Waymo will send robotaxis to new places this winter as it continues to expand.
According to sources, Waymo’s Zeekr autonomous vehicles will go on test drives in Northern California, New York, and Michigan.
Their cold conditions will allow the cars to test new technology, such as sensors that can melt ice and snow.
Waymo often takes its autonomous vehicles on winter road excursions to test them in snowy conditions. In 2017, it was Michigan. Last year, it was Buffalo.
Newsng understands that Waymo’s vehicles cannot operate commercially on highways, but if testing is successful, further expansion may be possible.
Waymo said this week in San Francisco that it is testing self-driving taxis on motorways.
The company did not indicate whether it will send its Zeekr vehicles up north for testing, but it will put both the fifth and sixth generation Driver through their paces. Its hardware for the sixth generation Driver is built for cold settings, including sensors capable of melting snow.
“Most Waymo cars serve riders, some chase storms. Over the coming months, we’ll be testing in Truckee, CA; Upstate New York; and across Michigan–from the Upper Peninsula to the metro Detroit area–to refine our system’s performance in even harsher weather conditions this winter,” the California-based company wrote on its official X handle.
In three cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix—Waymo is the market leader for autonomous taxis.
We earlier reported that Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks have announced a partnership to construct quick electric vehicle chargers at 100 coffee shops along Interstate 5, which stretches from Canada to Mexico.
