This new Google company led by CEO John Krafcik, exists under the Google parent company Alphabet. Waymo is responsible for developing self-driving technology and will explore opportunities in trucking, logistics and automaker partnerships.
Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit Waymo is now working on developing self-driving trucks. Waymo, which is looking to expand its self-driving car efforts, expects autonomous vehicles to be able to take over longer distance trucking in the coming years, while allowing human drivers to handle local pickup and delivery routes.
“We’re taking our eight years of experience in building self-driving hardware and software and conducting a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.
Other companies have also been working on self-driving trucks. Ride services company Uber Technologies is working on autonomous trucking through its Otto unit, which it acquired last year.
