Waymo uses electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for this service, aiming for both eco-friendliness and quiet, smooth operation.
BHPian kiku007 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
I was in the United States of America to attend a wedding and meet my extended family. I would like to share some of my automotive/transport/mobility experiences during my time in the states.
I’ve listed them in the order of what fascinated me the most:
- The Perseverance Rover (1-1 Scale model) – The most sophisticated piece of robotic hardware to be ever launched off the earth.
- Waymo One – The world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service.
- Lucid Air GT – 0-60 MPH in under 3 secs | 500 mi range | U$110K.
- California’s focus on electrified mobility – You have to experience to comprehend it.
- Peterson Automotive Museum, Los Angeles – Fascinating collection of exclusive automobiles.
- Amtrak Acela 2107 New Jersey to Washington DC – ~200 mi in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h).
- Air travel – Airplanes run like taxis in the USA!
I was fortunate to be provided a personal tour (by my brother) of the NASA facility.
What is the Perseverance Rover?
- A robotic explorer designed and operated by NASA, part of its Mars 2020 mission, which landed on Mars in February 2021.
- Its primary goal is to search for signs of ancient microbial life and gather detailed information about the Martian environment.
- Equipped with advanced scientific instruments, cameras, and a drill, Perseverance is able to collect rock and soil samples, which it caches for potential return to Earth through future missions.
- Perseverance also deployed Ingenuity, a small helicopter, which became the first controlled flight on another planet. This success is helping scientists understand flight dynamics in the thin Martian atmosphere, aiding future aerial exploration.
Bonus Content: The GRACE Follow-On Mission
What is it?
The GRACE Follow-On mission, launched by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in May 2018, is a satellite mission designed to continue the work of the original GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission.
It monitors Earth’s gravitational field with high precision, allowing scientists to track changes in mass distribution across the planet.
This includes observing variations in water storage, ice sheet mass, sea level, and groundwater, providing crucial insights into Earth’s climate and water systems.
A study by Rodell et al. [2009] in northwest India used terrestrial water storage-change observations from GRACE and simulated soil-water variations from a data-integrating hydrological modeling system to show that groundwater is being depleted at a mean rate of 4.0 +/- 1.0 cm yr-1 equivalent height of water (17.7 +/- 4.5 km yr-1) over the Indian states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana (including Delhi). During the study period of August 2002 to October 2008, groundwater depletion was equivalent to a net loss of 109 km of water, which is double the capacity of India’s largest surface-water reservoir.
Predictions suggest that at the current extraction rate, Punjab’s first aquifer (up to 100 meters deep) could be exhausted by 2029, and deeper levels may become non-viable by 2039. This rapid depletion also threatens food security due to Punjab’s role as a major agricultural hub, leading experts to advocate for crop diversification and more efficient irrigation methods as potential solutions to mitigate further groundwater decline.
Parting notes:
Whatever be the political differences between the USA, Russia, China etc., we see from outside, there seems to be decent collaboration between the scientific communities.
It was heartwarming to see the growing contribution of people of Indian heritage within NASA. I’m attaching this video only to share an example. Please ignore the over egging of “Indian-American” thing by the news channel.
WAYMO One – What is it?
- Waymo One is Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service, operating without a driver on certain routes in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
- Initially developed as part of Google’s self-driving car project in 2009, Waymo has grown into a standalone company specializing in fully autonomous technology.
- Waymo One vehicles use a combination of cameras, lidar, radar, and AI to navigate streets safely. Riders simply use the Waymo One app to hail rides, available in specific areas like Metro Phoenix and parts of San Francisco.
- Waymo uses electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for this service, aiming for both eco-friendliness and quiet, smooth operation. These cars are designed to be fully autonomous, and in most cases, no operator is present in the vehicle.
- Waymo has logged millions of real-world miles and countless simulated miles to continuously refine the system, which is among the most advanced in autonomous driving today.
How did I end up in one?
- Waymo One is by invite in LA.
- I got the invite code from the Waymo exhibit at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
How was the experience?
- It was cool!
- I hailed the cab through the Waymo Mobile App.
- I opened the door of the cab through the Mobile App.
- I was the only human inside the cab.
- The ride was almost smooth. The car was a tad faster over speed bumps. Otherwise it was smooth to navigate around other vehicles and pedestrians.
- I was charged a fee that was similar to Uber. Obviously Google is subsidizing the ride.
- The cab operates in a limited area. My route did not have any motorways.
The future Geely Waymo Cabs:
Mobile App:
Waymo One Interiors:
Link to video on the Waymo exhibit at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
Continue reading on BHPian kiku007’s USA adventure for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
