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Tried Waymo One: Traveling in an autonomous robotaxi without a driver

Jan 26, 2023

Waymo, which like Google belongs to Alphabet, already offers the autonomous robotaxi service Waymo One in three cities in the USA, which, according to Level 4 and without a driver at the wheel, brings guests safely to their destinations target. ComputerBase completed two trips with Waymo One in Chandler, Arizona and describes the impressions.

Table of Contents

Waymo One drives in three cities
1. The Waymo Driver takes the wheel
2. Waymo drives with Chrysler and Jaguar
3. Systems are installed redundantly
The first trip with Waymo One
1. Start and finish can be exactly define
2. The equipment of the Chrysler Pacifica
3. The Waymo Driver drives confidently
US cities are often well suited for Waymo< /li>
The autonomous future is so welcome

Autonomous driving is steadily approaching in Germany. Level 2 systems, which support the driver who is still behind the wheel, are ubiquitous in modern cars, and there is also a first Level 3 system with the Drive Pilot from Mercedes-Benz (test), which can be used on motorways up to 60 km/h can take over the entire driving task. In addition, an expansion of Level 3 solutions to up to 130 km/h including support for automated lane changes is planned in Germany.

Waymo One drives in three cities

In the USA, Waymo is already one step further and currently offers everyone to ride in autonomous robotic taxis in three cities. While San Francisco still has to be put on a waiting list, the Waymo One ride-hailing service in Phoenix, Arizona, and the neighboring East Valley, which includes Chandler, can be used immediately after installing the associated app . In just a few steps, a smartphone can then be used to order an autonomous robotaxi that drives according to level 4 and thus without a driver at the wheel, which is intended to bring guests safely from A to B in the complex city area.

The Waymo Driver takes over the control

Like Google, Waymo is part of the Alphabet company and currently offers three products: the Waymo Driver, the driving system developed by Waymo; Waymo One, the robotaxi ride-hailing service for private customers using the Waymo Driver; and Waymo Via, a solution for autonomous trucks and vans to transport goods and other goods, which also uses the Waymo Driver.

The company advertises that it offers “The World’s Most Experienced Driver” with the Waymo Driver. Over 32 billion kilometers have already been covered, several million of them on real roads and the rest in the simulator. Test drives have already been carried out in more than 13 US states. And why all this? Security. Waymo wants to drastically reduce the number of 36,096 traffic deaths in the USA (2019) and more than 1.35 million worldwide per year. After all, human error is responsible for 94 percent of all accidents in the USA.

Waymo drives with Chrysler and Jaguar

The Waymo Driver is therefore the “driver” of the car. As a rule, however, no one is behind the wheel, unless it is a trip that has to be monitored by a Waymo employee for test purposes. The vehicles, which are the Chrysler Pacifica and the Jaguar I-Pace, are therefore fully autonomous. However, the two car manufacturers are not involved in the development of the Waymo Driver, but there are still partnerships, including with other car manufacturers. Viewed from the outside, the cars with larger structures for the sensors set themselves apart from the regular production models. Waymo relies on multiple built-in cameras, lidar and radar to capture the environment and make decisions. The manufacturer claims to analyze the environment at a distance of up to three football fields, i.e. around 270 m. But before the cars are released into the wild, Waymo carries out a high-resolution map of the urban area, which is constantly updated.< /p>

Systems are installed redundantly

As the company explains, numerous systems are installed redundantly. For example, two units are used by the central computer, brakes and power supply are also available twice, the same applies to the inertial measuring unit. There is also protection for the steering with a second motor and a separate power supply. Waymo also declares that it has secured its own vehicles and systems “robustly” against cyber attacks.

The first ride with Waymo One

ComputerBase in Chandler, Arizona, went from theory to practice. In order to be able to use Waymo One, the corresponding app for Android or for iOS is required, whereby both versions are not officially available in Germany, but at least the APK file can be installed on Android without any hurdles via sites such as APK Mirror. Waymo One can then also be used in the USA with a German Google account and German means of payment in Google Pay.

Image 1 of 4 < /figure>

The Waymo One app works in a similar way to the applications from providers such as Lyft or Uber by defining the start and destination, then searching for available vehicles and displaying a price. In Chandler, the waiting times at lunchtime on a Friday were just a few minutes. At peak times or at major events, you probably have to be a little more patient, as with the other providers of classic transport services. Waymo One was priced at around 6 euros for a distance of around 3 km. It is unknown whether Waymo, like Lyft and Uber, relies on so-called surge pricing, i.e. a dynamic price model based on current demand. Despite the limited general availability, Waymo One is still more of a test balloon that does not necessarily have to make a profit for the company or Alphabet. Given Alphabet's numerous other and also extremely lucrative business areas, a project like Waymo can also be operated at a loss. Rather, Waymo is a prestigious showcase for Alphabet's expertise in AI and machine learning and autonomous driving.

Start and target can be defined exactly

In view of the new experience, the actual driving with Waymo One is initially an exciting and thrilling affair, but in the end it is rather unspectacular, which should be interpreted as praise for the sovereign driving behavior. In order to let the guest board, a Waymo One car looks for a suitable place after arriving at the starting point so as not to obstruct traffic as far as possible, the same applies to dropping off the passenger. On the map in the app, the start and destination can be defined not only by marking destinations or the address, but also by dropping a pin exactly, but this is only done in predefined zones marked blue (start) or green (destination). is possible. For example, you can be dropped off at various positions in front of a shop, but logically not in its driveway or in the middle of a main traffic artery. If you do not immediately recognize the Waymo vehicle as such, which is rather unlikely, the number plate in the app will also help with identification. The car itself – Chrysler or Jaguar – is also displayed there.

The equipment of the Chrysler Pacifica

ComputerBase drove twice in Chandler with a Waymo One based on the Chrysler Pacifica and in both cases the car was exclusively available. You can take a seat in the Pacifica via the rear sliding door on two individual seats or on the continuous third bench seat, which is also equipped with a child seat. Controls in the roof give access to the climate control, there are also centrally positioned buttons for starting the journey, locking and unlocking the doors, stopping and for help should there be a problem. There is also a camera there, although it is not known whether it is recording permanently. All buttons are also provided with Braille, so that people with visual impairments can also use the service. An acoustic output of all information that would otherwise be displayed visually on two monitors attached to the rear of the front seats also helps. There is also a USB-A socket there, for example to charge your own smartphone while driving.

The Waymo Driver drives effortlessly

Once you have sat down in the car, buckled your seat belt and confirmed the start of the journey via the screen, the controls in the roof liner or the app on the smartphone, the anything but wild journey begins. The Waymo Driver strictly adheres to all traffic rules and thus always to the current speed limit. However, the autonomous driving system is not overly cautious, but sometimes drives through yellow traffic lights and performs turning maneuvers at surprisingly high speeds. Turning off at intersections at red lights, which is common in the USA, did not pose a challenge either. The Waymo One cars stop completely at stop signs before continuing. Accordingly, there is no “rolling stop” that is often seen among drivers in the USA, which corresponds more to the German giving way. The Waymo Driver easily mastered turning left through an intersection while giving way to oncoming traffic.

What the car's sensors see is visualized for the passenger on the two screens. This in turn creates a certain level of trust because it is easier to understand why the Waymo Driver makes which decisions. The visualization also shows how much more the sensors see compared to the human passenger in the second row. The displays also show traffic light phases, street names are highlighted, the remaining travel time is shown and the destination is also marked in green to make it easier to find it after the last few meters of walking after arriving.

There was not a single tricky situation to be observed, at most an unexpected decision by the Waymo Driver. When turning right at a stop sign, the car took the liberty of using the cycle lane separated by a solid line for sorting the last few meters to the intersection, although this would not have been necessary given the space available. In this situation, however, cyclists were not to be seen far and wide, so that nobody was even remotely injured. When first picked up, the car also took a little longer to find a suitable position to stop.

US cities are often well suited for Waymo

Overall, the two test drives in Chandler were of a rather simple nature, since the volume of traffic was not particularly high, nor were there any major construction sites, many pedestrians or cyclists. With few exceptions, many U.S. cities have been designed primarily for cars, which in turn has a positive impact on autonomous vehicles. In Berlin or Paris, the challenges for the Waymo Driver would be noticeably higher, especially since Chandler offers very well developed roads in the test area without any significant damage. However, the fact that Waymo One is also available in San Francisco shows that the vehicles can also cope with less extensively laid out cities with older, narrower and poorer streets if the corresponding preliminary work is done, for example with cartography.

The autonomous future is very welcome

Overall, the two Waymo One trips with one Summarize word: sovereign. As a passenger, you never had the feeling of sitting on four wheels in an experiment, but in a product that is suitable for everyday use and that drives safely to its destination. If this is the future of autonomous robo-taxis, it's more than welcome.

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