This Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, photo provided by Waymo shows a Chrysler Pacifica minivan equipped with Waymo's self-driving car technology, being tested with the company's employees as a biker and a pedestrian at Waymo's facility in Atwater, Calif. Waymo, hatched from a Google project started eight years ago, showed off its progress Monday during a rare peek at a closely guarded testing facility located 120 miles southeast of San Francisco where its robots complete their equivalent to driver's education. (Julia Wang/Waymo via AP)
A bicyclist pedalled alongside the road and a pedestrian wandered into the crosswalk, as a self-driving minivan headed through a maze of roads in a desolate landscape. As the vehicle turned right, its steering wheel rotated above the empty driver's seat.
Autonomous car tests usually involve a safety driver poised to take control. But this was a closed course, a 91-acre former military base in Merced County that Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, has repurposed to teach its robot cars the tricks of the road. It was showing that the cars are indeed driverless, able to navigate complex situations without any hiccups.
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
