Waymo's fleet of driverless vehicles are operating in more cities and a study indicates that may reduce crashes on roadways. The study, a non-paid partnership between Waymo itself and reinsurer Swiss Re, indicated Waymo's cars result in fewer insurance claims than those operated by people. Swiss Re analyzed liability claims from collisions covering 25.3 million miles driven by Waymo's autonomous cars. The study also compared Waymo's liability claims to human driver baselines based on data from over 500,000 claims and over 200 billion driving miles. The results found that Waymo Driver "demonstrated better safety performance when compared to human-driver vehicles.".

What we consider to be autonomous car technology is a complex combination of algorithms, sensors, actuators, automotive parts and robust processors that run all the software. Each of these components play a critical role in enabling autonomous cars to accurately map their surroundings and monitor the location of nearby vehicles, traffic lights, pedestrians, road edges and lane markings. Each of these subsystems will need to undergo significant improvements to achieve a fully functioning and safe autonomous vehicle. While we haven't achieved enough progress in all these areas, recent trends show that we are not very far from perfecting these components. Once we do achieve these milestones, however, we won't just change the way cars are operated, but will also see consequences extending far beyond the realm of autonomous car technology.

A Waymo self-driving car pulls into a parking lot in Mountain View, Calif., on May 8, 2019. A Waymo self-driving car pulls into a parking lot in Mountain View, Calif., on May 8, 2019. It was a modern mystery. In a tiny neighborhood in San Francisco's Richmond District, self-driving Waymo cars have been converging at all hours of the day and night, mystifying neighbors, KPIX reported earlier this week. Most would drive to the dead-end on 15th Avenue, where they then had no choice but to turn around and leave, according to the outlet -- and neighbors have no idea why.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the world, affecting people's lives and forcing many businesses to suspend their operations. At Waymo, we're actively monitoring the situation, taking steps to support our local communities, and contributing to COVID-19 response efforts. While Waymo has temporarily suspended its on-the-road operations as we put the health and safety of our riders, partners, and employees first, we are still driving our technology forward with our work in simulation. Gaining 100 years of experience in one day Simulation is vital in the advancement of self-driving technology. At Waymo, one day in simulation is like driving more than 100 years in the real world.

Although other companies that are working on autonomous driving might get more attention, Waymo is still hard at work on the technology. The Alphabet subsidiary just provided an update on its Waymo Driver AI as well as more details about its self-driving tests. An array of LiDAR, radar and cameras can track what's going on all around the vehicle in a variety of weather conditions, Waymo says. The system generates a 3D view of the vehicle's surroundings that humans would be able to understand. Along with other cars, the system can render pedestrians in addition to cyclists who narrowly pass by the vehicle.

Editor's note: We first heard from Sophia on social media, where she's been sharing fun videos of her Waymo One rides. We reached out to learn more about what intrigued her about Waymo in the first place and how autonomous driving technology has become a part of her everyday life (and sparked a new passion!). Tell us a little bit about yourself! My name is Sophia, and I live with my husband and 3 children in Tempe, Arizona. I work as a campus store manager at Arizona State University and in the entrepreneurship community as a venture mentor.

Programming a computer to understand and navigate roads designed for human drivers is hard. Rarely, however, do we get to see just how many things can go wrong when an autonomous vehicle encounters a situation it doesn't know how to tackle. A 35-minute video from Joel Johnson (via Autoblog), a YouTuber who shares clips of his trips with Waymo One in Arizona, offers a rare glimpse into a perfect storm of errors. About 12 minutes into the video, Johnson's car wants to turn right onto a multi-lane street. Unfortunately for Waymo Driver, the rightmost lane was closed, with construction cones marking the obstruction.

Andrew Stein is a Software Engineer who leads the perception team for Waymo, a name that stands for'New Way Forward in Mobility'. Waymo is an autonomous driving technology development company that is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google. What initially attracted you to AI and robotics? I always liked making things that "did something" ever since I was very young. Arts and crafts could be fun, but my biggest passion was working on creations that were also functional in some way.

Waymo and Volvo Car Group announced an expanded partnership that is intended to create a collaboration enabling easy integration of vehicles with the Waymo Driver. The integration will make the vehicles well-suited to ride-hailing, local delivery, tracking, and personal car ownership. Waymo is now the exclusive global L4 partner for the Volvo Car Group. The deal includes partnerships with Volvo Car Group's strategic affiliates Polestar and Lynk & Co International. The first step in the strategic partnership will be to work together to integrate the Waymo Driver into an all-new mobility-focused electric vehicle platform for ride-hailing services.

On the days, driving a vehicle could be one of the most mindful activities; on the worst, it could be the biggest pain. And, when you are in a city driving your own car through busy lanes and negotiating pedestrians on streets, things can turn really nasty. That's why we find autonomous vehicle technology turning the "wheels of innovation" way faster today than any other smart technology. AI and Automation sit at the core of this novel neo-connected technology that promises to make cities and roads smarter, safer and much less crowded. And, in this league of smart technology providers, we have Waymo.