Waymo expands autonomous vehicle testing to Chicago and Charlotte

Waymo said Wednesday that it’s bringing its robotaxi program to Chicago and Charlotte as it continues pushing to scale autonomous vehicles into more markets.

Beginning today, Waymo will start manual mapping and early data collection in both cities to prepare for future operations. The company typically enters a new market by spending months driving with human operators to map roads and gather local driving data, including traffic behaviour, roadway design quirks, weather patterns, and edge cases. That groundwork usually comes before the company gradually increases autonomous testing and, eventually, moves toward fully driverless service.

Charlotte could prove to be a smoother environment for expansion, given its suburban-leaning geography and generally moderate climate. Chicago, however, represents a more difficult challenge. The city’s winters, congestion, and dense urban layout would test Waymo’s system in tougher conditions. If Waymo can operate reliably in Chicago, it would further support the company’s argument that its technology can scale across the U.S. It would also give Waymo another opportunity in a northern market after New York dropped a proposal that would have allowed commercial robotaxi pilots in certain parts of the state.

The update arrives in the same week that Waymo began offering commercial driverless operations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, bringing the company’s total number of cities with service to 10.

Beyond Chicago and Charlotte, Waymo is also testing and preparing for launches in other markets, including Denver, London, and Washington, D.C. The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company also secured $16 billion in funding earlier this month as it looks to expand internationally.