> They work OK, but cost too much.
Costs have dropped dramatically in the past 20 years and continue to do so.
> There needs to be a cheap, flush-mounted replacement for those things.
Why? Corners are the optimal mounting position for maximum visibility. It allows the car to -in-effect- see around corners in ways no centrally mounted sensor can.
> Waymo needs to solve that problem before they do New York.
What? Because of vandalism?
Have you ever seen the corners of a car that has been parked in a big East-coast city? They will sustain damage during the course of normal operation and storage, and many people will not stop and leave their insurance information, especially if the damage is perceived as minor and happens while the car is parked and the owner not present. Currently, the corners of a car are relatively non-critical to its function and usually not too expensive to repair. If both of those change, we'll see more expensive damage that is more challenging to repair as well as less likely to be handled by the responsible party.
Also, having the sensors stick out from the corners makes the car's collision box and turning radius bigger. That doesn't help in any tight situation, but I imagine that's not that different between e.g. SF and New York. What is different is the sheer volume of cars and pedestrian activity.
Right. It seems to have been Waymo's decision to have zero blind spots around the vehicle perimeter, even if that means having the sensors stick out.
Cruise had an accident where another vehicle knocked a pedestrian into a Cruise car, and the pedestrian was dragged. Cruise lost their California DMV autonomous license for that. So there's a good case for full perimeter coverage.
Humans don't have that. The same week as the Cruise incident, a NYPD tow truck dragged a pedestrian some distance because they were in a blind spot for the driver.
They lost their license for not reporting it properly (as required under the license). Not for the accident.
> Cruise had an accident where another vehicle knocked a pedestrian into a Cruise car, and the pedestrian was dragged. Cruise lost their California DMV autonomous license for that
Cruise didn't lose the license because the car and/or human operator accidentally dragged a pedestrian (similar to the NYPD Truck). They lost their license because some time after the accident, Cruise employees fully aware of what transpired chose to cover up that part in their report of the accident to the state regulators. The state regulators found it out anyway.
They don't stick out that much. The geely vehicle has front sensors recessed just above the front wheel well, without much additional side clearance. Either way, a collision involves regulatory filings, downtime, and sensor recalibration even if no damage is sustained.
Waymos sometimes stop briefly in parking spots while waiting for assignments, but they don't really park as such except in special lots. The big problem I have seen is they tend not to always pull to the curb when releasing passengers and if a door is left even slightly ajar then they will sit there requesting the door be closed even if they are blocking a lane with many cars behind them beeping.
Not having a motor and thus having to depend on people to close doors on an autonomous car seems very silly.
Waymo's custom designed 6th generation vehicles[1] with self-closing doors were expected to enter service this year, but have [probably] been put on indefinite hold due to tariff issues
[1] https://waymo.com/blog/2021/12/expanding-our-waymo-one-fleet...
Minivans have had powered doors for decades and make great taxis, why do they need a special vehicle for this?
An earlier version of Waymo's vehicle was based on the Chrysler Pacifica. Like in a lot of areas, if you're going to spend billions of dollars to buy thousands of some product, it is worth customizing it for the specific purpose.
I think it’s due to how often cars bump or scratch against each other in NYC (I.e. the sensors are in a vulnerable spot to be easily damaged).
It’s quite funny seeing the number of cars that have bumper skirts in NYC to help minimize damage from inevitable close encounters with other vehicles