Telling that Waymo is trying to steal the thunder by releasing this news on the same day as Tesla's Q4 earnings report. They see the competition about to overtake them.
Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
91–100 of 138 posts
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#92I'm convinced that Waymo will quietly continue to roll out self driving taxi's to ever increasing areas in "beta" until one day they're covering a significant percentage of the most profitable areas to be a taxi in. Instead of trying for universal self driving, they're going to prioritise being self driving taxi's for the most profitable areas.
I feel like some people have been using "most profitable areas" instead of saying dense urban areas and upset that it might take a while to reach rural and suburban areas. Is that what you are saying? What business is not in the business of pursuing the most plausible profitable direction first?
Most startups actually.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#93"In addition to ongoing trips to Truckee, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Upstate New York and Tokyo, the expansion includes testing in San Diego and Las Vegas, with more cities yet to be announced." Pitching my own book here, but I think Jackson Hole would be a great place for Waymo. It's clearly delineated, has basically no freeway driving, affluent residents and a constant influx of tourists for brand building. The on…
I didn’t realize there is a private equity and investing scene in Jackson Hole.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
I honestly don't understand the appeal of a private self-driving vehicle as opposed to a taxi-style rental service. I like that Waymo has human backup! Knowing that if the car gets into a tricky situation there's someone who can remote control it back out again is very reassuring. I also like not having to think about where it parks, what it's doing when I'm not in it etc.
I would love to have one! Imagine all the benefits you just listed, but it's just mine so I can keep my stuff in it. Maybe my car seat or my work equipment or my shopping bags. I get where I'm going and I send it over the the parking garage a mile away that's cheap, and then summon it back when I'm done with my event, so I never have to circle for parking. If enough people to it, they would probably develop a protoco…
Maintaining an autonomous vehicle comes with a significantly higher maintenance burden than a regular car right now. Even if the sticker price were the same, would you be willing to check the air pressure regularly, take the vehicle in for calibration, clean the sensors, do software updates, implement the legal reporting responsibilities, etc? That's the current reality.
Most people don't want that and there's no market for it. Consumers (rightly) expect a vehicle that just works. It's still early days for this technology and building something that works as reliably/independently as the rest of a car isn't possible yet.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anecdotally, they've gotten much more proactive at taking unprotected lefts in my experience.
They seem to be getting more proactive in general. I was surprised last night when the one I was in went full barrel through a light that was already yellow and turned red while we were still in the intersection.
I’ll definitely take that over the Lyft driver I once had who went through a red light 1-2 seconds after it turned red. Not that that’s typical for ride share drivers in my area, but still.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
I honestly don't understand the appeal of a private self-driving vehicle as opposed to a taxi-style rental service. I like that Waymo has human backup! Knowing that if the car gets into a tricky situation there's someone who can remote control it back out again is very reassuring. I also like not having to think about where it parks, what it's doing when I'm not in it etc.
I would love to have one! Imagine all the benefits you just listed, but it's just mine so I can keep my stuff in it. Maybe my car seat or my work equipment or my shopping bags. I get where I'm going and I send it over the the parking garage a mile away that's cheap, and then summon it back when I'm done with my event, so I never have to circle for parking. If enough people to it, they would probably develop a protoco…
I think most people would rather have their car circle the block indefinitely, rather than pay for parking and wait for their car to summon, which would create so many new traffic problems.
I'm picturing herds of empty Model 3's endlessly circling every city's downtown office district
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would love to have one! Imagine all the benefits you just listed, but it's just mine so I can keep my stuff in it. Maybe my car seat or my work equipment or my shopping bags. I get where I'm going and I send it over the the parking garage a mile away that's cheap, and then summon it back when I'm done with my event, so I never have to circle for parking. If enough people to it, they would probably develop a protoco…
Maintaining an autonomous vehicle comes with a significantly higher maintenance burden than a regular car right now. Even if the sticker price were the same, would you be willing to check the air pressure regularly, take the vehicle in for calibration, clean the sensors, do software updates, implement the legal reporting responsibilities, etc? That's the current reality. Most people don't want that and there's no mar…
> Maintaining an autonomous vehicle comes with a significantly higher maintenance burden than a regular car right now.
Sure, and the cost would be really high too, but for a very wealthy person it might be worth it.
> would you be willing to check the air pressure regularly
I have to do that on my regular car, but it only needs air once every six months or so. New tires are pretty good about holding air. Also, no different than a regular car.
> take the vehicle in for calibration
I already have sensors on my car that require calibration, and I do that when it goes in for maintenance, about once a year. I wonder if these sensors need calibration more often.
> clean the sensors
You mean, wash the car? :)
> do software updates, implement the legal reporting responsibilities, etc?
I assume that would all be automatic over the air. And again, we're talking about someone who could afford a $150K car. There is a good chance they could hire someone to do that stuff too.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
The calmness is a major selling point for me, personally. Beyond just the safety aspect, I can't count how many times I've gotten nauseous from Uber and taxi drivers swerving and accelerating/stopping abruptly, often for no actual speed gain.
Were those rides in hybrids? I've noticed the way they brake is a lot more likely to get me carsick if I'm sitting in the back, especially Priuses.
Cars of all kinds, really. But It seems to be more common in either crappy old gas cars or Teslas. I know Teslas have weird brake settings, but every ride I've experienced this has definitely been from aggressive and reckless driving.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maintaining an autonomous vehicle comes with a significantly higher maintenance burden than a regular car right now. Even if the sticker price were the same, would you be willing to check the air pressure regularly, take the vehicle in for calibration, clean the sensors, do software updates, implement the legal reporting responsibilities, etc? That's the current reality. Most people don't want that and there's no mar…
> Maintaining an autonomous vehicle comes with a significantly higher maintenance burden than a regular car right now. Sure, and the cost would be really high too, but for a very wealthy person it might be worth it. > would you be willing to check the air pressure regularly I have to do that on my regular car, but it only needs air once every six months or so. New tires are pretty good about holding air. Also, no dif…
Generally, all of these (except sometimes calibration) are done on a weekly/monthly basis for testing fleets. Software updates and diagnostic reads can be automatic, but in practice there's enough moving parts that they require fairly regular intervention for safe operation. Legal reporting is not automatic currently. Tesla implemented that for their ADAS solutions and has been repeatedly grilled by NHTSA on their incomplete reporting. All of the commercial fleets implement reporting semi-manually because of the existential danger getting it wrong represents.
Re: Waymo to test its autonomous driving technology in over 10 new cities
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
I should first note that I'm a big fan of waymo and want autonomous to succeed generally. I take both waymo's and lyft/uber all the time in sf and waymo's are way slower. I'd estimate it at 10-15% slower. Once the novelty of a waymo wears off you realize that they drive like a high anxiety teenager and going 15 mph on a 15 mph road, coming to gentle full stop at every stop sign, and being very tentative on turns and…
It stopped at a stop sign?!?!? THE HORROR! Kidding but not kidding. Easily half my Uber rides have been legit scary. Yellow cabs only slightly better. How does Waymo do for cleanliness and odor? That would be another selling point vs regular Uber/Lyft and many yellow cabs. These days they all seem to douse the interior with cheap cologne.
Stopping at a stop sign isn't just stopping at a stop sign. The way you pull up to it conveys a rough picture of your intentions to other drivers, or at least the ones that are on the ball. Good drivers actively time their arrival to avoid potential confusion with other traffic.