December, Waymo expanded its operations to Miami, Florida, in a move to stay competitive in the market. The company has been under scrutiny from safety regulators following several incidents involving autonomous driving technology.
In October, Waymo announced it had secured new funding led by Google-parent Alphabet to bolster its autonomous ride-hailing service.