- Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:38 am
#112636
Waymo just took another major step toward bringing self-driving cars into the mainstream. The Alphabet-owned brand has received approval to establish a factory for its driverless vehicles in Michigan. This will be the first factory in the world to be completely devoted to mass-producing Level 4 autonomous vehicles, the company said.
It may be a while before the first vehicles roll off the line. Waymo first plans to "identify a facility" somewhere in southeastern Michigan, and it's not clear when that factory might be ready. The company hopes to create "hundreds" of local jobs over the space of a few years.
The state is an obvious choice for manufacturing self-driving cars. On top of its close association with the car industry and the sheer number of qualified workers, it's a good testing environment. This gives Waymo a better opportunity to prove that its cars can handle snow and other less-than-forgiving weather conditions.
It may be a while before the first vehicles roll off the line. Waymo first plans to "identify a facility" somewhere in southeastern Michigan, and it's not clear when that factory might be ready. The company hopes to create "hundreds" of local jobs over the space of a few years.
The state is an obvious choice for manufacturing self-driving cars. On top of its close association with the car industry and the sheer number of qualified workers, it's a good testing environment. This gives Waymo a better opportunity to prove that its cars can handle snow and other less-than-forgiving weather conditions.
