It's Technical.ly Awards day! Thanks for your nominations and votes. Check out this year's winners in Philly in the News Incubator.

Plus, would you ride in a self-driving car in Philly? You might get the opportunity soon, since Waymo announced its next steps toward launching its fleet of cars in the city. If you have any thoughts about autonomous vehicles here in Philly, hit reply and let me know! 

I also recently got a crash course in sensor technology and learned all about the industry's presence just a few hours from here in central Pennsylvania. Scroll down to read about how the region is trying to formalize itself into a cluster.  

— Sarah Huffman, lead reporter in Philadelphia

Waymo doubles down on self-driving cars in Philly 

After spending the summer testing Philly roads, autonomous vehicle company Waymo announced it will be officially launching in the city. 

Waymo brought some of its self-driving cars to Philly earlier this year with humans behind the wheel to gather data and map the roads. Now, the company says it will move into an autonomous testing phase with plans for a public launch in the future. 

The company also announced plans to expand to neighboring cities, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. 

But it could face an uphill battle. It still needs PennDOT clearance and when Waymo first came to the city, some Philadelphians questioned how the vehicles would fit into an unpredictable driving culture. Continue reading ... 

Inside central PA's niche tech ecosystem

Philly is known for life sciences. Pittsburgh is a leader in robotics. And now, economic development stakeholders in central PA are trying to build the same reputation for its sensor technology ecosystem. 

Sensor tech, which includes devices that measure sound, pressure, temperature and more, has a long history in Pennsylvania's central counties. But now, orgs are trying to formalize the cluster and bring additional resources to local companies. 

"We have a lot of special things happening here, and getting the word out is something that would be really beneficial for not just our region, but for the whole state," Todd Dolbin, vice president of economic development at the Chamber of Business and Industry Centre County, told Technical.ly. Continue reading ... 

💵 Funding check-in

 Relevant SEC filings from the past week

• My Health OS, $1.95M, [tech]

📰 News Incubator: What else to know

Stories from our newsroom and around the web  

• Philly: Meet the winners of the 2025 Technical.ly Awards [Technical.ly]
  
  
• 'Date the rate, marry the house': Advice for Mid-Atlantic homebuyers  [Technical.ly]
  
  
• Philly breaks into top 10 global venture capital markets despite a mixed year [Technical.ly]
  
  
• WhipFlip levels up its AI at the 'antithesis of Carvana' [Technical.ly] 
  
  
• John Fry pitches real estate pros on Philly research triangle and Temple 'super-block' [Philly Biz Journal 🔒]
  
  
• 'Latinas in Tech' looks to expand opportunities for women in the industry [2: Platform]
  
  
• Wistar scientists pinpoint a new approach to ovarian cancer treatment [The Inquirer 🔒]

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