Argo AI, a self-driving firm, announced on Tuesday that it is testing autonomous vehicles on the streets of Miami, Florida, and Austin, Texas, with commercial applications to follow after an undefined period.
Argo, which is financed by Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen AG, has been testing its robotaxis on public roads in both cities for several years, but has previously used safety drivers.
In a statement, Argo AI Chief Executive Bryan Salesky stated, “Argo is the first to go driverless in two major American cities, securely running amidst high traffic, pedestrians, and bikers in the busiest of neighborhoods.”
Ride-hailing, distribution, and logistics firms can use the company’s driverless cars in their operations.
According to an Argo AI spokesperson, Lyft Inc and Walmart Inc are also experimenting with the technology in pilot projects.
The spokesperson explained, “Our autonomous operations are first focused on conducting staff rides utilizing our internally-developed ride hailing test software.” “At the proper moment, we’ll incorporate driverless into commercial operations.”
Lyft joined with Argo AI and Ford in July after selling its own self-driving technology unit a year ago. By offering routing, client interaction, and fleet management services, the ride-hailing business claimed it will focus on “earning the greatest income” from the robotaxis.
Walmart said in September that it would start an autonomous car delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C., in collaboration with Argo AI and Ford.
With only a handful restricted completely autonomous programs accessible across the United States, self-driving startups have continually pushed back timeframes to deliver genuinely driverless rides at scale.
While human drivers account for over 80% of the per-mile cost in typical ride-hailing services, self-driving businesses must also recoup billions in development expenditures and figure out how to build, manage, and maintain vehicle fleets on a budget.
