Fri, 21 Mar 2025

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 The slow but steady advance of driverless vehicles

Robo-taxi services and driverless trucks are gaining ground but progress is painstaking.
A passenger's experience with Waymo, a self-driving taxi service owned by Alphabet (Google's parent company), has raised fresh concerns about the readiness of autonomous vehicles for real-world use. Mike Johns was supposed to be driven from Los Angeles to Scottsdale, Arizona, but ended up being driven around a car park multiple times due to technical issues. The incident, which occurred in December, was recorded by Johns and quickly went viral. Waymo released a software update soon after to fix the problem, but this is not the first time the company has faced criticism. Last year, it recalled over 600 cars after one hit a street pole, and in May 2024, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 22 incidents involving Waymo vehicles. Despite these setbacks, Waymo remains the leading player in self-driving taxis in the US. It operates in several cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and has plans to launch soon in Atlanta and Miami. However, many experts believe that success is not solely due to technological advancements but also to Waymo's focus on thoroughness, employing top talent, and working closely with regulators. As the industry continues to develop, regions with good weather are likely to be the first to see driverless services roll out. Southern US states like Texas and Florida, where Waymo already operates, are expected to lead the way. However, experts warn that it will be a slow process due to the need for extensive testing and data collection. The safety concerns surrounding autonomous vehicles are also a major issue, particularly when it comes to trucks. David Liu, CEO of Plus, which makes driverless software for trucks, says that safety is their top priority. Autonomous trucks need to be safer than average human-driven vehicles, he explains. Meanwhile, in China, over 500 driverless cars are being operated by Baidu in the city of Wuhan, and across the country, driverless cars are reported to be operating in 16 cities and being tested by 19 manufacturers. Waymo's recent experience has sparked concerns about the rollout of autonomous vehicles. As Johns put it, "One big thing is that we're all a part of a paid experiment. At the end of the day, what they're doing is fixing it as they go, per city. And that's a problem."
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