Waymo comes to Denver and Seattle to play in the rain and snow – Jalopnik

After he was from Boston, Waymo announced plans to bring his autonomous vehicles in a row to two northern cities. The Colorado Sun reports that Waymo is coming to Denver, while the Seattle Times Says that the robotaxis will also come to the Emerald City. These cities will become members of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin.

In both cities, Waymo will follow the gradual roll -out approach that is used in the past. The first step will coordinate with local officials in the areas intended to operate. Then his Jaguar I-Pace and Zeekr vehicles will start scanning the area with human drivers in the command. Later the vehicles will take control under close supervision and they will only take passengers if Waymo is convinced that the robotaxis is completely ready for Denver and Seattle.

Officials in both cities seem to welcome Waymo’s arrival. From the Denver Post:

Mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, both supported the local arrival of the new technology on Tuesday.
“Whether they need a ride to work, school, the farmers’ market, or they are going for a night in the city, Waymo is a great way for Denverites to get where they go safely,” said Johnston, according to a statement. “Waymo’s innovative, climate -friendly technology will make our streets safer and cleaner, and I can’t wait for my first ride.”

Seattle’s response from the Ministry of Transport is cautiously optimistic, but more reserved reports King 5:

“The city of Seattle supports innovation that makes transport safer, more efficient and more accessible. Seattle has chosen a smart, safety -oriented approach to collaborate with autonomous vehicle operators and to ensure that these technologies work well for everyone who lives, works and plays here.

Community reaction is mixed. According to Denver 7Some are really interested in technology and believe in potential safety benefits. However, taxi and journey factors are concerned about losing their job to automated taxis such as Waymo, says King 5, as we have seen in other cities such as Boston. Some are also worried about how capable these vehicles will be in the snowy winter conditions of Denver.

The first few cities that Waymo manages are remarkable because they are all southern cities with good weather in general. It plays the self -driving game on Easy Mode, which is a completely reasonable way to start. Now, with some experience under his belt, Waymo wants to expand to more northern cities, specifically to gain experience in more challenging weather conditions.

Seattle, or every city in the Pacific Northwest, is a natural choice to test driving in rainy conditions. It is on average 152 rainy days a year according to The weather channelAs a result, learning to speed up how to deal with lower visibility and reduced traction. Waymos vehicles are equipped with windscreen wipers, not only for the windshield, but also the different sensors to process rain and other rubble. While the fog that often hangs over the PNW, causes problems for cameras and human drivers, Waymo’s Lidar should be able to look through what Tesla should consider.

Denver is an even greater challenge with snowy and icy conditions. Wipers are great for rain, but everyone who is driven in snow knows that ice build -up on the windshield can be a problem, and wipers cannot always deal with it. A kind of heating element, similar to a rear window Defogger, would work well here, but we don’t know if Waymo uses this. I hope so, because as good as Lidar is, ice structure on sensors can make it almost blind.

Moreover, driving in snow is very different from driving on dry or wet roads. Special techniques are required, which Waymo vehicles know or not. I had to disable traction or stability control to get some wheel spider from sticky situations because the automated systems would not or could not. Waymo is still stuck in Chick-Fil-A Drive-throughs, let alone a few centimeters of snow, so we will have to see how the winter driving skills are and, more importantly, how fast it can learn.