Driverless Cars Building Virtual Cities

Virtual city models developed from car imaging to create  tests, training from virtual models. 

Google, Waymo Used Driverless Cars to Make Virtual San Francisco

By New Scientist, February 24, 2022

Researchers at driverless car company Waymo and Google Research used self-driving vehicles to create a virtual model of San Francisco from photos processed by Block-NeRF software.

The software is based on Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs), a tool that builds three-dimensional (3D) models of small objects from a collection of stills that are viewable from all angles, even those that have no existing photos.

The method uses artificial intelligence trained to generate accurate 3D models from large image sets, which includes data on the exact location from which each image was captured.

Block-NeRF weaves together models of city blocks photographed by the driverless cars to keep the size of the overall model sufficiently small to run on modest hardware ...

Block-NeRF, created by researchers at driverless car company Waymo and Google Research, uses vast numbers of photos taken by cameras mounted atop Waymo’s autonomous cars to build small 3D models, each covering just over one city block. These models... 

From New Scientist   View Full Article

GM and Cruise Get California DMV Approval for Waymo

Observing this space I have received many questions about how likely autonomous driving will become, and how soon.  Mainly due to safety considerations.  Yet there still seems  a continuing movement to the approval of autonomous vehicles of  many kinds.   Here an example.   With carefully tailored regulation.  Interesting details below.  In the US this is often by State,  which adds complexity and thus cost.

Alphabet's Waymo, GM's Cruise Get California DMV Approval to Run Commercial Autonomous Car Services By CNBC 

GM-based Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo were granted autonomous vehicle deployment permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. This will allow them to charge fees and receive compensation for ride-hailing and other autonomous services offered to the public in certain areas.

However, the companies also need approval from the California Public Utilities Commission before they can offer such services to the general public outside of a testing program.  The new authorization allows Cruise vehicles to operate on public roads in certain areas of San Francisco between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at speeds no faster than 30 mph, while Waymo can operate in designated parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties at speeds no faster than 65 mph.

Both companies are permitted to operate vehicles in light rain or fog. ..... 

Both companies have been testing fleets of autonomous vehicles in California with permits that allow for free driverless rides to passengers in test vehicles.  .... "

Waymo Autonomous Taxis

Not a personal self driving car, but an hailed auto taxi service.  Being pushed by Waymo/Alphabet (Google)  Implications for liability in use?  Would this be  an ideal use case, not owning your own car?   The initial tests seems to be considerable, but with limitations   ACM NEWS

Waymo Opens Robotaxi Service in San Francisco for Ride Hailing   By The Wall Street Journal

Waymo LLC is opening its driver-supported robotaxis in San Francisco to selected riders, an important test for the Google sister company's technology and business in a major city.

The Alphabet Inc. GOOG +0.34% unit, which has raised billions of dollars from outside investors and recently completed a leadership shake-up, has been building toward a San Francisco launch for more than a decade. It started testing its autonomous-vehicle technology in the city in 2009 and is now driving more than 100,000 miles a week. Finding success in ferrying ride-hail passengers around the city in autonomous vehicles could provide a cornerstone for a revenue-generating business for Waymo, which has racked up losses for years.

On Tuesday, the company said San Francisco residents can sign up to participate in the test program by downloading the Waymo One app. It declined to share how many riders would be enrolled or how many cars would be eligible for the service. The rides will be free for participants, who must sign nondisclosure agreements and can't bring guests on rides.

Riders selected by Waymo will be able use its app to hail a Jaguar I-Pace vehicle equipped with the company's latest autonomous technology. Drivers seated behind the wheel will assume control if the computer falters or fails to adapt to any number of unpredictable scenarios as it navigates narrow, congested streets alongside pedestrians and cyclists.

From The Wall Street Journal

View Full Article  

Waymo Is 99% of the Way to Self-Driving Cars. The Last 1% Is the Hardest

 Odd illogical example given. Could such an example be solved by freezing and towing the car away?  Can't be that easy. 

Waymo Is 99% of the Way to Self-Driving Cars. The Last 1% Is the Hardest   By Bloomberg Businessweek, August 24, 2021

Despite years of research and billions of dollars in investments, the technology behind self-driving vehicles still has flaws.

Joel Johnson laughs nervously from the backseat when his self-driving taxi stops in the middle of a busy road in suburban Phoenix. The car, operated by autonomous vehicle pioneer Waymo, has encountered a row of traffic cones in a construction zone, and won't move. "Go around, man," Johnson says as he gestures to the drivers honking behind him.

After the vehicle has spent 14 mostly motionless minutes obstructing traffic, a Waymo technician tries to approach—but the car unexpectedly rolls forward, away from him. "It definitely seemed like a dangerous situation," Johnson recalls.

Incidents like this one, which Johnson posted to his YouTube channel in May, are embarrassing for Waymo—a company that's having its own problems moving forward. A unit of Alphabet Inc., Waymo hasn't expanded its robo-taxi service beyond Phoenix after years of careful testing. The company has floated moves into other areas—trucking, logistics, personal vehicles—but the businesses are in early stages. And its production process for adding cars to its driverless fleet has been painfully slow.

From Bloomberg BusinessWeek  

Waymo Drives Autonomous Trucks

Will include a trained driver and technician, at least at first.

Self-Driving Waymo Trucks to Haul Loads Between Houston, Fort Worth  By Ars Technica

Waymo and trucking company JB Hunt have partnered to haul cargo loads autonomously between Houston and Fort Worth, TX.

The Class 8 trucks equipped with Waymo Driver autonomous software and hardware system will operate on Interstate 45 carrying a trained truck driver and Waymo technicians to supervise and intervene as necessary.

Waymo's Charlie Jatt said, "Our teams share an innovative and safety-first mindset, as well as a deep appreciation for the potential benefits of autonomous driving technology in trucking. It's companies and relationships like these that will make this technology a commercial reality in the coming years."

Full Article. 

Driverless Cars Are Still Coming

 More comments on the likely general introduction of driverless vehicles.

Driverless Cars Are Coming, But Not Yet to Take Over

The Wall Street Journal, By Stephen Wilmot

Driverless cars are making their way onto U.S. roads, but it will take time for them to reach their full potential. Alphabet's Waymo began offering "robotaxis" with no backup driver in Phoenix suburbs in October, and by year’s end, General Motors' Cruise will no longer require backup drivers in its autonomous test cars in California. However, after safely operating driverless-cars in one urban district in good weather, companies must adapt to new areas and other driving conditions. It will take years, and billions of dollars in capital, to enable self-driving vehicles to adapt to multiple geographies and weather conditions, prompting partnerships between tech giants and the auto industry. For instance, Amazon has taken a stake in Aurora Innovation, a startup looking to take over Uber's operation, and acquired Aurora's rival Zoox for $1.3 billion this summer. Waymo's Larry Burns predicts that freight, rather than taxis, will fuel the commercialization of driverless technology.  .... '

Waymo Self-Driving Stats Revealed

 Quite impressive.  61 million miles, 21 months, 47 collisions and near misses. By far most caused by other cars.  No one seriously injured.  Better than human. This included some some intriguing results. 

WAYMO PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON 6.1 MILLION MILES OF SELF-DRIVING CAR DATA IN PHOENIX in TheVerge

Over 21 months in Arizona, Waymo’s vehicles were involved in 47 collisions and near-misses, none of which resulted in injuries

nIn its first report on its autonomous vehicle operations in Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo said that it was involved in 18 crashes and 29 near-miss collisions during 2019 and the first nine months of 2020.

These crashes included rear-enders, vehicle swipes, and even one incident when a Waymo vehicle was T-boned at an intersection by another car at nearly 40 mph. The company said that no one was seriously injured and “nearly all” of the collisions were the fault of the other driver...."

Fully Driverless Ride Hailing Begins in AZ with Waymo

In Arizona.  Could be a lead in to broad use of fully driverless vehicles.  Consider the data being gathered and leveraged for use.

Waymo Begins Fully Driverless Rides for All Arizona Customers   In Bloomberg  By Ira Boudway, October 8, 2020

Self-driving car company Waymo announced on Thursday that it has opened its fully driverless ride-hailing service in suburban Phoenix, AZ, to the public. Existing Waymo One customers will be able to hail a driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivan from a fleet of over 300 such vehicles; service will be limited to an approximately 50-square-mile area. Waymo intends to extend the service to new customers in a few weeks, and CEO John Krafcik said by then, "we'll have general access to anyone who chooses to download the [Waymo One] app." The company also plans to reinstate safety drivers for some trips, but will not allow passengers in vehicles with safety drivers until it has installed barriers between the front and back seats.  ... " 

Vint Cerf Takes a Driverless Ride

Vint Cerf takes a hands-free, unaccompanied drive in a Waymo and muses the technology.

A Hands-Free Ride   By Vinton G. Cerf
Communications of the ACM, December 2019, Vol. 62 No. 12, Page   10.1145/3369587

Google Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vinton G. Cerf 

I recently had the opportunity to take a ride in a Waymo self-driving car in Chandler, AZ. I had been looking forward to this experience, not only to see how well the technology worked but also what the experience might be like as a passenger. Upon my arrival at the Waymo facility, I had apparently approached the side of the building where the Waymo cars go at the end of their duty cycles to be refueled and inspected. As I drove in, I was more or less surrounded by incoming Waymo vehicles. I relaxed as they navigated their way around me.  ... " 

Driverless Services in Japan and France

Continuing to gather information on the use and greater implications of driverless.  My experience is mostly in the supply chain space, but the changes this will produce will be very broad.  Consider too the required data generation and transmission involved, what else will ride on these new channels?

Waymo is developing driverless services with Renault and Nissan
The services will be designed to transport people and goods in France and Japan.

By Mariella Moon, @mariella_moon in Engadget
1h ago in Transportation   .... "

Waymo to Build L4 Autonomous Cars in Detroit

A move ahead it seems.  Coming soon to a road near you?  We note that Waymo is part of Google via Alphabet.

Waymo will build its self-driving vehicle fleet in Detroit
The company will repurpose an existing facility in Motor City.

By Amrita Khalid, @askhalid in Engadget

Waymo will build its autonomous vehicles in Detroit. CEO John Krafcik wrote Tuesday in a Medium post that the company will repurpose an existing facility in Motor City with the goal of being operational by mid-2019. Back in January, the company announced it had chosen Southwest Michigan as the location of its new facility for the mass production of L4 autonomous vehicles, the first of its kind in the world.

The company will create anywhere between 100 to 400 jobs as a result of the venture, according to The Detroit Free Press. Waymo will also receive incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. ... " 

So what is the definition of a Level 4 Autonomous car?  From the Wikipedia:

" ... Level 4 ("mind off"): As level 3, but no driver attention is ever required for safety, e.g. the driver may safely go to sleep or leave the driver's seat. Self-driving is supported only in limited spatial areas (geofenced) or under special circumstances, like traffic jams. Outside of these areas or circumstances, the vehicle must be able to safely abort the trip, e.g. park the car, if the driver does not retake control. ... " 

Level 5 is what might be considered fully autonomous;   'Steering wheel optional' ... "   

And in the Skies:     Google Wing Drones FAA Approved for US home deliveries

How Close are Self-Driving Cars?

Was recently asked this question.   10 years, 5 years, one year, Years end?  Interesting that Waymo which I was an early tester of, is a major component.   Fleets will be a major component.

Waymo’s Maintenance Deal Hints that Commercially Available Self-Driving Cars May Be Close   Technology Review: Blogs: Mims's Bits

Building a car that drives itself is one thing, but making sure an entire fleet of them continues to run seems to be quite another.

Now, it’s emerged that Waymo's fleet of autonomous cars will be repaired and serviced by AutoNation. The New York Times reports that the auto retailer is already looking after vehicles in California and Arizona—though it doesn’t expect it to be an easy gig.

“These vehicles need to be in service for hundreds of thousands of miles, much more than personal-use vehicles, to make them economically viable,” said Michael J. Jackson, AutoNation’s CEO, to the newspaper, referring to the cost of sensors and R&D channeled into driverless cars. “To do that, you have to do much more proactive, preventative maintenance than what a normal person would do on a car.” .... ' 

Waymo Training Cars

Inside Waymo's Secret World for Training Self-Driving Cars

An exclusive look at how Alphabet understands its most ambitious artificial intelligence project

Alexis C. Madrigal ....

Bikes Existing Among Cars

Troublesome thought that bicycles might need to become so complex to exist in an ecosystem with automobiles.

Bikes May Have to Talk to Self-Driving Cars for Safety's Sake     by Margaret J. Krauss

Researchers envision bicycles communicating with autonomous vehicles so the latter can predict cyclists' movements. Waymo's self-driving autos have honed their predictive abilities over many simulated and actual driven miles, notes Waymo's Nathaniel Fairfield. Waymo's vehicles are programmed to pass bikes in compliance with state laws, or to wait if such action is impossible. Carnegie Mellon University professor Anthony Rowe wants bikes to feed data to cars. "We're trying to...put as much instrumentation on a bike as we can to see if we can predict how it's going to move in the future, so that it could, for example, signal a collision-warning system on a car," Rowe says. His team wants to collect as much information as possible to determine the precise and constant position of a bike in the world, and then determine the least amount of data a car requires from a cyclist for it to trigger an automatic braking system .... " 

More on Self Driving Trucks

Worked for years on systems that managed trucking and driver management.    So this is a a key area of supply chain costs and complexity.   In Trucks.com:

Why Waymo is Plunging into Self-Driving Semi-Truck Test  by  Jerrry Hirsch

HomeTrucking TechnologySelf-Driving Trucks - Autonomous Vehicles
Why Waymo is Plunging into Self-Driving Semi-Truck Test

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Alphabet Inc., is testing a self-driving truck.

The company, formerly known as Google’s autonomous car venture, has installed its self-driving technology on a single Class 8 Peterbilt truck.

Waymo has begun tests at a private track in California and plans road tests in Arizona later in the year. For now, it is keeping a driver behind the wheel at all times. ..... "