Waymo self-driving trucks hit the road in Texas
After deploying its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica prototypes to map roads, Waymo has sent its trucks to Texas interstates.
To Texas!
Texas will see more of Waymo in the months and years to come. On Tuesday, Alphabet's self-driving car division said it's officially ready to deploy its autonomous trucks in the Lone Star state.
The deployments follows months of Waymo testing its Chrysler Pacifica-based autonomous car prototypes on Texas roads to map areas for the self-driving trucks. With mapping, the trucks will test along I-10, I-20 and I-45. The interstates are ripe for "promising commercial routes" across the state, Waymo said. The company added Texas has a very high freight volume, which makes it a prime area to test autonomous vehicles .
Waymo isn't the only big name hitting the roads in Texas. Earlier this year, TuSimple marched ahead with the first stage of its autonomous freight network. Stage 1 sees TuSimple trucks on routes through Texas and other southwestern states, with more areas of the country to be added through 2024.
But Waymo hasn't been idle this year, either. It previously announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler to build self-driving Ram vans, and Volvo hitched up with the company to work on an autonomous ride-hailing vehicle.
