Alphabet Says its Autonomous Cars Needed Less Human Help in 2016
- Waymo reports big drop in ‘disengagements’ in California tests
- Other companies, including VW, lagged Alphabet in 2015 tests
Race To Build Self-Driving Cars Accelerates
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Self-driving cars born at Google are getting better at commanding the wheel.
Vehicles tested in California by Waymo, the autonomous car company owned Google parent Alphabet Inc., had a much lower rate of "disengagements" last year, compared with 2015. Disengagements happen when a human tester needs to take control of a self-driving car, either to avoid an accident or respond to technical problems.