A Snapshot of AV Testing in The U.S.

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Article originally published on Medium by Michael E. McGrath

In my book, Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Strategies, and Disruptions, I summarize the strategies of the most advanced autonomous vehicle companies. With these companies making continual progress, AV testing can indicate progress and who is leading. Recently, the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) launched the first reporting from its AV Test Initiative. Although not entirely comprehensive because reporting is voluntary, it provides an interesting snapshot of the extent and location of AV testing in the US. It identifies most of the companies testing AVs, reports the types of AVs they are testing, and shows the locations where they are testing. Three of the companies also reported their active testing geo-fenced domains.

AV testing of passenger vehicles (autonomous ride services) progresses through three stages: (1) the AV carries employees as passengers with an in-vehicle safety driver, (2) the AV carries public passengers with an in-vehicle safety driver, and (3) the AV carries public passengers without an in-vehicle safety driver. After completing of the final stage, the service is ready for public release. So, far only one company, Waymo, is at the final stage of testing. Cruise is second with a significant volume of testing, although it is still primarily in the first stage.

Waymo

Waymo is testing its fleet of AVs in two primary locations. Chandler Arizona is the primary test location, where it’s testing an autonomous ride services fleet in two ways. The first is the test of Waymo One ride services with public passengers using in-vehicle safety drivers. More importantly, Waymo is also testing its Early Rider program with select public passengers in completely autonomous vehicles without any safety driver.

Waymo’s test area in the Chandler area reported to the NHTSA is quite large is seen in the area outlined below.

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Source: NHTSA

Additionally, Waymo is testing tow other services in this same area. Waymo Via, its delivery service, is delivering goods with in-vehicle safety drivers. It is also testing heavy autonomous trucks with its test team and in-vehicle safety drivers.

Waymo is also testing autonomous ride services in Mountain View California with safety drivers and employee riders.

In addition to these broad testing programs, Waymo is testing its AVs in unique weather conditions: wet weather conditions in Seattle, winter weather conditions in Novi Michigan, extreme heat conditions in Badwater California, and extreme rain conditions in Miami.

While these are the currently reported test locations, Waymo previously reported that it has driven 20 million miles autonomously on public roads in 25 different cities. Waymo didn’t report the number of vehicles it is testing, but previously disclosed reports estimate that it is testing more than 600 AVs.

GM/Cruise LLC

Cruise is number two in the race for autonomous vehicles in the US. It is currently testing at three locations. San Francisco is its primary test location where it has 230 AVs operating in the area indicated here. These tests are currently restricted to employees with in-vehicle safety operators.

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Source: NHTSA

Cruise is also testing in Milford Michigan with approximately 40 AVs using the test team as riders and in-vehicle safety operators. And like Waymo, it is also testing in Phoenix with 12 AVs using employee riders and in-vehicle safety drivers.

Uber

Uber ACT has resumed testing after suspending activities following a fatal accident. It is currently testing in San Francisco, Pittsburgh PA., and Washington DC. All of these tests currently use employees as passengers and in-vehicle safety drivers.

Autonomous Shuttle Testing: Navya and EasyMile

Testing of autonomous shuttles has been more limited. Several companies are testing autonomous shuttles, usually in specific domains such as resorts, universities, state parks, etc. Navya, in conjunction with Beep is testing at Lake Nona and at two sites in Jacksonville Florida. EasyMile has ten test locations in Columbus, Utah, and Colorado.

Autonomous Delivery: Nuro

Nuro is testing its autonomous delivery Nuro 2 delivery robot in Mountain View. It uses a remote driver for the tests since the vehicle is too small for a human driver.

However, its most extensive testing is in Houston. There it is testing both its Nuro 2 delivery robot and a modified Toyota Prius in three specifically defined areas of Houston. The map below shows the boundaries of these three domains.

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As you can see these, particularly the largest one, are quite extensive. This provides Nuro with some excellent autonomous delivery testing. The Nuro 2 delivery robot uses remote drivers, and the Toyota Prius testing uses an in-vehicle safety driver.

Other Testing Not Reported

In my book, Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Strategies, and Disruptions, I describe the testing by other companies that did not file voluntary reports with the NHTSA. Here are some of the more prominent ones:

  • Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC — Currently testing in Detroit, Palo Alto, and Pittsburgh.

  • Apple — Currently testing in California, specifically Silicon Valley.

  • Motional (Aptiv/Hyundai joint venture) — Currently doing extensive testing in Las Vegas in partnership with Lyft. They claimed to have provided more than 100,000 rides covering 20 square miles and 2,000 locations.

  • Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics are testing autonomous trucks on public roads in New Mexico.

  • Others — There are approximately 15 other companies that filed active testing reports in California for 2019, but most of these were limited.