Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo on Tuesday defended its use of tele-assisted humans in the face of congressional questioning and said it had never used tele-assisted human mobility robotaxis in U.S. road operations.
Waymo told Democratic Senator Ed Markey in a letter that the company has never used remote driving or "teleoperation" to perform driving tasks. In rare cases, some personnel in the United States can prompt a stopped self-driving car to move forward a short distance at 2 miles per hour (3 kilometers per hour) to exit the traffic lane, but this has not happened outside of training.
Markey and Republican Rep. Buddy Carter raised concerns about the use of remote personnel, including some based in the Philippines.
Waymo said its remote assistance staff provides advice and support for Waymo robotaxis "but does not directly control, guide or drive the vehicle."
Waymo operates four remote assistance centers in Arizona, Michigan and two cities in the Philippines to support its fleet, and the company says it has about 70 remote assistance workers on staff at any given time. Only the Event Response Team, which manages responses to collision or safety incidents and is headquartered in the United States, can move a stopped vehicle.
Markey said in a Feb. 3 letter that Waymo has provided little public information about its remote personnel policies, adding that Congress and the public deserve assurances that the company's remote assistance operations do not endanger riders, other road users, or national security.
Markey has also sent similar letters to other car companies, including Tesla, Amazon.com Inc.'s Zoox and Aurora.
Carter separately asked the Department of Transportation on Tuesday to investigate Waymo's use of remote vehicle operators based in the Philippines, saying it "raises serious and legitimate concerns about road safety, situational awareness and national security." The U.S. Department of Transportation said it would respond to Carter.
Waymo said that remote assistance personnel "are not passively monitoring a vehicle or group of vehicles in the hope of identifying when intervention is needed," but rather the self-driving system lends a hand when the vehicle encounters ambiguous situations.
Waymo robotaxis can also reject remote assistance suggestions if it deems it appropriate. "This distinction is the foundation of our safety model, ensuring that in-vehicle systems remain the primary real-time authority for safe operations," Waymo said.
The average time between requesting a recommendation and delivering it is just a few seconds, Waymo said, adding that the car's computer will continue to make decisions independently based on all available information, adding that most of the time the robotaxi will solve the problem on its own.