Alphabet's Waymo buys thousands more self-driving minivans

Описание: Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car unit, is set to buy thousands more Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans, the companies announced today.
The deal, made between Google's parent company Alphabet and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is set to expand Waymo's fleet, with first deliveries beginning at the end of 2018.
The self-driving, ride-hailing service says the additional vehicles will support Waymo as it expands to more cities across the US, with its first publicly-offered service set to launch in Phoenix, Arizona later this year.
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Waymo recently unveiled a self-driving minivan that it hopes could revolutionise the way we travel. It showed off the technology at the closely-guarded 'fake town' dubbed The Castle, 120 miles southeast of San Francisco
The number of purchased vehicles has not been disclosed by either party, nor has the value of the deal, but since Fiat Chrysler's recommended starting retail price for the 2018 Fiat Chrysler hybrid is set at $39,995, and if Waymo's order is in the 1000s, the deal is worth at least $40 million.
According to Reuters, the deal could put pressure on Uber and General Motors to speed up their efforts to start their own self-driving, ride-hailing services.
Driverless cars such as Waymo's automobile work using sensor technology to detect structures and obstacles.
Waymo uses LIDAR - light detection and ranging- sensor technology.
In LIDAR scanning, one or more lasers send out short pulses, which bounce back when they hit an obstacle.
These sensors constantly scan the surrounding areas looking for information, acting as the 'eyes' of the car.
Fiat Chrysler has already provided Waymo with 600 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans refitted for self-driving testing.
'Our partnership with Waymo continues to grow and strengthen; this represents the latest sign of our commitment to this technology,' Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a statement.
Waymo launched its Phoenix test program in November 2017, and the service it set to officially launch in Phoenix later this year.
At first, passengers will be accompanied in the back seat by a Waymo employee, but eventually the passengers will travel alone in the robotic car.
The service will start free, but Waymo expects at some point to start charging for rides.
First to use the service will be those who are already part of the company's public trial already underway in Phoenix.
Last week, Waymo began testing its self-driving service in Atlanta, Georgia, making it the 25th US city Waymo has tested its service in.
Among other cities the service is being tested in include San Francisco, California, Detroit, Michigan and Kirkland, Washington.