Waymo Robotaxis Caused Traffic Jams During Power Outage in San Francisco
In San Francisco, the operation of Waymo robotaxis temporarily came to a halt last Sunday due to a massive power outage. About 130,000 residents and the city's transport infrastructure were left without power.
What is known
In the absence of street lighting and non-functioning traffic lights, Waymo's Jaguar I-Pace-based autonomous electric vehicles could not continue moving. Videos and photos on social media show robotaxis stopped at intersections with hazard lights on, where traffic signals had previously been operational.
A Waymo representative told The Verge that the company suspended its taxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The decision was made for passenger safety and to ensure emergency services had free access.
Service resumed Sunday evening after energy company Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE) announced it had restored power to approximately 114,000 customers. PGE clarified that the outage was caused by a fire at a five-story substation.
In a statement, Waymo noted that the power outage was a large-scale event that disrupted traffic lights and public transportation throughout the city. Waymo emphasized that it continues to work on adapting its technology to such emergency situations in the transportation system.
The company did not specify the exact reason why the robotaxis stopped. Waymo vehicles use preloaded maps and data from several sensors to navigate in real-time. Previously, Waymo stated that in unusual situations, the cars can refer to fleet operations personnel for guidance.
While waiting for instructions, the cars can make limited decisions independently. However, after the power outage, the load on mobile networks could have surged. This could have complicated data transmission between the vehicles and operators, which require high bandwidth for simultaneously monitoring multiple machines.
The incident occurred amid intensified competition in the robotaxi market in the US. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the situation in social network X, stating that Tesla robotaxis were unaffected by the power outage in San Francisco.
Source: The Verge
