On any given day, Motional robotaxis can be seen on test drives in numerous cities across the United States and Asia, including Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica and Singapore. In addition to locations such as San Diego, where Motional vehicles have been driven on the road to assess system performance. These comprehensive driving settings ensure that the company’s technology is validated in a variety of environments, including different weather conditions, before being made available to the public.
That’s why the company recently introduced test vehicles on the streets of San Diego, California.
One challenge they told us about was the city’s trolley system. The San Diego Trolley System is one of the busiest light rail systems in the United States, with its brilliant red streetcars familiar to residents, workers, and motorists of the coastal city of Southern California. But Motional’s development vehicles had never seen anything like it.
“Despite the novelty, the AV sensors and the onboard brain were able to see the trolley, correctly classify it, understand how it was moving and navigate safely around it, just as the Motional test team in the vehicle expected. .” says the company’s press release.
The logic that makes Motional AVs work is based on hundreds of thousands of hours of road testing in Boston, Pittsburgh, Singapore and Las Vegas. If this seems like a strange mix of cities around the world and home, that’s because it is. Every metropolis is different, with its own traffic rules, climate and topography.
“Boston is one of the oldest cities in the country, with narrow streets, tall buildings and aggressive drivers. Pittsburgh has over 30 bridges, hilly terrain and is home to the infamous “Pittsburgh left.” Singapore is a more modern, global city with a tropical climate. It also adheres to the rules for driving on the left.” the company said.
Motional’s expansion to San Diego is significant not only because it’s another city in which the company is testing, but also because California is seen as a hub in the development of autonomous vehicles. In 2012, the state was the first to pass legislation allowing AVs on the roads. And since then, it has led the way in testing and deploying these vehicles.
“The fact that our AVs show that they can quickly adapt to a new environment is good news for future Motional robot taxi passengers. The company isn’t just launching a robotic taxi company in one city; it aims to provide a new mode of transportation in cities around the world. By building adaptable AV technology that can scale quickly, Motional can enter new markets faster and deliver driverless benefits to more communities,” said Motional. “But our vehicles can always learn more. By testing in new and different cities, we can better understand the strengths and limitations of our systems and improve where necessary, to ensure our passengers have a safe, accessible and reliable ride.”
It’s great to see a company broadly focus on robotaxi services instead of focusing on doing its best in a small, geofenced area. While that approach certainly has benefits, being able to work in a wider variety of situations can help bridge the gap between services like Tesla’s FSD and smaller ones like Waymo or Cruise.
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