{"id":28819,"date":"2022-02-26T21:00:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T01:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28819"},"modified":"2022-02-26T21:00:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T01:00:04","slug":"payne-i-rode-a-driverless-car-in-tempe-arizona-heres-how-it-went","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/payne-i-rode-a-driverless-car-in-tempe-arizona-heres-how-it-went","title":{"rendered":"Payne: I rode a driverless car in Tempe, Arizona. Here’s how it went"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tempe, Arizona \u2014 I secure my seatbelt in the back seat, press the START RIDE button, and my Waymo One Chrysler Pacifica enters traffic on Warner Road, the steering wheel spinning right \u2014\u00a0then left \u2014\u00a0into the center lane before slowing for a stoplight.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no one in the car but me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Four years after an autonomous Uber car killed a cyclist here, fully autonomous Waymo ride-sharing\u00a0is\u00a0on the streets ferrying drivers to their destinations. Like Uber or Lyft, they are open\u00a0to the public. Unlike those familiar services, there\u00a0are no drivers on board.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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I took multiple trips over three days across the southeast Phoenix service area. The rides were smooth, efficient, stress-free\u00a0and on time.<\/p>\n

Since 2014, I have followed the progress of Level 4 autonomous technology as a passenger\u00a0\u2014 and as a driver at the wheel of Level 2, semi-autonomous vehicles. My robo-rides include\u00a0the original Google Lexus 450h<\/a>; its cute,\u00a0marshmallow-shaped successor<\/a>\u00a0at Google HQ;\u00a0and Uber\u2019s Volvo XC90\u00a0through the streets of Pittsburgh<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Semi-autonomous adventures include\u00a0multiple rides aboard GM vehicles equipped with Super Cruise<\/a>, and Ford\u2019s similar,\u00a0geo-fenced BlueCruise system<\/a>. In between, I\u2019ve logged countless miles in Autopilot aboard my Tesla Model 3.<\/p>\n

Since October 2020, Waymo One\u00a0has serviced 50 square miles\u00a0through the adjacent communities of Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler \u2014\u00a0the first Level 4\u00a0autonomous cars on offer to the public, 24\/7, rain-or-shine, via a downloadable smartphone app.<\/p>\n

(The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines automated vehicle systems as follows: Level 1,\u00a0Driver Assistance, some driver-assist features may be included; Level 2, Partial Automation, combined automated functions such as steering and acceleration, with a driver maintaining control; Level 3, Conditional Automation, driver must be ready to take control of the vehicle at all times; Level 4, High Automation, the vehicle can perform all driving functions under certain conditions; Level 5, Full Automation, the vehicle can perform all driving functions under all conditions.)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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I wait\u00a0for 18\u00a0minutes at the Tempe Public\u00a0Library\u00a0at a quiet, urban intersection.\u00a0The white Chrysler\u00a0Pacifica \u2014 a big “W” printed on its doors \u2014\u00a0is recognizable from afar with its blue LIDAR “bubble-gum machine” on the roof.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A passerby exclaims at the sci-fi bot and reaches it before I do \u2014 \u201cWow! A driverless car!\u201d \u2014 snapping pics with his phone. Generally, though, I’m struck by how accepted Waymos seem to be. With 300-400 robots on the road, locals mostly pass them by without a second look.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like Detroit, Phoenix is a sprawling metropolitan area where personal transport is king. Like other ride-share companies, robotaxis see an opportunity to service people without vehicles, including\u00a0the elderly or those with health issues. The Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona and Foundation for Senior Living are Waymo partners. I focused my rides on meeting daily necessities.<\/p>\n

I hailed robots to Freddy\u2019s Custard and Steak (a popular local burger chain similar to Shake Shack), Walmart, Starbucks\u00a0and CVS Pharmacy. Pickup times were generally comparable to Lyft at 4-7 minutes. My ride from the Tempe Library to Freddy’s cost $10 \u2014 competitive with a $14 Lyft ride.<\/p>\n

\"App<\/p>\n
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There is no mistaking my\u00a0ride for someone else’s Waymo. My initials \u2014 HP \u2014 are displayed in bright blue on the dash. The Waymo is plastered with instructions. Upon approach, a sign\u00a0on the front door beckons me in (\u201cPlease take a back seat to access controls and display\u201d). I open the sliding door and a\u00a0voice welcomes me\u00a0(\u201cGood afternoon, Henry\u201d).<\/em><\/p>\n

As in a New York taxi, I am separated from the (empty) front seat by plexiglass. A\u00a0touchscreen hangs from the seatback confirming my destination. Once underway, the screen displays a car eye’s view\u00a0of the driving environment:\u00a0vehicles, pedestrians, buildings, stoplights. Every two seconds, the LIDAR sweep\u00a0displays even more detail with ghostlike shapes of bushes, trees, lamp posts, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

A camera watches\u00a0me from above. The remote voice of a\u00a0Waymo Rider Support agent intervenes.\u00a0\u201cIs your seatbelt on?\u201d she asks\u00a0from Waymo’s Chandler service center. \u201cI can\u2019t tell since it\u2019s similar to the color of your shirt.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I confirm that I’m\u00a0buckled in \u2014 and learn I can push the HELP button (next to the camera) anytime to ask questions. I can also press PULL OVER if I want to stop the minivan.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n
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A member of the Alphabet\u00a0Inc. family with Google, Waymo uses the Pacifica Plug-in model (with 32 miles of battery range before the gas engine kicks in), which is\u00a0a nice evolution from its Lexus 450h hybrid predecessor that featured\u00a0a prominent \u201cpopcorn\u00a0box\u201d LIDAR on top and only a second-row of seats for\u00a0passengers. With their flexible, three-row interiors, minivans have long made excellent ride-share vehicles.<\/p>\n

Pacifica’s modern, bullet-like shape dovetails with the “Waymo Driver” suite of sci-fi equipment: a long-range, mid-range\u00a0and four\u00a0short-range LIDARs. Additional hardware includes 19 cameras, six radar units\u00a0and multiple microphones. It’s a Best Buy shopper’s dream ride.<\/p>\n

One day, I bring my suitcase and briefcase along. But unlike the Lyft\u00a0Nissan Quest minivan that delivered me to Tempe, I can’t access the Pacifica’s hatchback.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Sorry, but you’ll have to put your bags in the seat next to you,” responds the Rider Support agent. Seems all that LIDAR hardware requires a lot of computer hardware in the boot to run. Just like the ol’ Lexus. Still, the minivan proves its worth \u2014 it can swallow two passengers and their luggage. Or a lot of groceries.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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With its favorable regulatory environment, high-tech workforce\u00a0and diverse population of seniors and college\u00a0students, Phoenix has ideal demographics to attract autonomous experiments. The Tempe service area is\u00a0home to Intel’s sprawling semiconductor manufacturing facilities, Mesa Community College\u00a0and neighboring\u00a0bedroom communities. In addition to Waymo, GM’s Cruise is testing autonomous grocery deliveries here with Walmart.<\/p>\n

Naturally,\u00a0the gridded\u00a0streets\u00a0and mild weather help. Snow and cold\u00a0weather (looking at you, Michigan) are\u00a0hell on robotaxis. It didn’t rain during my time in Phoenix, but Waymo confirmed a\u00a0technician will\u00a0ride along\u00a0when storms loom. For the first time in my eight years of riding robotaxis, I rode alone. In\u00a0Pittsburgh in 2017, two Uber technicians occupied the front seats.<\/p>\n

I was determined\u00a0to put Waymo to the test and\u00a0I took\u00a0rides during morning and evening rush hours when the light was low.<\/p>\n

Contrary to human drivers, robotaxis prefer night\u00a0travel so cameras aren’t confused by sun glare. Autopilot in my Tesla struggles at dusk when the low sun can blind its cameras. Despite a bright southwest sun, my Waymo rides never wobbled.<\/p>\n

My previous robotaxis have been overly conservative: always\u00a0in the right lane, always deferring\u00a0to other cars. Not this time. While displaying impeccable manners (turn signals, obeying speed limits, easy turns), the Waymo’s priority\u00a0is getting me to my destination\u00a0on time.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Driving to CVS, we\u00a0switch\u00a0lanes to pass slower cars, then stay\u00a0left on a\u00a0six-lane road to make time. Crossing\u00a0three lanes to get me to a secondary\u00a0street near the pharmacy, the Chrysler\u00a0inched into the oncoming\u00a0lanes just like I would have done \u2014 anticipating\u00a0approaching cars, then shooting the gap between them.<\/em><\/p>\n

Waymo operates\u00a0a huge service center in Chandler<\/a>\u00a0so its robotaxis can come to roost, refuel, get serviced. In addition to its high-tech hardware, Waymo technicians\u00a0have mapped the service area for\u00a0cars to follow.<\/p>\n

Since opening\u00a0Waymo One to the public in October 2020,\u00a0the company says<\/a>\u00a0it\u00a0has logged 6\u00a0million miles of travel with 47 recorded “contact events, nearly all of which involved human error on the part of other drivers or road users involved.”<\/p>\n

Turning left into a six-lane road, the Waymo properly merges into the far left lane. But a human driver to our right isn’t so precise, swerving left in front of the Waymo as we merge. We slow, giving the car room.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Further along, a pedestrian crosses\u00a0the\u00a0 six-lane from the left, then stops at the painted median. The Waymo\u00a0sees him, slows, then accelerates away.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tesla\u2019s secret sauce is that it has tens of thousands\u00a0of guinea pigs like me self-driving their cars every day \u2014 with all that data being fed back to headquarters to help with machine learning. Cool, but stressful. I have to know what Autopilot can’t see, and override the system\u00a0when it gets confused. The Model 3, for example,\u00a0habitually slows for every traffic light, whether green or red.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Waiting for Waymo,\u00a0I follow\u00a0the\u00a0vehicle’s\u00a0progress on the\u00a0app. Unlike a Lyft driver, the robotaxi prefers\u00a0quiet pickup spots on side roads or shopping plazas \u2014 requiring me to walk 2-3 minutes to meet it. Confident in the vehicle’s abilities, I use\u00a0my rides to catch up on email and texts.<\/em><\/p>\n

Leaving a main artery, Waymo takes a short cut through a suburban neighborhood to get me to Walmart.\u00a0But the neighborhood includes\u00a0multiple speed bumps. Hmmm. If I were in the Tesla, I’d have to take over. But the\u00a0Waymo sees them, slows, then moves on to the next.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Not bad for a driverless car.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tempe, Arizona \u2014 I secure my seatbelt in the back seat, press the START RIDE button, and my Waymo One Chrysler Pacifica enters traffic on Warner Road, the steering wheel spinning right \u2014\u00a0then left \u2014\u00a0into the center lane before slowing for a stoplight. There is no one in the car but me. Four years after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28820,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28819\/revisions\/28820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}