From today, Londoners hailing an Uber may be matched with an autonomous robotaxi.
The US-based ride-hailing firm has teamed up with AI start-up Wayve to bring a self-driving vehicle service to London’s streets. To abide by Transport for London (TfL) regulations, the initial rollout will feature a TfL-licensed private hire driver onboard to oversee each trip and take over driving if necessary.
The service will launch with a small fleet of 15 all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. Each vehicle is equipped with surround sensors and Wayve’s ‘AI Driver’ system.
This embodied AI system, called AV2.0, enables vehicles to learn from experience to anticipate what will happen next and respond immediately to changing conditions, just like a human driver would. Wayve has been trialling the technology in vehicles in London since 2018.
Rather than launching its own fleet of vehicles, Wayve’s approach is to partner with car makers and integrate its technology into their vehicles. In 2024, it formed...