[Video] Testing Waymo's Patience

What happens when a Waymo is blocked in by a pedestrian?

[Video] Testing Waymo's Patience
JJRicks standing in front of a Waymo autonomous car, blocking it in the alleyway

While in Austin with JJRicks, I had an idea. What if one of us stood in front of the car and made it reverse all the way out of a tight alleyway?

Well, as it turns out, Waymo loses its patience eventually.

SPOILERS AHEAD - If you haven't watched the video yet, now is a great time to do so!

After a few moments of Joel standing in front of the car, it called for remote support. This is where the car "phones a friend" for advice, asking the fleet response team for a hint of the best course of action. The car remains in control at all times.

At first, it edged forwards a bit, trying to make its intentions to Joel clear. After that didn't work, it was time for a more drastic approach - HONK!

This test was also a great demonstration of the LiDAR point cloud visualisation. Joel did a little dance for us and waved around, all of which was shown clearly on the visualisation.

Overall, a great job from the Waymo Driver! We'll keep doing these fun tests as we get the opportunity to do so.