I took a recent trip to Austin, Texas to present at a library conference. I’ve never been to Texas before, so this was a new adventure for me. We at good brisket at Terry Black’s BBQ, explored the capital district, and took a fun ghost tour downtown.
This was also my first experience riding in a Waymo. Waymos are the successor to the Google self-driving Prius project from years ago. You can note in the Uber app that you would prefer a Waymo and they match you with one if there’s one available.
How it works
When you book a Waymo, you get a code to unlock the car via your phone. The cars are electric jaguars. In the car, there’s a computer system that allows you to see the map of where they are going and how they identify other cars, people, and various objects. You can also play music or contact support if something happens.
The first photo shows a zoomed in view of the backseat monitor that has the color coded objects, support contact, and music.
The second photo is a view of the driver’s side and steering wheel. It was a weird experience watching the steering wheel turn without a driver.
Yes there have been stories of people getting stuck in these cars on train tracks, or they ran over people or animals.They still need to perfect the human ability to react in the event that something darts across the road or does something out of the ordinary. On the flip side though, Waymo’s follow the rules. They use turn signals when appropriate and stop at red lights or stop signs like they are supposed to. You also don’t have to worry about how a human driver will act towards you. We rode one several times on our trip, and were impressed that it was able to avoid a collision when somebody ran a red light.
Is it perfect? No. It doesn’t recognize potholes or speed bumps yet, but the technology will improve over time. In time, I hope that Waymos and other self-driving technology will open up opportunities for people who can’t drive or have access to cars for various reasons.
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