(Credit: Emily Forlini/PCMag)
Waymo this week reiterated that its robotaxis are not remotely operated by humans. Instead, remote assistants (RAs) can only provide support; they cannot take over a car and drive it.
"Waymo uses Remote Assistance (RA) agents, who provide advice only when requested by the ADS [Autonomous Driving System] on an event-driven basis. Waymo's RA agents...do not directly control, steer, or drive the vehicle," Ryan McNamara, VP and Global Head of Operations at Waymo, wrote in a letter to Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Markey requested more information about Waymo's RA agents after the company's chief security officer, Mauricio Peña, appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee and mentioned that it had RAs based in the Philippines. Even though Waymo detailed this "fleet response" in late 2024, Peña's testimony made headlines, with Markey arguing that having RAs located overseas "could create serious safety, national security, and privacy risks."
In response, McNamara said Waymo has about 70 operators at any given time, with half based in Arizona and Michigan and the other half in two cities in the Philippines. They only respond to requests for which they have been trained and certified, he says. Even when the ADS seeks help, the RA agents can only provide advice and support.
Further, McNamara clarifies that the remote assistants do not passively monitor each car, anticipating an intervention. When the car is in an ambiguous situation, the ADS reaches out for more context, even though it has the confidence to proceed safely, he says.
Additionally, the cars do not get stalled during the exchange between the ADS and the RA. “The average amount of time that elapses between a request to RA and the delivery of advice to the ADS... is a matter of seconds. During that time, the ADS remains in control of the Dynamic Driving Task and continues to make decisions independently based on all information available to it,” McNamara says.
Though Waymo AVs are capable of operating autonomously most of the time, the RAs have a tool to nudge them when they stop on the shoulder of a highway. In this scenario, a US-based agent “could prompt the AV to move forward at 2mph for a short distance at fixed steering angles to exit the travel lane,” McNamara says, adding that Waymo cars have never had to use this functionality outside of training.
One thing the RAs can't do: close doors. If a passenger leaves their Waymo door ajar, the cars can't depart, so Waymo is paying people, including DoorDash delivery drivers, to shut them.