A Waymo robotaxi recently left a passenger in a predicament, circling a parking lot for five minutes instead of heading to the airport. The incident highlights the challenges autonomous vehicle developers face as they work to perfect the technology.
The passenger, Mike Johns, ordered the Waymo vehicle in December for a ride to the airport in Los Angeles. However, instead of following the planned route, the self-driving Jaguar I-Pace circled a traffic island repeatedly, leaving Johns alarmed and frustrated.
“I’ve got my seatbelt on, I can’t get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What’s going on?” he told Waymo’s customer support team during the ride.
Johns attempted to resolve the issue with guidance from Waymo's operator, who instructed him to use the My Trips feature on the Waymo app. Despite his efforts, the robotaxi remained stuck in its loop until Waymo’s team remotely regained control of the vehicle. Johns eventually arrived at the airport.
In response to the incident, Waymo identified the issue as a software glitch and stated it has since been resolved to prevent similar problems. The company also ensured Johns was not charged for the ride.
Speaking to CBS News, Johns expressed his disappointment with the experience. “Where’s the empathy? Where’s the human connection to this? It’s just, again, a case of today’s digital world. A half-baked product and nobody meeting the customer, the consumers, in the middle,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Waymo has faced challenges with its robotaxis. In August last year, the company’s vehicles exhibited unusual behavior, gathering in a San Francisco parking lot and honking their horns at night. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also investigating crashes involving the company’s autonomous cars.
