Coverage of Waymo’s Self-Driving Taxis in San Francisco Parking Lot

In today’s rapidly evolving world of technology, self-driving cars have become a hot topic of conversation. Companies like Waymo are at the forefront of this innovation, with their robotaxis roaming the streets of San Francisco. However, have you ever wondered what happens to these self-driving taxis when they are not in use?

One YouTube channel, run by software engineer Sophia Tung, has been live streaming a San Francisco parking lot that Waymo is renting for their autonomous vehicles. The stream provides viewers with a glimpse into the world of self-driving cars during their downtime. According to Tung, Waymo partially took over the lot on July 28th, and later on, completely occupied the space. This move coincided with the opening up of Waymo’s robotaxi service to the public in San Francisco.

Tung set up the livestream using a mini PC and a webcam surrounded by a cereal box to reduce glare. The stream features LoFi study beats and provides a look into the activities of the Waymo cars at any given time of the day. Text overlaid on the video indicates the timeframes when the cars are most active in the parking lot.

According to Tung, the parking lot begins to fill up around 4 AM, leading to what appears to be a chaotic ballet of autonomous parking. The cars navigate the space, sometimes honking, for up to an hour before settling down. Waymo’s representative, Chris Bonelli, acknowledged this behavior, stating that the company is working to address the issue of honking in their parking lots.

The live stream of Waymo’s self-driving taxis in a San Francisco parking lot offers a fascinating insight into the world of autonomous vehicles. It showcases the intricacies of their downtime activities and the challenges they face, such as the behavior of honking while navigating parking spaces. As technology continues to advance, such glimpses behind the scenes provide a valuable perspective on the future of transportation.