My First Robo-Car Ride !

[Jim Cassedy]

I took my first driverless taxi (WAYMO) ride home from work the other afternoon. This was
definitely a memorable milestone that reminds me of how excited I was to take my first
airline trip I took when I was a kid. It is, at first, very disconcerting to get into the back
seat of a car and take a ride with nobody at the wheel. The video I've linked was taken less
than a minute into my ride. I've taken 3 more rides since then, & I'm starting to get used
to not having anyone in the driver's seat. To navigate, the car uses GPS and Google Map
info, and sophisticated imaging and ranging systems, that include not only multiple video
cameras, but also radar & LIDAR. (and a crapload of computer code, I'd imagine!)

I sincerely believe that at some point in the future, all cars will have an option to pilot
themselves. Once all these cars are "networked", every car will know exactly where it is in
relation to all the other cars around it, and will able to take corrective action if any one of
those cars wants to change lanes or turn at an intersection or needs to swerve into your
lane for some reason. Vehicle collisions could be almost eliminated. And, now that we're
all location tracked by the GPS capabilities of our cell phones and smart watches, it might
even be possible to avoid most pedestrian injuries, if someday that data was networked
and integrated into the navigation systems of all the nearby vehicles. I think that one day
self-driving cars (with the option of driving manually) will be as common as automatic
transmissions are today.

Here's some pix:

The car greeted me by voice and video screen, and confirmed my destination.
I took a deep breath, and pushed the START RIDE button. The the doors locked,
I was advised to buckle my seat belt ( the car won't move if you're not buckled in)
- - and the next thing I knew I was on my way.
WaymoStart.jpg

This short video was taken about 30sec after my ride started:
https://tinyurl.com/ycydccmw


Hands off the wheel! I didn't notice if there were brake & accelerator pedals.
I read somewhere that future models won't even have a steering wheel. ( ! )
WaymoWheel.jpg

No, we're not heading into oncoming traffic! This is "Crossover Drive, " A 'Y'
intersection in Golden Gate Park, & a spot where there are frequent accidents.
WaymoGGP_1.jpg

Here's a graphical representation of that intersection as seen on the screen
in the back seat. As you can see, we're stopped at a traffic light. The passenger
can control music, air conditioning, or unlock the doors, etc from the touch
screen, or directly from the WAYMO phone app.
WaymoGGP_2.jpg

When we reached my house, the car reminded me to check that I had my phone
and other belongings, and wished me a nice afternoon- -and, without thinking
I said "Thank You" as I shut the door and realized I was talking to a car.

The waiting time was about the same as would have been if I had taken an UBER,
and the cost was a few dollars lower - - and of course there's no driver to tip.

[Ryan Gallagher]

They are everywhere in Austin. They had a pretty rough start but seem to be improving, no longer causing traffic snarls amongst themselves, or honking at other driverless vehicles in a parking lot. I commute on foot or on two wheels, and I've grown slowly to trust them slightly more than I do human drivers (though I've still not taken a ride in one). All my close calls are with human drivers it seems.

BUT, they still do stupid things. Austin has a lot of mounted police and state troopers downtown lately, and just yesterday we saw one become quite unsure of how to pass two horses in the adjacent lane, it ended up just pacing them for two blocks before something clicked and it moved ahead. Probably had to "phone a human friend" in some data center to make a decision.

I have serious doubts about the validity of the concept in general, I mean a car is a car (driver or not), and what urban areas actually need is a lot less cars (at least in the US). But while we are still so car bound it does seem to have found a niche being priced below ride shares or actual taxis. I'd much prefer public transit improvements, but perhaps there is room for these things as a connecting service to outlying areas that don't reach the transit spokes.

I just wonder what happens when someone takes one home from the bar having drank too much and makes a mess inside. At least with ride shares there is a human to judge if they need to pull over early, or clean up after. But on the flip side a lot of sus things happen to the ladies attempting to get a safe ride home, perhaps it is better without a human to interact with?

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

So Jaguar makes the basic taxi? Having owned one in the early 90's, I can only say it was problematic. Not an every day driver. But fun to drive...

[Mike Blakesley]

I just wonder what happens when someone takes one home from the bar having drank too much and makes a mess inside.

Well, you know that's going to happen. I expect there is video being recorded of the passengers at all times and relayed to the Home Planet. If they see anything uncouth, the car might just pull over and tell you to get out!

I also expect there might be a function you could access called "There's a problem with my ride" and they would send you a replacement car.

[Jim Cassedy]

I just wonder what happens when someone takes one home from
the bar having drank too much and makes a mess inside. At least
with ride shares there is a human to judge if they need to pull over early,
or clean up after.

I was wondering about that too on my ride home the other night. According to
info I found on the WAYMO website, there are cameras in the car that are used
to monitor guest behavior, and 'check for cleanliness' after every ride. I did notice
that there IS at least one camera directly above the rear seat last night that I hadn't
noticed on my first ride the other day. They say that there are microphones in the
car, but that they are not active unless the passenger presses the "HELP" button
to talk to customer service.