A self-running factory building self-running cars. There’s a Skynet joke in here somewhere.
Waymo will reportedly build a new self-assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan for its autonomous vehicles, following the announcement of its sister company Wing whose drones just got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier last month.
The company has partnered up with American Axle & Manufacturing to help with the new plant, which will actually be just a converted factory within the latter’s campus. The building will be leased to Waymo and then refitted based on what they need.
Some of Waymo’s other partners are Jaguar and Fiat-Chrysler, two companies that have been innovating existing designs with autonomous hardware for Waymo. The new facility in Detroit will be used mainly to assemble these together, specifically autonomous hardware and software in Jaguar I-Pace SUVs and Chrysler Pacifica minivans.
The company believes that this move is perfect for this time, since more people are now using ride-sharing services than their own cars. Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are also on the rise, which makes such innovations even more important and timely.
Waymo hopes to have the new facility open for operations by the end of 2019. The company has also been expanding its area of service to the Phoenix, Arizona area, in anticipation of a potentially wider launch.
