The American technology company that grew out of Google, Waymo, began to receive the first passengers in its new autonomous vehicle called Ojai, developed in cooperation with China’s Zeekro. After months of testing in which company employees had the opportunity to try fully autonomous driving, the project is moving into a new phase where selected US citizens will have the opportunity to try this technology for free.
Robotaxis in the full sense
The vehicle has been designed from the outset with a focus on users and is envisioned as an autonomous taxi transportation platform that provides a unique travel experience. The interior of the Ojai vehicle was designed with the aim of creating a spacious environment reminiscent of a mobile living room. Entry is facilitated by a low step and a completely flat floor, while the doors open in a manner similar to that of an elevator. Passengers have at their disposal three large LED screens through which they can personalize the parameters of the trip, including music and temperature inside the cabin.
Although the Ojai brings a completely new silhouette to city streets, the technology that drives the vehicle is an evolution of the existing Waymo Driver system. This system has so far successfully recorded more than 20 million fully autonomous rides in more than 11 cities across the US. Ojai will be the first vehicle to represent the sixth generation of this technology, which will enable operations in cities with snowy weather conditions and further business expansion, Waymo announced.
Plans for expansion
The company is currently working intensively on increasing production capacity at its factory in the city of Mesa, Arizona. The goal is to reach the production of several tens of thousands of units per year in order to enable the expansion of the network at the national level. In the first phase, free rides will be available to select users in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles to gather feedback.
After the initial phase, Waymo plans to gradually include more passengers and expand the service to new locations. New destinations include Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego. The expansion to these cities will precede the full opening of the service to the general public, which is planned for later this year.