As Google's self-driving cars march toward maturity, they've become increasingly mundane. They started off as futuristic cartoon-like pods and then became Lexus SUVs before transitioning into their latest iteration—Chrysler minivans—which are now set to be managed by Avis, the same company that rents you nondescript white sedans at the airport.
Avis and Google's sister company Waymo confirmed the deal on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The agreement will see the rental car company manage a fleet of minivans in Phoenix, where Waymo is currently operating a ride-hailing service with volunteer members of the public.
If you live in or around Phoenix, you can sign up to be a guinea pig for Waymo's test drives, which will take you anywhere you need to go for no charge and include a human driver as a safety backup (and now presumably more frequently vacuumed carpets and clean windows, thanks to Avis).
Waymo's deal with Avis is limited: it's non-exclusive and confined to Phoenix, according to Bloomberg. But it represents great potential for the rest of America to get a taste of self-driving technology. Through its Zipcar subsidiary, Avis cars are available for hourly rentals in residential neighborhoods nationwide—not just at airports, train stations, and hotels—and Waymo is reportedly eyeing those cars as potential future hosts for its self-driving technology.
Related
- On Self-Driving Cars, Apple Has Some Catching Up to DoOn Self-Driving Cars, Apple Has Some Catching Up to Do
"One of the wonderful things about partnerships like this is that they are open," Waymo CEO John Krafcik told Bloomberg.
Google spent years working on self-driving cars before spinning the project off into Waymo, a division of Alphabet, last year. That means it has a considerable head start over the fledgling self-driving efforts of its Silicon Valley competitor Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook last week confirmed those efforts, explaining in an interview with Bloomberg that autonomous driving is "probably one of the most difficult AI projects to work on."
Apple does have one leg up on Waymo, however: it has been using Avis's archrival Hertz to manage its fleet of Lexus SUVs. A Hertz subsidiary is listed on Apple's licenses to test self-driving cars on public roads in California, Bloomberg reported on Monday, although the company declined to comment.
Vimeo determined that it could not pivot from a hub for professional videographers to a consumer entertainment service.
Online privacy is a major concern today.
"Far Cry 5" is better with company.
Google is relaunching the Mac and PC apps that let you upload files to your Google Drive, making it easier to schedule backups.
Redbox is trotting out 1,500 more DVD rental kiosks despite the rise of online video.
Relax Your Next Rental Might Drive Itself, Courtesy of Waymo stories
Google apparently has enough data about your online activity to serve you targeted advertisements without its controversial email scanning program.
Google's removal policy now includes a category called "confidential, personal medical records of private people."
Nissan plans to equip the next-generation Leaf with its ProPilot system, which can control brakes, steering, and acceleration on the highway.
Collectively, these two apps — dubbed 'Magic browser' and 'Noise Detector' — had been installed from Google Play more than 60,000 times.
No more having to visit five different sites to look for job listings: You can now just type 'jobs near me' into Google to see what's available in your area.
An increased use of technology to help identify terrorist content and plans to 'greatly increase' the number of independent experts in YouTube's Trusted Flagger program.
Google is relaunching the Mac and PC apps that let you upload files to your Google Drive, making it easier to schedule backups.
Uber's board adopted the recommendations of an investigation into its workplace culture, and plans to reassign some of CEO Travis Kalanick's duties to other employees.
Tired of searching through hundreds of emojis for the perfect way to express yourself? Draw one with your finger and Google's keyboard app will match it.
It took over a year, but Google finally managed to offload not one, but two robotics divisions to the Japanese company that acquired chip maker ARM last year.
Level 4 (high automation) means the vehicle can handle all driving tasks in most situations, with possible exceptions during inclement weather or unusual driving environments, where a driver would be required to take over.
Don't expect to get a ride from a self-driving car in Beantown just yet, though: the company still has to secure the necessary permits.
Google plans to block the most annoying advertisements in its Chrome browser, even those that run on the company's own platform.
A standalone Siri speaker would help Apple better compete against the likes of Google Home and Amazon Echo, according to Bloomberg. Look for it at WWDC next week.
Roborace hopes its car will one day have its own races, in which teams of software developers will compete against each other with no humans in the car.
With its new auto-licensing program, Microsoft is embarking on a campaign to get its software into connected cars of the future.
Uber allegedly stole technology from Google's self-driving car project, now called Waymo.
The ride-hailing app previously argued that it didn't need the $150 permit since humans were present in its autonomous Volvo XC90 SUVs at all times.
Well … it's about time.
This is just the latest in a series of bad PR for Uber as of late.
The rollout in Tempe comes after Uber pulled its self-driving fleet off the streets of San Francisco.
Google for Education is also offering more Voyager stories and guided curriculum.
iOS 11 isn't done yet, but an early version is now ready for download.
Nintendo swears it will ship more SNES Classics than it did the NES Classic last year.
If selected, you could wind up producing a pilot of Sony's next great TV series... for PlayStation.
Flying alone isn't the most efficient way to get your drone to its destination. MIT engineers hope that their design could one day be used to transport humans.
Using the internet on your Android phone isn't as secure or private as you might think. Fortunately, you can protect your mobile communications with a secure virtual private network (or VPN) app.
HMD Global, the Finnish company that now owns the Nokia brand, will launch its Nokia 6 handset in the US next month via Amazon.
Former US CTO Aneesh Chopra talks about big data, the importance of net neutrality, and why there's hope yet for getting things done in Washington, D.C.
A dream come true for Nintendo fans!
It turns out putting Amazon's Alexa on a screen was a pretty good idea.
