Waymo, the Google/Alphabet autonomous vehicle company, will open a new testing site focused on the dense urban driving environment. The near site Columbus will host the outdoor lab for driverless motion-control testing, heavy-duty truck testing and testing in varying weather conditions.
The company maintains its main testing facility near Merced, California.
The Waymo test site at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio will be designed with various types of terrain, including hills, along with dense, urban features.
The Transportation Research Center, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Columbus, opened a $45 million testing ground for self-driving vehicles last year. It includes roads and structures intended to replicate high-speed intersections, rural roads and urban areas normally encountered by drivers. Officials say the facility is among the most advanced in North America. In a secure location, it operates 24/7, with approximately 4,500 acres of road courses, wooded trails, a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) High-speed Oval Test Track, 50-acre (20-hectare) Vehicle Dynamics Area, or “black lake,” and a mix of testing areas and facilities.
The extensive outdoor facility enjoying Central Ohio’s weather should provide an additional and much sought-after test factor for driverless: adverse conditions.
