Waymo Working on Self-Driving Truck

Image
Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving car unit, Waymo, is working on developing self-driving trucks, the company said June 1.

Waymo, which is looking to expand its self-driving car efforts, expects autonomous vehicles to be able to take over longer distance trucking in the coming years, while allowing human drivers to handle local pickup and delivery routes.

RELATED: Chinese truckmaker says its driverless truck ready for the road by next year

RELATED: Musk sketches out timeline for Tesla electric semi-truck



"We're taking our eight years of experience in building self-driving hardware and software and conducting a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.

Other companies have also been working on self-driving trucks. Ride services company Uber Technologies is working on autonomous trucking through its Otto unit, which it acquired last year.