Another Year And Still No Fully Autonomous Vehicles - When Will They Be A Reality?

In December, Waymo LLC, the leading driverless-car company, brought out the world’s first commercial robo-taxi service. But for now, the service is only available to about 400 test families in suburban Phoenix, and each of its converted Chrysler minivans still has a person at the wheel in case anything goes awry.

“It’s a pretty glaring indication that we’re not there yet,” says Matthew Johnson-Roberson, co-director of the University of Michigan’s Ford Center for Autonomous Vehicles, who’s working with automakers to develop robot rides. Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc. and recently valued at $250 billion by Jefferies Research LLC, declined to comment. In a blog post, Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said the human safety drivers were at work in Arizona to make riders feel more comfortable.

MDarringer - 12/31/2018 2:04:13 PM

0 Boost

10-12 years before the human beta test dummies are no longer dying.

Truthy - 12/31/2018 2:04:57 PM

+2 Boost

When they quit running over cyclists. The tech will not be ready for many years.

MDarringer - 12/31/2018 2:09:28 PM

-1 Boost

When the pig behind the non-wheel can stuff pizza into her face without worrying about running over and killing a pedestrian....

PUGPROUD - 1/1/2019 6:42:40 AM

+2 Boost

When the technology works, when the moral programing decisions pass legal muster and acceptance by the public, when the government passes appropriate laws, when liability is clearly assigned, when the insurance policies are rewritten, when enough customers trust the systems to work...

wilfred - 1/1/2019 6:47:26 PM

0 Boost

And that’s why we need company like Tesla for real world tests... hmmm, tesla, testing...

I just hope they will be around long enough to pay the settlements for the failed tests.

cidflekken - 1/2/2019 12:04:11 AM

+2 Boost

Don’t even care. I have no interest in not driving my car. Sure it would be great for really long trips but that’s what planes are for.

SanJoseDriver - 1/2/2019 12:47:20 AM

-1 Boost

They exist you just can't buy them yet. I think it will be 2 years before you can use Level 4/5 autonomy on a consumer car. Waymo and others will have Level 4 ride-sharing service next year for at least 4 metros.

zlives - 1/2/2019 7:29:57 PM

+1 Boost

the levels bit is just BS, its either autonomous or its not. either the driver is responsible or the car manufacturer is.

MDarringer - 1/2/2019 7:51:05 PM

+1 Boost

BINGO