Wayve, Uber Announce Level 4 Autonomous Vehicle Trials In London

(RTTNews) - Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) and Wayve Technologies Ltd. on Tuesday announced plans to launch public-road trials of Level 4 or L4 fully autonomous vehicles in London. This development is the next step forward in their 2024 multi-year collaboration to integrate Wayve's Embodied AI into Uber's platform.

Uber said that the trials will bring together Wayve's next-generation AV2.0 Embodied AI technology with Uber's global mobility network, marking a major step toward large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles across Europe. More details on the OEM partner and trial timeline will be released in the coming months, the company added.

The company said that the latest initiative follows the UK Secretary of State for Transport's announcement of a new, accelerated regulatory framework for self-driving commercial pilots. Wayve and Uber will work closely with the UK Government and Transport for London on permits and approvals ahead of the trial launch.

Commenting on the developments, Andrew Macdonald, president and chief operating officer, Uber, said, "We're excited to take the next step in our journey with Wayve, bringing autonomous mobility to one of the world's busiest and most complex urban environments. Wayve's globally scalable AV2.0 approach makes them an ideal partner to bring Uber's autonomous vision to reality in new cities around the world. Our vision is to make autonomy a safe and reliable option for riders everywhere, and this trial in London brings that future closer to reality."