Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Cautious
Waymo, Alphabet's driverless technology company, has taken a go-slow approach to robot vans. It is deeply aware of the negative PR and potential regulation that could befall it should it push the software and hardware too quickly. Waymo is offering "rider only" transport in Phoenix suburbs and has plans to extend its service to other cities, but not too quickly. Tesla, with its brash approach, has had several, widely publicized accidents with its hands-free driving technology. Waymo is attempting to avoid that, and it is the smart strategy to take. The problems it has discovered in its extensive testing have driven home to the company that driverless vehicles must solve immensely complicated scenarios that humans adjust to quickly. It is not easy to predict what a van will encounter on the streets. "Rider only" is costing Alphabet and Waymo hundreds of millions and the payoff is uncertain. In the end, will it be cheaper to have a human with hands on the wheel? It is not clear yet but the next five years should reveal the answer.
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