Volkswagen and Uber join to deploy a fleet of thousands All electricCompletely autonomous robotax.
Companies said in a press release on Thursday that Minivans on id buzz ad will launch In the “multiple” American markets over the next decade, starting with Los Angeles next year. Testing is expected to begin later this year, companies said.
However, initially, vehicles will not be fully autonomous. Human operators will be on board “to help refine technology and ensure security,” the joint statement said.
The fleet will be equipped with sensors and software from my own, a subsidiary for Volkswagen's autonomic mobility.
Before the rollover begins, companies will need to provide appropriate permits and permits from the state of California.
Cooperation marks a major step in Uber's autonomous ambitions and Volkswagen's pressure to commercialize its driving platform. It also comes at a time when more self-driving taxi are hit by the way. WejmoA division without a Google's home company driver, an alphabet, continues to spread to new cities, from Austin to Tokyo.
Return for slave
According to Michael Ramsey, an analyst at research firm Gartner, the concept of robotaxa is starting to make a comeback.
“If you stretch your mind 10 years ago, many companies were pretty bullish for this technology to be widespread by 2020,” he told CNET. “That obviously didn't happen, but now the technology is getting better and it has dropped a lot in the price. I expect that we will start seeing real commercialization next year or two.”
Meanwhile, Tesla is also Work on both slave and so called Robovan-larger autonomous vehicle designed to transport to 20 passengers or carry a cargo. Earlier this week, Tesla tweet That she recently completed over 1,500 trips and 15,000 miles using her full driving vehicles. His supervised driving service is already live for selected Austin staff and the San Francisco Bay area. At its call for earnings on Tuesday, the company said it plans to extend Austin's public service in June.
It is not clear who target other Volkswagen and Uber markets. The companies did not respond immediately to the commentary request.