Autonomous robo-taxis now driving themselves on British streets

Autonomous taxis are now driving themselves around London streets, the American company behind the technology has announced.

The self-driving cars have been in the capital since last autumn, but until now, they were under the manual control of "safety drivers".

Now, Waymo says, they’re being controlled by artificial intelligence, albeit with a human sitting in the driver’s seat just in case.

The company has had humans driving the cars across "tens of thousands of miles on London roads".

"The early mileage provides a baseline of context for the Waymo Driver, and has enabled our team to train the Driver in a simulated London environment," it said.

Within the "past few weeks", however, the company told Sky News it had started letting the cars take control.

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Waymo described today's announcement as "the next step" towards "fully autonomous passenger service[s] later this year, pending government approval".

However, it isn't just government approval they'll need to win in order to make the launch a success.

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A YouGov poll in October last year suggested 59% of British adults would not feel comfortable riding in a self-driving taxi under any circumstances, while 85% would choose a regular taxi over a driverless one if they were the same cost and convenience.

Waymo repeatedly emphasises the safety record of the cars, saying they are significantly safer than human drivers.

"The Waymo Driver was involved in 92% fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries compared to human drivers where we operate," the company said on Tuesday.

It has previously emphasised other benefits, such as privacy in the car, and peace of mind and security for female passengers.

"Our sensors are able to perceive the world around them, much better, much more accurately and with more of a field of view than human drivers can," Nicole Gavel, head of business development and strategic partnerships at Waymo, told Sky News in January.

The cars, were she added, able to achieve a "superhuman level of perception".

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