This was something of a public-road milestone for these particular city streets, but Dmitry Polishchuk, head of self-driving cars at Yandex, downplayed the complexity of the moment.
“People are more polite driving here,” he said. “In Tel Aviv and Moscow, we need to be much more assertive and aggressive.”
Polishchuk knows about driving conditions in those locations. Yandex’s profile may get overshadowed by the likes of Waymo and traditional automakers in the United States, but the company has global ambitions for its self-driving technology. Along those lines, it’s operating testbeds in not just Tel Aviv and Moscow, but the Russian cities of Innopolis and Skolkovo.
Next up: the Motor City. This summer, Yandex will operate 10 cars in Detroit as part of the city’s revamped auto show.
Combining forces with Hyundai Mobis, which Yandex forged a long-term partnership with last March, the two companies will utilize Hyundai Sonatas as their vehicle platform, though the two Prius Vs used in Las Vegas will also be involved in the Detroit project.
It remains undecided whether Yandex will have its safety drivers ride in the passenger seat as in Las Vegas. A company spokesperson says Michigan’s laws would allow for such a move, but a number of safety factors will be considered before making that decision.
