Waymo readies autonomous cars for first international tests in Japan

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Next week, Waymo’s driverless vehicles will begin testing on public roads in Japan for the Alphabet company’s first international trip. Waymo has yet to confirm whether it will eventually launch a commercial robotaxi service in the country, but the company is still celebrating the excursion as a “significant milestone.” Waymo describes it as a simple “road trip” for collecting data about the nuances of Japanese driving, including left-hand traffic and navigating a dense urban environment. The vehicles will be driven manually for the purposes of gathering mapping data and will be managed by a local taxi fleet operator, Nihon Kotsu. About 25 vehicles are being sent, with the first already having been spotted in a parking lot in Tokyo. As noted by the LinkedIn user who posted the pictures, Waymo’s engineers will ha ... Read full article.