"The details of these companies' "remote assistance" programs are important because the humans supporting the robots are critical in ensuring the cars are driving safely on public roads, industry experts say. Even robotaxis that run smoothly most of the time get into situations that their self-driving systems find perplexing. See, for example, a December power outage in San Francisco that killed stop lights around the city, stranding confused Waymos in several intersections."
"Or the ongoing government probes into several instances of these cars illegally blowing past stopped school buses unloading students in Austin, Texas. (The latter led Waymo to issue a software recall.) When this happens, humans get the cars out of the jam by directing or "advising" them from afar. These jobs are important because if people do them wrong, they can be the difference between, say, a car stopping for or running a red light."
A viral belief imagines self-driving cars as remote-controlled vehicles piloted from distant call centers. Government filings from Alphabet subsidiary Waymo and Tesla reveal specifics about human support programs that step in when automated systems become confused. Remote-assistance operators have intervened during incidents such as a San Francisco power outage that disabled stoplights and cases of robotaxis illegally passing stopped school buses in Austin, Texas, prompting investigations and a Waymo software recall. Industry experts stress that remote advisors play a critical safety role. Company reluctance to disclose program details has fueled public speculation, and building software that knows when to seek human help remains a major challenge.
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