Autonomous Level 4 is here!

Robotaxis with SAE Level 4 are now used for passenger transportation in several cities both in USA and China.

WASHINGTON, Feb 28, 2022 (Reuters) - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Monday issued permits to self-driving units of General Motors (GM.N) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) to allow for passenger service in autonomous vehicles with safety drivers present.

CPUC said the GM unit Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo are under Drivered Deployment permits authorized to collect fares from passengers and may offer shared rides.


A prerequisite for the economy in the CabiBUS concept is of course the self-driving technology.


Level 4, together with remote control when required, will be fully sufficient for the CabiBUS vehicles to navigate all streets and roads within 100 km (62 miles) around each city, covering most of the daily commuting and trips now made by private, fossil fuel cars.


Swedish Einride is already testing this for trucks and Google Waymo opened its fully driverless service 8 October 2020. General Motors Cruise and others expect to have Robotaxi in full operation around 2023, see below.


Videos

Remember the date, Waymo is officially launching an important part of the Future of Mobility!

The other two, equally important, parts are electric drive and safe shared travel, as in CabiBUS. Let us hope that Waymo soon makes it all happen!

Next Stop for Waymo One: Los Angeles

October 19, 2022

"Los Angeles will be Waymo’s next ride-hailing city, joining Phoenix and San Francisco as we expand to more locations. We’ve gotten to know many LA neighborhoods, including Downtown and Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood and West Hollywood, and we’ll begin driving autonomously in several central districts over the coming months as we prepare to serve Angelenos."


"We’re making it safe and easy for everyone to get around - without the need for anyone in the driver’s seat."


See link to video here



October 2021. Baidu and Pony.ai receive permits to test Robotaxi without driver in a part of Beijing

Bloomberg

The State of the Self-Driving Car Race 2020

Waymo is still the one to beat. But in a post-Covid world, autonomous will enable more of our contactless needs.

From Hyperdrive

15 maj 2020 11:00


"Moving cities forward


We’re a self-driving car service designed for the cities we love."


"Shaping the future together


Cruise vehicles are purpose-built for self-driving at a dedicated GM manufacturing plant. Our cutting-edge hardware and software work seamlessly together to transform the way we all experience transportation."

See on YouTube 100% autonomous drive in San Fransisco already in January 2019, fantastic!

IDTechEx report April 2020

Autonomous Cars and Robotaxis 2020-2040


The report describes that many large vehicle manufacturers plans to launch Level 4 vehicles within 2023!


"The arrival of autonomous driving will revolutionise the way people travel."