Waymo’s robot will come to Tokyo in 2025

Waymo will begin testing its self-driving vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, marking the first time Alphabet’s robotaxis will be on public roads outside the United States.

The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing its technology to a variety of cities and testing it — with each city facing different challenges. In Tokyo, Waymo robotaxis will face left-hand driving and a dense urban environment.

So far, these road trips have focused on dozens of US cities, usually to test specific conditions or environments such as rain in Miami or extreme heat in Death Valley, California. The company also tested its vehicles in Buffalo; Washington, DC; las vegas; And Seattle. Typically, Waymo starts by bringing a small fleet into a city, with a human manually driving the vehicle and mapping specific areas. The vehicles will eventually be tested in autonomous mode, initially with a human operator behind the wheel.

Waymo said it will partner with ride-hailing app GO and taxi company Nihon Kotsu as part of the Japanese “road trip.” Nihon Kotsu will oversee the management and maintenance of Waymo’s vehicles, according to the company.

Initially, Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually operate the vehicles to map key areas in the Japanese capital, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinagawa and Koto. Waymo said it is working with the Nihon Kotsu team to train its employees on how to operate Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-Pace cars.

This announcement comes just one week after General Motors announced this Cancel Cruise robotaxi, This decision also ended plans to launch a driverless passenger transportation service in Japan with its partner Honda. In October 2023, Honda, Cruze, and General Motors announced plans to launch robotaxi service in Tokyo together in 2026 Using a purpose-built automated robot called The Origin.