Wammo might be a better name
Posted on 11/07/2017 10:37:51 PM PST by iowamark
Waymo recently hosted a number of journalists at its private Castle testing compound, and treated us to rides with no safety driver behind the wheel – now, the former Google self-driving car company is going farther still, however, launching public road tests of its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans with no safety driver on board.
The tests aren’t limited to one or two routes, either; the test area where the truly driverless trials are being conducted is in Chandler, Arizona (part of the greater Phoenix metro area), and the cars are able to go anywhere within this defined space. It’s hard to understate the importance of this milestone: Waymo is operating at full Level 4 autonomy, sharing public roads with human-driven cars and pedestrians, with no one at the wheel able to take over in case things don’t go as planned.
That shows confidence – confidence that Waymo has managed to achieve truly capable L4 autonomy within the specific domain of Chandler. The current passengers for this test are Waymo employees, however, so it’s not as if the Alphabet-owned company is throwing caution to the wind; instead, it’s showing that it’s ready to move to the next major phase of operations after around a decade of working on this incredibly complex problem.
Waymo CEO John Krafcik announced the fully driverless trials at Web Summit today, and revealed the video above, and also noted that while the trial is starting with employees first, it’s soon going to expand to the existing members of the Chandler driverless ride hailing service trial that Waymo kicked off at the beginning of 2017. When that happens (sometime in the next “few months,” per Krafcik, Waymo will be operating a fully autonomous ride hailing service without any humans at the wheel, a major first for the industry in terms of realizing the dream of making commercial self-driving available to the public at large.
Krafcik also said that Waymo wants to broaden the geographic scope of its trial, starting with expansion in the near-term to cover the entire Phoenix metro area, which represents more acreage than the whole of the Greater London area, he noted (though it’s obviously far less dense).
Residents participating in the trial will also be able to use them exactly as they use the test vehicles with safety chauffeurs today – for any trips within the designated area, whether for commutes, trips to go shopping, heading to school or whatever their transportation needs. They hail the vehicles using a Waymo app, and being the trip onboard with a push of a button. There’s also an onboard support system that allows them to talk to a live Waymo support agent at any time.
Waymo’s stated goal is to ensure safer roads for everyone, and after having spent some time in the fully driverless Pacifica that will be operating in Chandler, I’m more convinced than ever they’re on a path to make this happen. Bringing that truly driverless Level 4 experience to public roads and public riders is a huge step, and a sign we could be hailing an autonomous ride sooner than you might think.
What do semi truck drivers call Robot gadgets currently installed on trucks? Nice? Great? Thanks? NO!
Robot gadgets are called DANGEROUS GADGETS by drivers.
Live in your utopia dream land. But in the real world Robot Gadgets are dangerous, and turn Good drivers into Bad drivers.
But your ignorance must feel blissful.
Wammo might be a better name
In the words of John Fogerty, “I see trouble on the way.”
“Waymo’s stated goal is to ensure safer roads for everyone”
Humans, you no longer need to be accomplished or skilled at anything, we robots will take care of you better than you can possibly take care of yourselves.
>>>like 40,000 die annually. Maybe fewer with self-dr8ving cars.
I try to remind myself every time I get behind the wheel that half the cars I pass have below average drivers. (though they all think it’s the other guy).
My neighbor recently got killed in his semi.
This neighbor had been driving a brand new computer controlled rig for months and then they had to put him in an older rig. I think he got so used to the self braking/collision avoidance feature that he got too relaxed to suddenly go without it.
Rammed into stopped traffic on the interstate. Luckily he hit other semis. Pushed the flatbed of one right through the cab but that guy lived. If it had been cars in front of him, he’d have killed anyone in the first 2-3 cars, maybe more.
Granted he was the easily distracted type and one of the younger crowd that’s constantly tapping on the phone with his two thumbs so that probably played into it as well. Got so used to being able to do that while hauling down the interstate at 70mph. (even though that’s not the way it’s supposed to work)
The video is ideal weather and ideal traffic. What we in the software industry call the “happy path”. What about rain? At night? In snow while it’s snowing at night? I’m guessing it will likely shut these things down. Downtown Boston during rush hour? Again likely way to difficult still. Five-way intersections with lots of pedestrians? Color me skeptical.
This technology will not survive First Contact
with the American tort bar.
I got t-boned by a red-light runner in a major downtown SF intersection. I had just dropped off my co-worker at our building a few blocks away. If he were in the car, he would have been killed as my car was totaled on the passenger side.
Despite getting knocked around, I got out and checked on the female driver who was slumped over the steering wheel. She was embarrassed more than injured, apologizing to me for hitting my car.
She was driving down the street, pretty fast, looking at storefronts for Nordstrom's store and blew through the red light. I forced the police to come out and get a statement showing she was at fault. Good thing, because I had to sue her insurance company for refusing to pay for damages. My lawyer got me a great settlement. If a driverless car hits me, who do I sue for damages?
“...Seems to me, level 4 wouldn’t be good enough. They still would need to pass their drivers exam and be able to control the car at a moments notice....”
I think that’s precisely the problem - They DO pass their driving exams already.
I was at DMV a few months ago and observed a cohort of extraordinarily elderly people who all were taking (and passing) their driving exams. All had trouble walking and most couldn’t really even read the forms they were filling out ( copious help from nurses or adult children ) .
I want to be clear that the Elderly absolutely need mobility and deserve independence. I welcome the coming of level 4 vehicles because My 83 year old Mother will be liberated from the stress of crashing and getting lost. She‘ll be able to visit friends much more often. Level 4 would be a godsendf for her and millions like her.
There are currently ~40,000 traffic fatalities per year. If that could be reduced to ~15,000 does it really matter that much to you that the most humane decision is made in each collision? In other words, what is your metric?
...
It’s all based on emotion. Driverless cars will be held to a standard of perfection. Carnage on the roads is OK as long as it’s traditional.
What scares me is they are using Chrysler vehicles.
If a driverless car hits me, who do I sue for damages?
...
The owner of the car, same as you do now.
Nice video with pleasant generic music.
Perfect weather? Check.
Perfect roads? Check.
Light traffic? Check.
Few pedestrians? Check.
Perfect GPS guidance? Check.
Waymo car always available and on-time? Check.
No road repair or construction zones with flaggers? Check.
No police officers directing traffic with hand gestures? Check.
No unpredictable animals or debris in the street? Check.
No demonstrators, rioters, squeegee people, or holdup gangs in the street? Check.
What could possibly go wrong?
The cost of a new car will buy a lot of taxi, ride sharing, and shuttle trips.
level 4 is fully autonomous within a given geography.
level 5 needs no maps.
Thanks for the clarification..
Where do I sign up?
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