Waymo Spotted in New York City
The first news of possible additional cities where Waymo plans to launch its fleet of robot taxis, alongside Phoenix in Arizona and San Francisco in California, came a few weeks ago when the first glossy photos of a Waymo One surfaced in New York City. But now there are the first sightings of New Yorkers seeing a Waymo Jaguar iPace on the streets of New York. Like this one on West Houston Street, spotted by Twitter user David Axelrod.
In order to start a robotaxi service in a region, high-precision navigation maps must first be created. To do this, the robotaxis are sent on capture runs throughout the city and region so that the navigation maps can be created. The sensors, which include 29 cameras as well as half a dozen lidars, radars and ultrasonic sensors, detect such elements as sidewalk edges, street signs, lane markings, traffic lights and all sorts of other relevant objects.
This activity could be an indication that a robotaxi service will soon begin in parts of New York, although Waymo is keeping mum on exact information.
This article was also published in German.
