Important Innovations Collection

Partner to Develop Self-Driving Semi Trucks                                                            Source:  Daimler Trucks and Waymo Driverless Big Rigs Daimler and Alphabet/Google Waymo announced today that they are collaborating on the development of self-driving Class 8 semi trucks.  Specifically, they plan on incorporating Waymo's automated system into Daimler's Freightliner Cascadia semi trucks.  These are very big rigs capable of hauling 33,000 pounds. Big Win for Waymo This is a big win for Waymo which has been trying to collaborate with major, established automakers.  Waymo CEO John Krafcik, during a conference call about the deal, said it will take some time to develop the braking, steering and other technologies needed to bring fully self-driving semi trucks to market in high volum...

Reopens to the Public in Phoenix After COVID                                                       Source:  Waymo Robo Taxis Hitting the Road Waymo's autonomous, robo taxi ride hailing service is open to the public in Phoenix.  The company has put years of autonomous driving research on the line to operate Waymo as a revenue producing business.  Waymo has a serious tech pedigree.  It is a business unit of Google's parent company Alphabet. Driving Plans With No Human Attendants Today, Waymo driverless minivans with no human attendants on board resumed operations for members of Waymo One service in Phoenix. In the spring, operations were suspended because of the COVID pandemic.  Now, within a few weeks, there will be open access for anyone who downloads the smartphone app and wants to hail a Waymo ride with...

Eye-Catching ZOOX Wins California Testing Permit                                                  Source:  ZOOX ZOOX On the Road With No Human Drivers Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is aggressively expanding and investing in self-driving technology.  And, it just scored a big win in California. Amazon acquired the autonomous car maker ZOOX in June.  ZOOX just was awarded permission by California state authorities a test permit to drive its self-driving cars on the roads without a human, backup driver onboard.  As you can see in the image, the ZOOX is an eye-catching autonomous vehicle. Next Steps For ZOOX ZOOX will be testing two self-driving vehicles with no human drivers onboard on designated streets near its Foster City, California headquarters.  Other major players like Google's Alphabet parent company...

COVID-19 Accelerating Autonomous Deliveries Source:  Waymo Big Investor Money Pouring In COVID-19 is accelerating a big shift in the global autonomous driving industry.  Business is booming in the autonomous delivery of packages, not the autonomous driving of people.  Companies like self-driving technology company Waymo are enjoying a huge boom in its business of package deliveries and a big influx of capital from investors. Fresh Capital Big players like Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, are getting a big jump in funding.  Waymo now has $3 billion in fresh capital after expanding its first funding round.  It just raised $750 million in mid May.  According to Reuters' analysis, investors have poured $6 billion into two dozen companies involved in autonomous deliveries in the past seven months.  The technology ranges from drones to big, autonomous trucks. Global Phenomenon:  Future of Travel.   The gro...