Waymo, the company that developed Google’s self-driving cars, has begun mapping the streets of Boston. The company has deployed a limited fleet of about 10 autonomous-capable vehicles operated by human drivers. They will be mapping Boston from Cambridge and Sommerville to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, Back Bay, Downtown and parts of the Seaport.

The goal of the project is to create a virtual testing ground for Waymo’s self-driving taxis, which are already giving driverless rides to consumers in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and most recently Atlanta.

A spokesperson for Waymo said in an interview that by mapping cities like Boston where the service isn’t yet operating, the company is able to test its taxis adaptability.

Boston could pose some unique challenges for self-driving cars that aren't as commonplace in the cities where they are in full operation.

Even though the test currently enjoys summer weather, the winter precipitation of northern cities can introduce unexpected road obstacles. Self-driving cars are at their best in predictable conditions, so Boston’s famously aggressive drivers and chaotic street layouts may be a new experience for the rules cautious robot cars.

The city’s ongoing infrastructure changes, such as new bike lanes, pedestrian zones and street construction, add further complexity to the mapping process.

The collected data will be used to generate digital replicas of Boston’s streets. These virtual maps allow Waymo to test its software in simulated autonomous driving scenarios, without actually putting driverless cars on local roads. During simulations, the technology reacts as it would in real world situations recorded during this testing period, helping the company assess how it might navigate intersections, construction zones, and other city-specific conditions. The Boston project should not be seen as a precursor to the company launching a local driverless taxi service.

Massachusetts regulations currently require all self-driving cars to have a human driver present to take over in the case of an emergency. City and state officials did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

A study conducted by Waymo and published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Traffic Injury Prevention, concluded that Waymo’s self-driving cars haven been involved in 80%-90% fewer accidents than human drivers across comparable driving milage in the locations the taxis have been operating autonomously.

In those locations, the Waymo Driver handles all driving tasks without human intervention. However, passengers can stop the car or request assistance at any time through an app or an in-car interface.

Though not yet serving passengers in Boston, Waymo's vehicles are designed with visible signals, such as illuminated icons, when picking up or dropping off passengers to increase predictability for cyclists and other road users.

Not every city visited becomes a service market.

Each location contributes unique data that helps refine Waymo’s technology. Whether Boston will eventually join Waymo’s roster of operational cities remains uncertain and will depend on a variety of technical, legal and safety considerations. For now, Bostonians can expect to see Waymo vehicles on the roads, patiently learning, but can rest assured they're still shouting out and cutting off a human driver.