ATLANTA: March 09, 2018. Waymo, the technology company that is part of Google, is introducing a pilot program in Atlanta next week for self-driving trucks to deliver shipments for Google’s data centers.

The company plans to apply its technology to shippers’ operations including factories, distribution centers, ports and terminals.

In addition to a “highly-trained” driver in the cab, the self-driving trucks are using the same suite of custom-built sensors that power Waymo’s minivan that has enabled it to go fully driverless in Arizona.

Over the past year, Waymo has been conducting road tests in California and Arizona in order to apply self-driving to drive big rigs with the equivalent AI maturity as an experienced human driver.

“The principles are the same, but things like braking, turning, and blind spots are different with a fully-loaded truck and trailer,” said the company.

Waymo has already driven five million miles on public roads in the U.S. – adding to the five billion driven in simulation: “In short, our near-decade of experience with passenger vehicles has given us a head start in trucking,” it added.