The fledgling robotaxi services currently out on the roads aren’t quite fulfilling the ambitious promises of a fully autonomous future. One Waymo robotaxi seemingly got stuck in a roundabout last week, causing it to lap around the tight loop 37 times. Thankfully, there were no passengers inside for the dizzying ride.
It’s unclear how the loop ended, but Waymo monitors its vehicles for erratic behavior. While the robotaxi isn’t equipped with functionality for someone to take the wheel remotely, an engineer can input way points to get cars out of sticky situations. Hypothetically, all an engineer had to do was plop down a way point anywhere else in the lot.
This is nowhere near the first time that a Waymo vehicle has exhibited erratic behavior. A driverless I-Pace drove down the oncoming lane of a San Francisco street to avoid a pack of unicyclists in April. A portion of the company’s fleet started honking their horns at each other while stationed in a parking lot in August.
Despite the continual issues, Waymo is still hoping to expand out of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. One of the reasons why the company’s services operate in those areas is the mild to hot climate. Waymo launched winter testing programs to seek out snow and ice in places like Michigan and Upstate New York. If robotaxis ever goes truly nationwide, the public backlash seen in California will undoubtedly follow the expansion.
