Dozens of robotaxis from Waymo gather at a single parking lot in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood
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by Brad Anderson
August 19, 2024 at 15:15
- The tech company recently updated its robotaxi fleet to honk when a car is reversing nearby.
- Unfortunately, Waymo didn’t foresee its own vehicles honking at each other.
- This is upsetting local residents who don’t appreciate being woken up at 4 a.m.
Few things in life are more frustrating than getting woken up in the early hours of the morning due to the sounds of blaring car horns. However, for many residents living in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, this has been their reality, and it’s all because of Waymo.
Not too long ago, Waymo updated the software on the Jaguar I-Pace prototypes, which are currently being tested in San Francisco. This update prompts the vehicle to honk its horn if other cars get too close while reversing. While this sounds like a good idea to avoid parking accidents, Waymo didn’t think to disable the system at its own parking lots, where its robotaxis frequently gather in the middle of the night to rest.
Watch: Phoenix Cop Hilariously Pulls Over Driverless Waymo Going Wrong Way, Who Pays The Ticket?
A video shared to TikTok shows dozens of Waymo robotaxis sitting in a parking lot near several apartment complexes in San Francisco. The clip was reportedly filmed at 4 a.m. and shows the vehicles indecisively shuffling around the parking lot, repeatedly honking each other if they get too close. Occasionally, the honking starts a little later in the morning, but we’re sure it is just as annoying for residents.
“We started out with a couple of honks here and there, and then as more and more cars started to arrive, the situation got worse,” local resident Christopher Cherry told Business Insider. “It’s very distracting during the workday, but most importantly it wakes you up at four in the morning.”
@curiosior @Waymo robots gather together at 4 AM every morning in front of my apartment and honk their horns at each other. This absurdity happens most of the day. #robot #car #cars #carsoftiktok #fyp #selfdriving ♬ Comedy Scenes – Comical, stupid, odd, lovely (Drumless)(1441321) – Ponetto
Fortunately for those living near this parking lot, Waymo has fixed the issue and says its vehicles will keep the noise down moving forward.
“We recently introduced a useful feature to help avoid low speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close while reversing toward us,” a spokesperson from the tech company said. “It has been working great in the city, but we didn’t quite anticipate it would happen so often in our own parking lots. We’ve updated the software, so our electric vehicles should keep the noise down for our neighbors moving forward.”
@curiosior Every morning we wake up to @Waymo robots honking downstairs. Normally it’s 4 AM but since its the weekend we got a late start… 7 AM. 1.3x notmal speed. #carsoftiktok #s#selfdrivingrobot #ai #fypage ♬ original sound – Curiositas