Waymo wants to see how its self-driving tech can handle severe rain in Miami
Rain and snow remain among the most difficult hurdles for autonomous vehicles, so Waymo is now expanding testing to Miami where late summer/early fall thunderstorms will present a formidable challenge for its sensors.
While Waymo’s commercial self-driving operations have been confined to the Phoenix area, the company has tested its sensors and lidar in the snows of suburban Detroit, the steady drizzles of Kirkland, Washington and the fog of San Francisco, Miami during hurricane season means occasionally torrential downpours.
Miami’s average annual rainfall is nearly 62 inches.
“Heavy rain can create a lot of noise for our sensors,” Waymo said in a statement. “Wet roads also may result in other users behaving differently. Testing allows up to understand the unique driving conditions, and get a better handle on how rain affects our own vehicle movements.”
Even in the very dry climate of the Phoenix area, some Waymo passengers have noticed that when they’ve ridden in the company’s vehicles in a light rainfall, the human driver usually takes the steering wheel.
Earlier this year, Shawn Metz, a 30-year-old Chandler, Ariz., resident, told The Verge, a web site covering transportation and other technology, that he rode in one Waymo vehicle that seemed confused in the middle of a Costco parking lot.
Other drivers in the Phoenix area have complained about the extreme caution some Waymo vehicles in situations such as a hesitation to make a right turn at certain intersections.
But Metz and other frequent Waymo passengers have generally defended the vehicles’ safety-first tendencies.
Waymo doesn’t apologize. Its officials acknowledge that the vehicles are “continually learning,” even after logging more than 10 million miles.
Miami leaders are glad to have Waymo trying to refine its suite of sensors to cope with harsh environmental conditions.
“As a Smart City, we are constantly working to modernize how we move and travel,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said in a statement. “Waymo’s work uniquely aligns with Miami’s mission to embrace technology to solve problems and improve lives, while prioritizing safety and efficiency.”
Waymo will test both Chrysler Pacifica minivans and at least one Jaguar I-Pace in the Miami area.
Just as rain and snow can obsure the rear-view cameras that are now found on most new vehicles, the same is true on the expanded array of tiny cameras and sensors that form the “eyes and brains” of self-driving vehicles.
Initially, Waymo will conduct controlled tests on a closed course in Naples, Fla. If all goes well there the test fleet will be deployed on public roads in Miami. They all will be staffed with trained test drivers who will take control in certain situations.
Eventually the testing will be expanded to highways that connect Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers and Miami.
