Waymo, Alphabet’s subsidiary, has taught robotaxi vehicles to generate real-time weather maps to enhance taxi services in Phoenix and San Francisco (USA).
Autonomously driven vehicles struggle to navigate in bad weather. Heavy rain, fog or snow can disable the perception systems of autonomous vehicles, which largely rely on cameras, radars and лидары.
To address these problems, Waymo installed visibility sensors in its robotaxi, which, in combination with other equipment, help the AI driver make decisions in adverse weather. The vehicles can measure raindrops on the windows to gauge the intensity of different phenomena.
"We describe our robo-cars as mobile weather stations. That’s how they operate," said Daniel Rotenberg, a member of Waymo’s meteorology team.
The technology gives the company a more detailed picture of weather conditions than airport stations, radars and satellites.
Waymo has already created a "first-of-its-kind" fog map for San Francisco. It combines millions of data points collected by robo-cars as they traverse the city’s streets.
Using the map, the Waymo fleet can track the spread of coastal fog rolling in from the Pacific Ocean and its disappearance at sunrise. The unmanned vehicles can also detect drizzle and light rain in conditions invisible to the National Weather Service radar.
"We can understand in real time the actual weather conditions that affect our cars in a truly hyperlocal context. This wasn’t the case before," Rotenberg said.
Waymo said the unmanned vehicles are already performing ‘pretty well’ in light fog.
By expanding forecasting and decision-making capabilities with more hyperlocal data, the company expects robotaxis to become even more effective in challenging weather conditions in the near future.
In November, Waymo was cleared to charge for operating driverless robotaxi s in San Francisco (USA). For commercial deployment of fully autonomous taxis the company needs approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
In October, it emerged that Waymo plans to launch robotaxis in Los Angeles (USA). Company representatives have already begun collecting mapping data in the city.
In September, Waymo launched a robotaxi without a safety driver behind the wheel in downtown Phoenix, USA.
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