{"id":342604,"date":"2017-06-02T21:33:34","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T13:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1498874"},"modified":"2017-06-02T21:33:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T13:33:34","slug":"alphabets-waymo-is-also-exploring-self-driving-trucking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/alphabets-waymo-is-also-exploring-self-driving-trucking\/","title":{"rendered":"Alphabet\u2019s Waymo is also exploring self-driving trucking"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Alphabet-owned Waymo, the autonomous driving technology that began life as Google\u2019s self-driving car project, is evaluating a move into self-driving trucking. The company told BuzzFeed<\/a> that it\u2019s currently conducting a \u201ctechnical exploration\u201d of how its \u201ctechnology can integrate into a truck,\u201d a test which involves use of a single truck, being driven only by people in order to collect data at this stage.<\/p>\n

Waymo has not talked about any specific interest in the world of autonomous trucking prior to now, but one of its former employees, Anthony Levandowski, founded a self-driving transport trucking company called Otto upon his departure. Levandowski\u2019s company was acquired by Uber, which put the former Google employee in charge of its self-driving engineering operations, but he was fired earlier this week for continually refusing to comply with Uber\u2019s own internal investigation related to a Waymo suit that accused him of stealing Google employees and trade secrets.<\/p>\n

Self-driving trucking is considered one of the lower-hanging fruits of the self-driving industry, since it involves relatively uncomplicated navigation of long stretches of highway driving. A hybrid model, in which a human driver is still present and ready to take over once trucks enter city driving scenarios, is a popular option being pursued in the sector as a way to make practical commercial use of the technology much more easily attainable. A startup called Embark recently debuted with this model<\/a>, and is approved to test autonomous truck tech on Nevada roads.<\/p>\n

Waymo recently kicked off public trials of an on-demand autonomous ride hailing service in Phoenix, Arizona, using its current generation self-driving Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Alphabet-owned Waymo, the autonomous driving technology that began life as Google’s self-driving car project, is evaluating a move into self-driving trucking. The company told BuzzFeed that it’s currently conducting a “technical exploration” of how its “technology can integrate into a truck,” a test which involves use of a single truck, being driven only… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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