"A year after launching a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide and partner Uber can finally call that service driverless. The companies said the commercial robotaxi service, which will no longer have a human safety operator behind the wheel, is open to the public and will start with routes on Yas Island, a tourist district that is home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1 racing circuit."
"Robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi will work similarly to Uber's partnership with Waymo in Austin. Uber riders that select Uber Comfort or UberX in Abu Dhabi may be matched with a WeRide robotaxi. Riders who want to increase their chances of being matched with a fully autonomous vehicle can select the "Autonomous" option in the Uber app. Uber and WeRide are also working with fleet operator partner Tawasul."
"The launch comes a month after WeRide secured a federal permit from the United Arab Emirates to conduct fully driverless robotaxi commercial operations. WeRide and Uber plan to extend driverless services to cover additional areas in Abu Dhabi's city center. "Today's fully autonomous launch in Abu Dhabi represents a historic transportation milestone, as the first driverless AV deployment outside of the U.S. or China," Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's head of autonomous mobility and delivery, said in a statement."
WeRide and Uber operate a fully driverless commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi that no longer requires a human safety operator. Initial operations run on routes on Yas Island, with plans to expand into Abu Dhabi's city center. Uber riders selecting Uber Comfort or UberX may be matched with a WeRide robotaxi, and riders can choose the "Autonomous" option to increase matching chances. The deployment follows a federal UAE permit allowing fully driverless commercial operations. Uber has formed partnerships with multiple autonomous-vehicle firms globally and is expanding self-driving applications across mobility, delivery, and trucking.
Read at TechCrunch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]