Waymo's autonomous cars don't need humans in the driver's seat anymore

More than eight years after it began, Waymo, the company spun out of Google X's self-driving car project, believes its technology is ready to take to public roads as a fully self-driving car -- without anyone in the driver's seat.

Waymo's fleet of autonomous vehicles is now prepared to drive on public roads without a safety operator, according to CEO John Krafcik, who announced the development onstage at the Web Summit in Lisbon.

The company also shared some details about the expansion of its pilot program in a blog post. Neither Krafcik nor the company's reps shared exactly what has given the company the confidence to declare their vehicles "fully" self-driving, but it appears that Waymo has achieved Level 4 autonomy, which means the car can handle every aspect of the driving experience on its own without need for human intervention. Most other companies currently conducting self-driving tests are only at Level 3, a level that still requires a human operator for some (if not most) situations.

The new, fully autonomous trials will begin in Phoenix, where Waymo's first public-facing pilot program has been in service since April. A limited number of the Chrysler Pacifica fleet has begun testing without safety drivers within a designated area of the city, and the company will expand the program to include more cars within a 600 square mile region "over time."

Waymo shared some footage of the fully self-driving Pacificas out on the roads, demonstrating how the vehicles can handle different driving responsibilities like stopping for pedestrians and stoplights, signaling to turn, and more.

Waymo's declaration marks a major shift in public self-driving development. Autonomous pilots typically depend on safety drivers to monitor the road and take control of the vehicle in case the vehicle encounters a situation it can't handle. That type of system is actually stipulated by regulators in most areas where autonomous testing is allowed on public roads, but as the technology matures, rules are changing.

The California DMV recently proposed a set of rule changes that would allow for companies to test fully autonomous vehicles on public roads, which followed new federal guidelines for self-driving vehicles that passed through the House of Representatives and now await a vote in the Senate. Once these measures have passed — and other self-driving companies have developed more road-ready systems — fully self-driving test programs could rapidly expand. Waymo's will be the first.

Waymo also announced exactly how the new fully self-driving cars will be deployed: in a new public-facing service program, which sounds a lot like autonomous ride-hailing in the save vein as Uber or Lyft. The company says it will begin offering public invitations for people to use the fleet for their personal use, starting with participants already enrolled in Phoenix's public program.

The new fully autonomous fleet and proposed self-driving service puts Waymo in a pole position within the autonomous development race. Others may be hard-pressed to catch up with fully self-driving trials of their own — but for now, Waymo is in the lead.