Waymo, Google's driverless taxi service is reportedly on the process of testing its free Wi-Fi offer to some of its cars. It is quite surprising for Waymo's driverless cars to not offer free Wi-Fi service to its passengers, especially if you consider the fact that the car requires a massive amount of data in order to access Google's cloud service which is at the heart of its driverless technology.
According to Reuters, passengers can now take advantage of high-speed data connectivity to some of Waymo's One AV taxies. This is just a limited test though as it is only available to those in the metropolitan Phoenix area. The report also added that the free Wi-Fi test is being conducted to around 1,000 participating users.
According to the Reuters report, the free Wi-Fi connectivity is just available to a select group of users who were picked to beta test this new feature. Additionally, this test group is not allowed to discuss their riding experience. Nevertheless, news like this always generate attention, and it will only be a matter of time before word eventually comes out to the public.
In a statement, a Waymo spokesperson said, "We've tested in-car entertainment features within our early rider program including Wi-Fi, but can't speak to any further details or potential plans to incorporate this or other features into our Waymo One public commercial service."
Since its official launch a couple of years ago, Waymo has consistently been adding new features to its standard driverless taxi service. The company's long list of added features includes child seats on all of its minivans. As a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, Waymo taxis are also equipped with popular Google services like Google Play Music streaming.
Despite being backed by Alphabet and Google, Waymo just did a quiet rollout of its services in December 2018. Since then, the company has steadily grown its fleet of minivans and have also consistently added features to its services.
One such feature helps ease passengers' minds while they are in an autonomous vehicle. Waymo added a display screen on its taxis, instead of just a static icon. In theory, Waymo believes that by rendering dynamic projections of pedestrians and cyclists, it conveys a certain sense that the autonomous car is aware of its surroundings. This, in turn, enhances passenger security.
Waymo is just one of the many startups that were acquired by Alphabet as part of its efforts to build its own fleet of autonomous or driverless cars.
