Do you think Waymo cars can only drive you across town? Think again. As part of a pilot program, the autonomous vehicles (AV) will now detect potholes and make the data available to cities and the Department of Transportation through the free Waze for Cities platform.

The program aims to help cities fix potholes more efficiently. Waze for Cities already has user-contributed data on potholes, and Waymo cars will now give "officials an additional view of surface street and highway conditions that enables them to more efficiently and effectively fill potholes,” the company says in a blog post.

The data will also be shared with Waze users so they get notified when they approach a pothole. Waze users will also be allowed to verify Waymo’s detection and keep the data accurate. Both Waymo and Waze are owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

At launch, Waymo will report potholes in five of its operational cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. In these cities, the AVs have already identified 500 potholes, Waymo says.

Eventually, pothole detection will be extended to all cities where Waymo operates. The company offers paid rides in 11 cities right now, and is conducting tests in 20 others.

As TechCrunch notes, the program could help Waymo win over city officials, whose approval is required to run trials and launch commercial ride services.

“Waymo is showing the good neighbor principle in action.. It’s a simple step, but it reflects a broader principle of responsibility, that companies operating on public streets can help improve them,” says Sarah Kaufman, director of the New York University Rudin Center for Transportation, in Waymo’s blog post.

Waymo, meanwhile, began operations in Nashville earlier this week and began invitation-based rides at San Antonio International Airport late last month.

By: DocMemory
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