News - Waymo Collaborates with DoorDash to Implement Robotaxi Door Closing System

In an intriguing blend of cutting-edge technology and gig economy ingenuity, Alphabet's subsidiary Waymo has launched a pilot initiative in Atlanta to address a practical hiccup in its autonomous vehicle operations: open car doors. Despite their impressive capability to navigate roadways without human intervention, Waymo's self-driving cars still grapple with a basic human task - closing doors left ajar by previous riders. As a temporary measure, Waymo is enlisting the help of DoorDash drivers to tackle this minor yet essential task. For a fee of $11.25, DoorDash contractors are notified via their app to travel to stranded Waymo vehicles and secure open doors, allowing the robotaxis to resume their journeys. Google’s parent company Alphabet has confirmed this partnership, highlighting it as a stopgap solution while the company continues to work on equipping its vehicles with automatic door-closing mechanisms. While Waymo envisions this issue being addressed with future vehicle upgrades, where doors will close automatically, no precise timeline for this development has been disclosed. Interestingly, in Los Angeles, similar gig opportunities through the roadside assistance app Honk offer a more lucrative payment of up to $24 per door closure, indicating regional disparities in gig remunerations and possibly reflecting the higher cost of living or operational considerations in different markets. This collaboration underscores the ongoing intersection of technology with traditional human roles as seamlessly autonomous living continues to evolve. Whether it's in the interim adjustments made to optimize efficiency or the eventual transition to fully automated solutions, the landscape of autonomous vehicle services continues to adapt and innovate.