waymo

A Waymo robotaxi got trapped in Chick-fil-A drive-thru

A Waymo robotaxi caused a traffic jam at a Chick-fil-A in Santa Monica, California this week after getting stuck in the fast food restaurant’s drive-thru lane. Waymo confirmed the incident, which was first reported by local broadcast station KTLA 5, to TechCrunch via email. Waymo told TechCrunch that there weren’t any passengers in the robotaxi. […]

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A Waymo robotaxi got trapped in Chick-fil-A drive-through

A Waymo robotaxi caused a traffic jam at a Chick-fil-A in Santa Monica, California, this week after getting stuck in the fast food restaurant’s drive-through lane. Waymo confirmed the incident, which was first reported by local broadcast station KTLA 5, to TechCrunch via email. Waymo told TechCrunch that there weren’t any passengers in the robotaxi.

A Waymo robotaxi got trapped in Chick-fil-A drive-through Read More »

Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out

Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, raising fresh questions about how much of a rider’s behavior inside autonomous vehicles could be repurposed for

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Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, sell ads

Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong.  The draft language reveals Waymo may also share this data to personalize ads, raising fresh questions about

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Waymo’s milestone SFO mapping permit comes with strings attached

Waymo has been given permission to map roadways at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) via a temporary permit — the first step in the Alphabet company’s bid to unlock a potentially lucrative use case for its robotaxis. The temporary permit, which was announced Monday evening by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, kicked off March

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TechCrunch Mobility: Testing the Uber-Waymo robotaxi, Rivian goes hands-free, and Travis Kalanick has AV FOMO 

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! For regular readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you may be wondering, “Why did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?” Folks, we’re moving days in an effort

TechCrunch Mobility: Testing the Uber-Waymo robotaxi, Rivian goes hands-free, and Travis Kalanick has AV FOMO  Read More »

Travis Kalanick thinks Uber screwed up: “Wish we had an autonomous ride-sharing product”

Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, made it clear on Wednesday: he believes the company’s decision to abandon its autonomous driving program was a mistake. Said Kalanick at the Abundance Summit in L.A., “Look, [new management] killed the autonomous car project we had going on. At the time, we were really only behind Waymo

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Waymo expands its robotaxi service across Silicon Valley

Waymo will start offering robotaxi rides to people in its “Waymo One” early rider program in Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, and “parts of Sunnyvale” starting Wednesday, an expansion that will bring its footprint in Silicon Valley to 27 square miles. The Waymo vehicles will be available around-the-clock, and the new territories add to

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