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Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

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Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#51

Post by AlotOfReading »

saddlerustle wrote: post #5
xnx wrote: post #3

The gap between Waymo and all other competitors in the self-driving space continues to widen.

AutoX and Pony.ai in China have been been offering rides to the public with no safety driver for much longer than Waymo

Waymo has been doing public rides (2015) since before either company was founded (2016). Pony.ai also got their permit suspended twice in California for different safety-related reasons, so the comparison says more about the different regulatory environment in China than it does about their relative maturity.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#52

Post by sjducb »

etaioinshrdlu wrote: post #16

Expecting this to go well generally because freeways are pretty much always easier to self-drive than city streets!

Emergency braking is much harder at freeway speeds.

At 35mph you can have something (radar/cameras) look a few meters ahead, then if there is a stationary obstacle you slam on the brakes.

At 60 that doesn’t work because braking distances are much longer. There might be an obstacle directly ahead of you on the pavement, but you won’t hit it because the car will turn with the road. This means that your emergency braking system needs to be aware of the steering, the road layout, and the expected route.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#53

Post by yieldcrv »

sva_ wrote: post #15
panarky wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.) Waymos are safer than human-driven rideshare vehicles 2.) The vehicles are standardized, comfortable and clean 3.) You can play your own music or none at all, roll down the windows or leave them up, while an Uber driver's preferences might not match your own

4.) Introvert coming from a social event needing to recharge batteries

I take a lot of ride shares and I’ve always been able to recharge. 9/10 times I say nothing to the driver the whole time

Not trying to play devil’s advocate, just my experience

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#54

Post by yieldcrv »

panarky wrote: post #12
yieldcrv wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why, if its not cheaper, what is the value add (if you’re not female as another commenter pointed out) I routinely have as little interaction with the driver as I want

1.) Waymos are safer than human-driven rideshare vehicles 2.) The vehicles are standardized, comfortable and clean 3.) You can play your own music or none at all, roll down the windows or leave them up, while an Uber driver's preferences might not match your own

Nice I always was a fan of the promise of 1.)

I like 2.) and 3.) and this was a promise of uber and lyft originally, but instead its always been a cumbersome experience that might as well not exist

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#55

Post by aantix »

kibwen wrote: post #37
EcommerceFlow wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He obviously hasn't. The tech community is in for quite a shock with Tesla robotaxi's come out in a year or so and blow out the competition. One factor not discussed often is how much smoother FSD is compared to all other self driving. Especially noticeable when going from FSD to the free AutoSteer or GM Supercruise.

> The tech community is in for quite a shock with Tesla robotaxi's come out in a year or so FSD has been set to come out in a year or so since 2014. At this point nobody should be foolish enough to give Tesla the benefit of the doubt; if they have a self-driving car, then they'll take legal liability for its actions, and if they won't take legal liability for its actions, they don't have a self-driving car. This is a…

12.5.1.3 is pretty incredible. Their innovation in this space is accelerating rapidly.

I encourage you to watch some of the videos on Twitter.

It's here. It's now.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#56

Post by tanseydavid »

SoftTalker wrote: post #39
SECProto wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freeways are much, much less forgiving of abrupt speed changes and braking, which is something waymo (used to) have quite an issue with. Moving to freeways shows they are confident that won't be an ongoing issue.

Yes I was driving on a freeway last week and traffic went from 80mph to dead stop about as fast as I could stand on the brakes. I didn't hit the car in front of me with only a few feet to spare, and fortunately the driver behind me was also paying attention. The jam eventually cleared, and there was absolutely no indication of what caused it.

>> and there was absolutely no indication of what caused it

That's the Accordion Effect.

With enough cars on the road, one little tap of someone's brakes flashes their brake lights and it ripples upstream until the 80mph column of cars is forced to go to down to zero ASAP.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#57

Post by tanseydavid »

antli35 wrote: post #24
Sad90sNerd wrote: post #19

I don't understand why people are so eager to give up autonomy. I doubt the software is certified in any meaningful way (see DO-178B), the algorithms are unknown, and the NHTSA sits on its hands whenever these vehicles have accidents. Here is a litmus test: would you allow Waymo to drive schoolbuses with your children? I know I certainly will never allow my family or myself to get into a metal box going 80 mph withou…

Assuming the children are still supervised by an adult, I don't see the issue. As a rider, Waymo generally feels safer than a human driver.

>> As a rider, Waymo generally feels safer than a human driver.

This was my experience too.

Way more smooth and smart about its SF driving than for instance, my elderly parents. It manages to be assertive without being aggressive.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#58

Post by striking »

SoftTalker wrote: post #44
someonehere wrote: post #6

I continue to use them instead of Lyft or Uber. Same price practically for me when I commute around SF. I love it.

Why do they use Jaguars? Seems an unnecessary expense.

They got a good deal on EV Jags that weren't selling.

Re: Waymo to begin testing on San Francisco freeways this week

#60

Post by andrewmcwatters »

firloop wrote: post #11
tomblomfield wrote: post #7

I’m a big Waymo fan. Some of my thoughts; Waymos are one of the first things that my visitors to SF want to try. It feels like living in a science-fiction future. The ride and navigation feels very smooth - after the novelty of having no driver in the front seat wears off, you become accustomed to the experience surprisingly quickly. In comparison, I found the Cruise driving experience pretty uncomfortable and stress…

As I've mentioned on another thread, I just wish Waymo drove faster. They often don't keep up with the pace of traffic.

No thanks. I want self-driving cars to obey traffic laws. It's bad enough people are incompetent.
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