"Waymo, the US driverless car firm, said it hopes to be operating a robotaxi service in London as soon as September this year. The UK government has said it plans to change regulations in the second half of 2026 to enable driverless taxis to operate in the city but has not given a specific date. Waymo said a pilot service will launch in April."
"Greenwood, who attended the Waymo event, said she expected driverless vehicles to make city roads safer. "We know that unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don't get tired, don't get distracted and don't drive under the influence," she said. But she added that autonomous vehicles also had to meet strict safety standards, "including protection from hacking and cyber threats" before they would be allowed on UK roads."
"The Waymo vehicle uses four sensor systems to gather data from the world around it: lidar, vision, radar and microphone. It claims these sensors enable its vehicles to be aware of its surroundings 360 degrees, as far as three football fields ahead and during bad weather. A powerful computer in the boot processes that data and determines the cars actions"
Waymo aims to run a robotaxi service in London as soon as September following an April pilot. The UK plans regulatory changes in the second half of 2026 to enable driverless taxis but has not set a specific operational date. Vehicles are currently driven by safety drivers for mapping; paid service will operate without a human at the wheel. Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said automated vehicles could improve road safety but must meet strict safety and cybersecurity standards. The government estimates the industry could add £42bn by 2035 and create nearly 40,000 jobs. Passengers will hail robotaxis via an app; initial services will exclude airport drop-offs.
Read at www.bbc.com
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