Here are not one but two real-time videos - one from The Verge after the deluge of media hype in the last few days. Waymo One is limited to certain neighborhoods in Metro Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe and here in Mesa. Now Waymo has to make people believe it's safer in the most extreme and challenging situations.
The company is receiving a deluge of media attention today with its launch of a commercial ride-hailing service in Arizona. Participants can hail a vehicle with a phone app, then take the vehicle to somewhere within about a 100-square-mile area, costing about the same as an Uber or Lyft ride.
However, the program is limited and, most importantly, will continue to rely on backup drivers who can take over immediately when the autonomous system has its inevitable hiccups.
"Today, we’re taking the next step in our journey with the introduction of our commercial self-driving service, Waymo One," Krafcik wrote in a blog article today. "We’ll first offer Waymo One to hundreds of early riders who have already been using our technology. Over time, we hope to make Waymo One available to even more members of the public as we add vehicles and drive in more places. Self-driving technology is new to many, so we’re proceeding carefully with the comfort and convenience of our riders in mind. At first, Waymo-trained drivers will supervise our Waymo One vehicles."
This is a different message than the one he was giving earlier this year.
Turns out the company still is not so confident.
The new service, while impressive in its own right, isn't quite the "Johnny Cab" many — including Krafcik, it seems — had thought it would be.
Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, agreed to speak with Phoenix New Times "on background," clarifying that New Times could not directly quote representatives . . .
Waymo submits reports to California each year showing how often its backup drivers took over for the autonomous vehicles, but doesn't submit them to Arizona, which requires almost no regulation of the experiments on public roads. . .
While the program will be limited for now to the 400-or so people who participated in the Early Rider program, those people will no longer be restrained by a nondisclosure agreement. They'll be able to write or speak about their experiences, good or bad. And they can take guests, perhaps including the news media. . .
READ MORE LINK > https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com
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Drivers Needed: Waymo's New Autonomous Taxi Service Falls Short of 2018 Goal
Ray Stern | Phoenix New Times | 2018-12-05 12:46:00
Waymo has failed to meet the stated goal of CEO John Krafcik, and expectations of the public, to have a fleet of fully driverless vehicles on the roads of metro Phoenix by the end of 2018.The company is receiving a deluge of media attention today with its launch of a commercial ride-hailing service in Arizona. Participants can hail a vehicle with a phone app, then take the vehicle to somewhere within about a 100-square-mile area, costing about the same as an Uber or Lyft ride.
However, the program is limited and, most importantly, will continue to rely on backup drivers who can take over immediately when the autonomous system has its inevitable hiccups.
"Today, we’re taking the next step in our journey with the introduction of our commercial self-driving service, Waymo One," Krafcik wrote in a blog article today. "We’ll first offer Waymo One to hundreds of early riders who have already been using our technology. Over time, we hope to make Waymo One available to even more members of the public as we add vehicles and drive in more places. Self-driving technology is new to many, so we’re proceeding carefully with the comfort and convenience of our riders in mind. At first, Waymo-trained drivers will supervise our Waymo One vehicles."
This is a different message than the one he was giving earlier this year.
Turns out the company still is not so confident.
The new service, while impressive in its own right, isn't quite the "Johnny Cab" many — including Krafcik, it seems — had thought it would be.
Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, agreed to speak with Phoenix New Times "on background," clarifying that New Times could not directly quote representatives . . .
Waymo submits reports to California each year showing how often its backup drivers took over for the autonomous vehicles, but doesn't submit them to Arizona, which requires almost no regulation of the experiments on public roads. . .
While the program will be limited for now to the 400-or so people who participated in the Early Rider program, those people will no longer be restrained by a nondisclosure agreement. They'll be able to write or speak about their experiences, good or bad. And they can take guests, perhaps including the news media. . .
READ MORE LINK > https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com
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Published on Dec 5, 2018
Today, Waymo rolls out a driverless taxi service called Waymo One in Arizona. The company has been operating self-driving cars, occasionally without safety drivers behind the wheel, for about a year and half now. The goal is to use all the data they have collected to make Waymo's autonomous vehicles the safest drivers on the road. Andrew Hawkins went down to Chandler, Arizona for a test ride.
Published on Dec 5, 2018
Taking a first ride in Waymo One as the self-driving service goes 'live'. Waymo's been promising it'd launch its fully autonomous service by the end of 2018, and with just a few weeks to go the company has met that goal ??????
Read more - https://roadshow.co/wq08lf
