Waymo is a party trick that you cannot bring to a party. (At least you can take Smart Summon to any party you want /sarcasm )
You literally have to go to a designated city/route. That is not a solution.
I am all for Waymo (or anyone surpassing Tesla) but from my observation of Waymo it is run as a PhD project with dissertations being written on some edge case or another.
The problem with PhD programs is they end up looking for more cool stuff to dive into and research.
You are misinformed. Waymo cars are not limited to only following a designated route. They are true autonomous cars that can operate anywhere. They are only geofenced right now for testing purposes. Yes, it absolutely is a valid solution. Waymo has built autonomous cars with the hardware and software to drive themselves anywhere but they temporarily limit them to an area first to make sure they are safe before expanding the area. That is far better than just releasing an autonomous car loose on every road before you know if it will be safe or not.
From Waymo's own report, here are some of the things that Waymo cars can do without a driver:
1. Detect and Respond to Speed Limit Changes and Speed Advisories
2. Perform High-Speed Merge (e.g., Freeway)
3 Perform Low-Speed Merge
4 Move Out of the Travel Lane and Park (e.g., to the Shoulder for Minimal Risk)
5 Detect and Respond to Encroaching Oncoming Vehicles
6 Detect Passing and No Passing Zones and Perform Passing Maneuvers
7 Perform Car Following (Including Stop and Go)
8 Detect and Respond to Stopped Vehicles
9 Detect and Respond to Lane Changes
10 Detect and Respond to Static Obstacles in the Path of the Vehicle
11 Detect Traffic Signals and Stop/Yield Signs
12 Respond to Traffic Signals and Stop/Yield Signs
13 Navigate Intersections and Perform Turns
14 Navigate Roundabouts
15 Navigate a Parking Lot and Locate Spaces
16 Detect and Respond to Access Restrictions (One-Way, No Turn, Ramps, etc.)
17 Detect and Respond to Work Zones and People Directing Traffic in Unplanned or Planned Events
18 Make Appropriate Right-of-Way Decisions
19 Follow Local and State Driving Laws
20 Follow Police/First Responder Controlling Traffic (Overriding or Acting as Traffic Control Device)
21 Follow Construction Zone Workers Controlling Traffic Patterns (Slow/Stop Sign Holders)
22 Respond to Citizens Directing Traffic After a Crash
23 Detect and Respond to Temporary Traffic Control Devices
24 Detect and Respond to Emergency Vehicles
25 Yield for Law Enforcement, EMT, Fire, and Other Emergency Vehicles at Intersections, Junctions, and Other Traffic Controlled Situations
26 Yield to Pedestrians and Bicyclists at Intersections and Crosswalks
27 Provide Safe Distance From Vehicles, Pedestrians, Bicyclists on Side of the Road
28 Detect/Respond to Detours and/or Other Temporary Changes in Traffic Patterns
29 Moving to a Minimum Risk Condition When Exiting the Travel Lane is Not Possible
30 Perform Lane Changes
31 Detect and Respond to Lead Vehicle
32 Detect and Respond to a Merging Vehicle
33 Detect and Respond to Pedestrians in Road (Not Walking Through Intersection or Crosswalk)
34 Provide Safe Distance from Bicyclists Traveling on Road (With or Without Bike Lane)
35 Detect and Respond to Animals
36 Detect and Respond to Motorcyclists
37 Detect and Respond to School Buses
38 Navigate Around Unexpected Road Closures (e.g. Lane, Intersection, etc.)
39 Navigate Railroad Crossings
40 Make Appropriate Reversing Maneuvers
41 Detect and Respond to Vehicle Control Loss (e.g. reduced road friction)
42 Detect and Respond to Conditions Involving Vehicle, System, or Component-Level Failures or Faults (e.g. power failure, sensing failure, sensing obstruction, computing failure, fault handling or response)
43 Detect and Respond to Unanticipated Weather or Lighting Conditions Outside of Vehicle’s Capability (e.g. rainstorm)
44 Detect and Respond to Unanticipated Lighting Conditions (e.g. power outages)
45 Detect and Respond to Non-Collision Safety Situations (e.g. vehicle doors ajar)
46 Detect and Respond to Faded or Missing Roadway Markings or Signage
47 Detect and Respond to Vehicles Parking in the Roadway
Waymo also did 1.4 million real autonomous miles in CA alone. Tesla only did 12 miles. That's not a mere PhD project or party trick.
Fact is that Waymo is way ahead of Tesla because Waymo has autonomous cars that actually can self-drive on their own and Tesla does not. And Waymo has millions of autonomous miles while Tesla only reported 12. Tesla has no FSD. They are still working in perception and image and video labelling which Waymo did years ago.
