It seems like a futuristic scenario that is only discussed at mobility and technology conferences, but the truth is that in 2024, we will be able to travel by car without any driver. Remember when people told you about self-driving vehicles and you were skeptical about putting them on the road? They are already here, and Jornal Economico (JE) explains how they work here.

San Francisco in the United States is the second city in the world where Waymo’s self-driving cars have become fully available to the public, similar to Uber or Lyft. The biggest difference is that there is no human behind the wheel. But it’s not the only one. From the start, the fleet of cars has stood out because it’s of a higher caliber than other ride-hailing apps. The entire fleet of self-driving cars is electric and models belovedWhich is understandable given the technological infrastructure required, and specifically the Jaguar brand.

Spoiler alert:The video ends well and the two passengers, one in the front seat and one in the back, arrive at their destination. However, it is important to clarify that the process to even join Waymo, for those who are not residents of the United States, is not as simple as unlocking one another. apps “TVDE” and call the car. In this case, the application is not available on the App Store (Apple) or Play Store (Google) in Portugal, which requires an international account in these stores. In more “technical” terms, you have to have an Apple ID or Google account based in the United States of America to be able to install it on your cell phone.

And then? A new obstacle for the tourist is the method of payment. Since it is currently only available in the USA, Waymo only accepts North American payment cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Discover…), so we use a prepaid card. Once you have passed these system requirements, all you have to do is call the car. At this point, our experience was not the best, as we had to walk about seven minutes to find it. The problem is that the process is limited to a certain area of ​​the city. Finally, you can enjoy your trip in peace.

In fact, it's a quiet ride – no small talk and you can even choose the music – and could be an alternative for those who don't feel safe in a car with someone who doesn't know how to drive. Moreover, you'll be on board a Jaguar I-PACE SUV, which in itself means comfort. In general, prices are higher compared to other transport services. However, this route ended up costing a similar amount: $17 (€15.20) versus 1.8 Miles (about 3 km) in about 13 minutes.

What “guided” us in this robotaxi is the software that was born at Google in 2009 as part of an Elon Musk-style project: a brilliant idea that we had no idea if it would work. Since 2016, the tech giant’s parent company has taken over, developed and financed this work. About two months ago, Alphabet announced an investment of more than five billion dollars (4.5 billion euros) in this subsidiary.

Waymo has made more than two million trips, between Phoenix (Arizona) and San Francisco, where it has been officially present since June (in Los Angeles it operates with restrictions). In Europe, this level of development is still only present in the newspaper pages.

We've tried to clarify the main doubts and collect some feedback from those who have had this experience, but it's natural that your doubts will persist (or even increase).

“It's time”

At the opening of the Dreamforce conference on Tuesday, Salesforce CEO Mark Zuckerberg challenged the 45,000 attendees to install the app. program Waymo and try it. “It’s time. The first time you try Waymo is the first time. Try it,” said American billionaire and philanthropist Marc Benioff.

His idea wasn't to get the audience at the Moscone Center convention center to turn to Waymo, but to create a “simple metaphor” for his company and the work of other companies investing in digital.

“This is the first time. The first one they have developed and implemented. [Inteligência Artificial]And that’s how you get better results with your virtual assistant. We’re in the third wave of AI where you can build your own models. “We love doing our CRM, it’s what we love doing and we’ve been doing it for 25 years, but we’re going to take it a step further,” Salesforce CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the first day of the company’s annual event.