Waymos apparently implode during blackouts

Citysnaps said:
Interesting. As unlikely as this sounds, that appears to imply Waymo uses a remote server/computer and wireless datalink (apparently not with a generous battery back up) to control their cars.

Or perhaps... any significant city blackout causes Waymo cars to stop dead in their tracks?
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It was a little vague, but it looked to me like the cars don’t know what to do when the traffic lights go out?
 
Cmaier said:
It was a little vague, but it looked to me like the cars don’t know what to do when the traffic lights go out?
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That sounds very possible. And presents an interesting problem. If city power goes out, say in San Francisco, leaving five dozen Waymo cars (a wag) with passengers on busy streets without working traffic lights, how should Waymo handle that?

Perhaps the safest move would be for Waymo cars to pull over, stop, and tell passengers to leave the car.
 
Waymo needs to be much more forthcoming about how its vehicles are programmed to respond in situations like this. And if they say that they can't tell (i.e., the response may be unpredictable), that's a huge red flag. I also just watched the video of the cat that was run over and fatally injured by a Waymo. The company said that while it's true that their cars don't have sensors underneath, neither do vehicles driven by humans, it's concerning.
 
Cmaier said:
It was a little vague, but it looked to me like the cars don’t know what to do when the traffic lights go out?
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I think this is it but I'm surprised just how easily they're confused, you can bet they'll be addressing it now. For the most part these seem like a safe and easy way to get around town, San Francisco streets are flooded with them.
 
Wow :oops: for outsiders I'm sure this isn't a big deal but for San Francisco it's huge, these are literally every and used as a normal mode of transportation for many.

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Eric said:
Wow :oops: for outsiders I'm sure this isn't a big deal but for San Francisco it's huge, these are literally every and used as a normal mode of transportation for many.

601852406_1386387503517239_979473168851151486_n.jpg
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I wonder how long it'll take them to fix whatever was wrong. If it was not being able to deal with traffic lights out of service, it'd be crazy that this situation wasn't considered when the service was first set up.
 
They don't do Flash Floods very well either:

www.12news.com

'They can't see under the water': Waymo vehicles back on the road after many became stuck in Arizona floodwaters

Waymo temporarily paused operations on the autonomous vehicles in the Valley on Friday during a storm after several vehicles were seen stopped in standing water.
www.12news.com www.12news.com

Wonder who paid the fines. AZ has a stupid motorist law that put the cost of rescue from a flooded area on the driver if they knowingly/willingly drove into the flooded area.
 
Roller said:
I wonder how long it'll take them to fix whatever was wrong. If it was not being able to deal with traffic lights out of service, it'd be crazy that this situation wasn't considered when the service was first set up.
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Hard to say how their software works, they're obviously smart when it comes to driving around and I almost always have one in front of me so I see first hand. It's reassuring because I know they drive safely and will always obey the rules of the road.

Maybe it's a hybrid system and they're expecting a light where it no longer exists, they have everything mapped. Likely something that can be pretty easily patched now that they know the issue though.
 
Gotta say, the 4 a.m. Waymo ride I took from my hotel to the Phoenix airport earlier this year was delightful.
 
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