Waymo's driverless cars learn to navigate Las Vegas traffic one cautious swerve at a time

Waymo's driverless cars in Las Vegas learned to navigate traffic by making cautious swerves, as the vehicle swerved into the left turn lane at the intersection of Wynn and Spring Mountain roads after detecting another car driving close to the line. The car slowed down on the Interstate 15 overpass when it detected the presence of Metro Police on the right side of the road. The Waymo driver software is the same used in all of its vehicles across the country, meaning the data and experiences collected from places like San Francisco and New York City is also used to train the cars that end up in Las Vegas. The company, along with Tesla Robotaxi and Aviari Services, earned unanimous approval last month from the Nevada Transportation Authority to charge for rides around Las Vegas as they comply with conditions. Tesla is being allowed a fleet of up to 5,000 fully autonomous vehicles during the first year after its permit is issued, while Waymo and Aviari were granted no more than 1,000 in the same time frame.

Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service in Las Vegas is designed to provide a comfortable and safe experience for riders. The vehicle has cameras with wipers that help cut through harsher weather and lidars that analyze the world around it to create three-dimensional maps. Riders can customize the vehicle with temperature settings, preferred tunes, and even change the color and display initials on the rooftop lidar. The vehicle also has a steering column that turns on its own and a black steering wheel. The ride began with a simple press of a blue button on one of the three display screens. The Waymo driver software is the same used in all of its vehicles across the country, meaning the data and experiences collected from places like San Francisco and New York City is also used to train the cars that end up in Las Vegas. The company gathered data in Las Vegas to improve its self-driving technology deployed in other cities. The Waymo driver software is the same used in all of its vehicles across the country, meaning the data and experiences collected from places like San Francisco and New York City is also used to train the cars that end up in Las Vegas. The company, along with Tesla Robotaxi and Aviari Services, earned unanimous approval last month from the Nevada Transportation Authority to charge for rides around Las Vegas as they comply with conditions. Tesla is being allowed a fleet of up to 5,000 fully autonomous vehicles during the first year after its permit is issued, while Waymo and Aviari were granted no more than 1,000 in the same time frame.

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