When the Inglewood men traveled to Arizona for a conference, one turning point after another came.
Mike Johns was in a parking lot in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Dec. 9, trying to get to the airport for a flight home to Southern California when a self-driving car kept spinning around in the back of his Waymo car. A video was shot from.
“Why does this happen to me on Monday? I’m in a Waymo car and this car just keeps going in circles,” Johns’ voice can be heard in the back seat of the video as the car continues to turn. I can hear it.
Johns, an AI consultant and founder and CEO of Digital Mind State, said the car completed about eight laps. He eventually arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in time for his flight.
“After I made the adjustment through the app, the car went into high gear,” Johns told NBCLA on Monday. “They took over in the control tower, got it working, and we left for Sky Harbor.”
Waymo said this loop event has since been addressed through regularly scheduled software updates. Waymo said the passenger was not charged, but the car was delayed for about five minutes before heading to its destination. Waymo said it has attempted to contact the customer.
California-based Waymo began offering self-driving vehicle rides in Los Angeles in April. The Google spinoff uses a smartphone app that allows users to request a ride with remote assistance from an employee when needed.
Waymo is a major player in the industry in the U.S., but competitors such as Elon Musk’s carmaker Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox are looming.
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