Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Waymo is fortunate to have a better reputation than the rest, but their incident rate is still not acceptable…
SF Chronicle article on how Waymo drove across double yellow line into oncoming traffic for two full blocks. And Waymo describes the motivation as 'safety'? Hah! Full video of incident is included for your viewing enjoyment.
Fascinating AI Addict video shows how Tesla FSD 12 is an utter failure and how Waymos have their own big problems.
Forbes article on how a Waymo ran through a red light, causing a rider of a scooter to crash. The vehicle was being remotely operated, and the operator apparently didn't see the red traffic signal. This shows that Waymo has a backup system, but it is not safe either.
For Season 20 Episode 1, Grey's Anatomy decided to up the current drama and costar a misbehaving robotaxi named "Wayne". And of course the emergency folks try to cone Wayne to get it to stop crashing into the ambulance where they are doing emergency surgery. All of the relevant clips have been put together into a short video so you don't have to wade through the whole show.
Waymo announces another data challenge, but still refuses to provide safety related data. And they are only paying in Google Cloud credits.
Three additional California bills to regulate AVs have been sent to committee and need your support. This post contains simple instructions on how to send letters of support and provides templates, making it really easy for you to help.
Newsletter from Sue Vaughan from Burning Planet. Contains autonomous vehicle legislation updates and information on how you can provide support.
Article from WSJ on how Waymo will soon be expanding to driverless service on freeways in Phoenix. This is of course key for providing more lucrative airport service. But driving at freeway speeds is of course inherently more dangerous.
Article from TechCrunch on Waymo starting service in Los Angeles this week, and in Austin by end of the year.
Article from Forbes on how on March 14th Waymo will launch robotaxi service in Los Angeles. Will be limited at first, but then expand. This comes at a time when other companies, in particular Cruise, are facing setbacks.
Article from SF Standard on new laws on autonomous vehicles moving through California legislature. The newest proposed law is by Assemblymember Matt Haney and is for requiring additional data reporting from from autonomous vehicle companies.
Article from SF Chronicle explaining that though the CPUC granted Waymo permission to serve the peninsula, Waymo still needs permission from SFO to serve the airport. Also, Waymo does not have a timeline for expanding to cover the peninsula. Plus Waymo doesn't currently provide autonomous service on freeways yet due to safety issues.
In a surprising turnabout, the CPUC granted Waymo permission to expand service to the Bay Area peninsula and to most of Los Angeles. This still does not allow Waymo to provide service to the SFO airport though.
This article is only of interest because it shows how drastically robotaxi plans have changed over the last few years. Waymo purchased from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis) 100 minivans in 2016 and then another 500 in 2017. In January 2018 it was announced that Waymo was ordering "thousands" of minivans for a 2018 self-driving fleet rollout. In August 2018 it was announced that Stellantis was going to supply (up to) 62,000 minivans to Waymo/Google. But that is all just a distant memory.
Robotaxi disruptions for emergency responders have fallen significantly for the last 6 months. This is due to Cruise suspending operations, and because Waymo is now more careful to avoid geolocated incidences. Also, Waymo now gives emergency responders ability to manually move a vehicle.
