Hello, London!
With a simple and straightforward message, Waymo has confirmed that next year it wants to operate its driverless robotaxis in the city of London. For now, the company has to work with the authorities to win their favor if it wants to have full availability next year.
It is a litmus test for fully autonomous driving in Europe.
What is already known. Although it has been reported in numerous media outlets that Waymo will offer driverless trips next year, the truth is that this is not entirely the case. What Waymo has announced It is their intention to be able to offer this service but first they have to gain the trust of the regulators.
For now, the company that was born from a spin-off of Google’s autonomous car will begin to operate with a human behind the wheel in specific spaces within the city. Once you obtain approval from the authorities, you will be able to offer this service to citizens.
Why London? Waymo’s choice of London is no coincidence. It is not even the only company that aspires to put fully autonomous cars on the streets in the English city. Uber and Lyft They also have their own plans. If London ends up giving the go-ahead to any of these companies, it will be the first city in Europe to allow this service.
The announcements have been coming in cascade since last June It will be confirmed that the United Kingdom aspires to allow these services from the spring of 2026. The British Department of Transport has advanced the deadlines by one year and they hope that in 2027 the services can be active throughout the country.
A trial by fire. Although up to three companies have already shown their intention to put their cars on the street, what we will see in London will be the confirmation of whether the technology is mature enough so that cars circulate correctly in European cities.
London, like many European cities, did not plan the center of its cities that date back to the Middle Ages. The network of narrow streets, complex intersections, roundabouts and a greater number of pedestrians is a challenge for robotaxis that must be able to process an almost unimaginable number of variables in real time.
And the variety of scenarios and dangers that any car faces in the center of European cities has been presented as the main obstacle for companies that intend to put their robotaxis on the streets but also for companies like Tesla that aspire to have its most advanced autonomous driving systems.
With leaden feet. Although the United Kingdom has its own plans, the truth is that Europe has been cautious in the field of autonomous driving. At the moment, only Mercedes has permission to circulate without the driver paying attention to what is in front of them. Of course, on previously mapped roads, with good lighting and a maximum of 60 km/h. That is to say, the system is as expensive as it is slow.
The other actor that leads the way is Ford. The North American company has permission for its drivers circulate without hands in the United Kingdom and over thousands of kilometers within the European Union. Of course, the roads must be previously mapped and the driver must be able to take control immediately if the situation requires it.
Companies, however, have been pressing for some time for Europe to expedite a regulation that never seems to come. The most active has been Tesla, which has published videos showing cars with the Full Self Driving activated to circulate completely autonomously in spaces as complicated as Rome either Paris.
The security. The big problem that companies face is security. Waymo claims that its cars are 78% less likely to suffer an accident with injuries than a human. And the website where they announce their intentions in London it is a continuous reference to its security systems.
The great obstacle for companies is to convince that this is true because when a vehicle of this type plays a leading role in an accident with fatalities, it generates more distrust than if the vehicle is driven by a human being. It must be taken into account that the autonomous car has to coexist with the decisions of other human beings, so the consequences, in part, of an accident may escape their control.
To this we must add that the vehicle must understand without errors what it should do at all times. This can be a significant obstacle when a computer failure occurs, a loss of connection or, simply, a new situation that had never been contemplated. In San Francisco, for example, Cruise cars have been accused of hinder emergency services.
What’s at stake? According to the most optimistic perspectives, a business close to 600 billion dollars in less than a decade for driving. autonomous (including the possible services that manufacturers incorporate to their individual clients. It is the great hope for companies that have already burned tens of billions of dollars.
Obviously, the business is in a drastic reduction in operational costs which puts human drivers at risk. For now, in Guardian They report that taxi drivers have received the news with skepticism, pointing out that Waymo’s service in the United States is more like a tourist attraction than just another mobility alternative.
Photo | Waymo and Joshua Ziss
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