Designing the World's Most Trusted Driver — Waymo and the Future of Inclusive Mobility

[MUSIC PLAYING]

VOICEOVER: Designing the World’s Most Trusted Driver: Waymo and the Future of Inclusive Mobility. Speakers: Aaron Lai, Senior Product Manager, Waymo. Eamon Campolettano, Senior Safety Researcher, Waymo. Lucas Watson, Senior Software Engineer, Waymo. Moderator: Sven Beiker, PhD, Founder, Silicon Valley Mobility.

[Opening with user testimonials]

USER TESTIMONIAL: Being independent has been a big struggle for me and I think for most blind people. I really don’t get to experience a lot of independence in my daily life, especially when it comes to transportation. So for me, finding Waymo and having this independence that I’ve just never had before, it’s been the most freeing feeling ever.

USER TESTIMONIAL: I lost my sight when I was 25 years old. Giving up driving was probably one of the hardest things that I had to do. A really significant challenge of being blind is the issue of transportation because I can’t drive. I need to rely on others for that basic requirement of life.

USER TESTIMONIAL: We started relying on rideshare options, and the biggest downside is service denial. I would have a service dog with me and the drivers would drive right by me because they saw the dog. Hundreds of times a day in the United States, drivers don’t want to pick up a person with a service animal. And so being able to use Waymo, where there’s no human driver to deny me service, has been absolutely life-changing.

USER TESTIMONIAL: With Waymo, I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want. I don’t have to plan my day around someone else’s schedule. I don’t have to worry about being late to appointments because my ride fell through. I can just open the app and get where I need to go. That independence is priceless.

[Panel discussion begins]

SVEN BEIKER: Hello everyone, and welcome. My name is Sven Beiker, and I’m the founder of Silicon Valley Mobility. I’m thrilled to moderate this session today about Waymo and the future of inclusive mobility. We just heard some incredibly powerful testimonials from users about how autonomous vehicles are changing their lives. And today we’re going to dive deeper into how Waymo is designing its technology with accessibility and inclusion at the forefront.

I’m joined by three amazing guests from Waymo. We have Aaron Lai, Senior Product Manager; Eamon Campolettano, Senior Safety Researcher; and Lucas Watson, Senior Software Engineer. Welcome to all of you.

AARON LAI: Thank you, Sven. Great to be here.

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: Thanks for having us.

LUCAS WATSON: Happy to be here.

SVEN BEIKER: So let’s start with the big picture. Aaron, can you give us an overview of what Waymo is and what you’re trying to achieve?

AARON LAI: Absolutely. So Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company. Our mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. We’ve been working on autonomous vehicle technology for over 15 years now, and we currently operate a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in several cities, including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

What makes our service unique is that our vehicles are truly driverless. There’s no human behind the wheel. The car drives itself using a combination of sensors, cameras, radar, lidar, and advanced AI to navigate roads, avoid obstacles, and get passengers safely to their destinations.

And from the very beginning, we’ve been thinking about how this technology can serve everyone, including people who have traditionally been underserved by transportation options. People with disabilities, seniors, people who can’t drive for medical reasons—these are all communities that can benefit enormously from autonomous vehicles.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s a great overview. Eamon, from a safety perspective, how do you think about building a system that people can trust, especially people who may have concerns about getting into a car with no driver?

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: That’s a great question, and it’s something we think about constantly. Safety is absolutely our number one priority. And I think the key is that autonomous vehicles don’t just need to be safe—they need to be safer than human drivers. Because the reality is that human error is responsible for the vast majority of traffic accidents. Things like distraction, fatigue, impairment, speeding—these are all human factors that autonomous vehicles can eliminate.

Our vehicles are equipped with 29 cameras that provide a 360-degree view of the environment. We have radar that can detect objects even in poor weather conditions. We have lidar that creates a detailed 3D map of the world around us. And all of this sensor data is being processed in real time by our AI system, which has been trained on millions of miles of real-world driving and billions of miles of simulation.

The result is a system that can see in all directions at once, that never gets tired or distracted, that always follows traffic laws, and that can react faster than any human driver. And we’ve proven this through our safety record. We’ve driven over 20 million autonomous miles on public roads, and our safety performance exceeds that of human drivers.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s impressive. Lucas, can you talk a bit about the technology that makes this possible? What’s actually happening under the hood?

LUCAS WATSON: Sure. So at a high level, our autonomous driving system can be broken down into a few key components. First, we have perception—that’s the system that takes in all the sensor data and figures out what’s in the environment. It identifies other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, traffic lights, road markings, construction zones, all of that.

Then we have prediction—that’s the system that tries to anticipate what other road users are going to do. If there’s a pedestrian near a crosswalk, are they about to cross? If there’s a car in the left lane, are they about to merge? This prediction capability is crucial for safe driving.

Next, we have planning—that’s the system that decides what the vehicle should do. It takes into account where we’re trying to go, what’s in the environment, what we predict other road users will do, and it generates a safe, comfortable path forward.

And finally, we have control—that’s the system that actually executes the plan by controlling the steering, acceleration, and braking.

All of this happens in real time, many times per second. And the system is constantly updating as new information comes in. So it’s incredibly dynamic and responsive.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s fascinating. Aaron, let’s talk specifically about accessibility. How have you designed the Waymo service to be accessible to people with disabilities?

AARON LAI: This is something we’ve put a lot of thought into. We started by actually talking to people with disabilities and understanding their needs and pain points with existing transportation options. And what we heard was that there were really two main categories of barriers. There were physical barriers—things like being able to get into and out of the vehicle. And there were informational barriers—things like knowing when the vehicle has arrived, where it’s located, how to interact with it.

So we’ve designed features to address both of these. On the physical side, our vehicles have wide doors that open automatically. The seats are at a comfortable height for transferring. There’s space in the back for mobility aids like wheelchairs or walkers. We’ve made sure the interior is well-lit so people with low vision can see.

On the informational side, we’ve built a lot of features specifically for blind and low vision passengers. For example, when your Waymo arrives, the app provides detailed audio descriptions of where the vehicle is located. “Your Waymo is 20 feet ahead on the right side of the street.” The vehicle also plays a welcome chime so you can locate it by sound.

Once you’re in the vehicle, you can use voice commands to control everything. “Hey Waymo, can you turn up the air conditioning?” “Hey Waymo, unlock the doors.” There are also tactile buttons with different textures so you can distinguish them by touch.

And throughout the ride, the vehicle provides audio updates about what’s happening. “We’re approaching your destination.” “We’re pulling over to the curb.” This constant communication helps passengers feel informed and in control.

SVEN BEIKER: Those are great features. Eamon, from your research, what have you learned about what blind and low vision users need most from autonomous vehicles?

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: We’ve done a lot of user research with the blind and low vision community, and I think one of the biggest insights is that what they want most is independence and dignity. They want to be able to get transportation without having to rely on someone else’s schedule or goodwill. They want to not be discriminated against or denied service because of their disability. They want to feel safe and confident using the service.

And I think one thing that really stood out to us is the issue of service denial that you heard in the testimonials. This is unfortunately a huge problem with traditional ride-hailing services. Drivers see a guide dog or a white cane and they just drive by. Or they pick up the passenger but complain the whole way. Or they charge extra fees. This happens all the time, and it’s completely unacceptable.

With Waymo, that problem doesn’t exist. There’s no human driver who can discriminate. The vehicle doesn’t care if you have a service animal or a mobility aid. It treats every passenger the same. And for many of our users, that’s been transformative.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s such an important point. Lucas, I want to talk about wayfinding—helping passengers actually locate and get to the vehicle. This seems like it could be particularly challenging for blind passengers. How have you approached this?

LUCAS WATSON: Yeah, this is definitely one of the harder problems we’ve worked on. Because you’re right—if you can’t see the vehicle, how do you know where to go to get to it? We’ve developed several features to address this.

First, the app provides very detailed location information with voice guidance. It tells you not just “your vehicle has arrived,” but “your vehicle is 30 feet ahead, on the right side of the street, just past the driveway.” We also support integration with VoiceOver and TalkBack, so all of this information is accessible via screen readers.

Second, the vehicle itself provides auditory cues. When you’re approaching, it plays a series of chimes that get louder as you get closer. Some users have described it as like playing a game of “hot and cold”—the sound helps guide you to the right location.

Third, we’re working on some even more advanced features. For example, we’re exploring the use of directional audio, where the vehicle can actually guide you with spoken instructions. “Take two steps forward. Now turn slightly to your right.” We’re also looking at haptic feedback through phone vibrations that could provide guidance.

And fourth, for situations where passengers really can’t locate the vehicle, we have rider support available 24/7. You can call our support team and they can watch the camera feed and help guide you. “I can see you on the sidewalk. The vehicle is about 10 feet to your left.”

SVEN BEIKER: That’s really thoughtful. Aaron, let’s talk about the in-vehicle experience. Once someone is inside the Waymo, what’s the user experience like?

AARON LAI: So we’ve designed the in-vehicle experience to be as simple and intuitive as possible. When you get in, the vehicle greets you by name. “Welcome, Aaron. We’ll be taking you to 123 Main Street.” This confirmation is important so you know you’re in the right vehicle and it knows where you’re going.

Then the vehicle automatically starts the trip. You don’t have to do anything. No buttons to press, no screens to interact with if you don’t want to. It just goes.

During the ride, the vehicle provides regular updates about what’s happening. “We’re stopping for a red light.” “We’re making a left turn.” For sighted passengers, there’s also a screen that shows a map and what the vehicle’s sensors are seeing. But for blind passengers, the audio updates are the primary interface.

If you need to make any changes during the ride, you can use voice commands. “Hey Waymo, pull over.” “Hey Waymo, change the destination to the grocery store instead.” “Hey Waymo, I need to make a quick stop.” The vehicle is designed to be responsive to your needs.

And when you arrive at your destination, the vehicle pulls over safely and announces that you’ve arrived. The doors unlock automatically. And you can take your time getting out—there’s no driver waiting or meter running.

SVEN BEIKER: That sounds like a really seamless experience. Eamon, what about safety concerns that passengers might have? How do you address those?

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: Safety is paramount, and we understand that some passengers, especially those who can’t see what’s happening, might have concerns. So we’ve built in several features to address this.

First, passengers have full control over the vehicle. If at any point you want to stop, you can press the pull-over button or use voice commands. The vehicle will safely pull over to the side of the road. You also have a direct connection to rider support at all times. There’s a button that connects you immediately to a live person who can see what the vehicle sees and can help with any issues.

Second, we’ve designed the vehicle to be very predictable and smooth in its driving. It doesn’t make sudden movements or aggressive maneuvers. It follows traffic laws to the letter. It gives plenty of space to other road users. The goal is for passengers to feel calm and comfortable throughout the ride.

And third, we’re very transparent about what the vehicle is doing and why. If the vehicle brakes suddenly, it explains why. “Braking for a pedestrian crossing the street ahead.” This transparency helps build trust and understanding.

SVEN BEIKER: Lucas, I want to talk about the technical challenges specific to serving blind and low vision passengers. What are some of the hardest problems you’ve had to solve?

LUCAS WATSON: I think one of the biggest challenges is localization—both localizing the vehicle precisely in the world, and helping the passenger localize themselves relative to the vehicle. For sighted passengers, these problems are easier because they can just look out the window and see where they are. But for blind passengers, we need to provide that information in other ways.

Another big challenge is communication. How do you convey complex spatial information through audio alone? If the vehicle needs to communicate something like, “There’s a construction zone ahead, so we’re going to take a detour that will add five minutes to your trip”—how do you make that clear and understandable without being overwhelming?

We’ve also had to think a lot about failure modes and edge cases. What happens if the audio system fails? What happens if the passenger’s phone dies? What happens if there’s a medical emergency? We need to have robust fallbacks for all of these scenarios.

And then there’s the challenge of diversity within the blind community. Not everyone who is blind has the same needs or preferences. Some people have guide dogs, some use white canes, some have some residual vision. Some people want a lot of audio feedback, others find it overwhelming. So we need to make the system flexible and customizable.

SVEN BEIKER: Those are definitely complex challenges. Aaron, how do you gather feedback from users to continuously improve the service?

AARON LAI: User feedback is absolutely critical to everything we do. We have several channels for gathering feedback. First, after every ride, passengers can rate their experience and leave comments. We read every single piece of feedback and look for patterns and issues to address.

Second, we do regular user research sessions where we bring in passengers and have them try out new features and give us their thoughts. These sessions are invaluable for understanding what’s working and what’s not.

Third, we have ongoing relationships with disability advocacy organizations. We regularly consult with groups like the National Federation of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, and others to get their input on our product roadmap and feature development.

And fourth, we’ve created a formal accessibility advisory board made up of people with various disabilities who meet with us regularly to review our work and provide guidance. This ensures that we’re always keeping accessibility at the forefront of our design process.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s great to hear. Eamon, as you look to the future, what are you most excited about in terms of how autonomous vehicles can improve mobility for people with disabilities?

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: I think the potential is enormous. Right now, we’re focused on getting the core ride-hailing service right. But in the future, I can envision autonomous vehicles being used for so many other purposes that could benefit people with disabilities.

For example, autonomous vehicles could provide first-mile/last-mile connections to public transit, making it easier for people to get to and from bus stops or train stations. They could be used for medical transportation, helping people get to doctor’s appointments or pick up prescriptions. They could be used for grocery delivery, where the vehicle not only delivers your groceries but helps you carry them to your door.

I’m also excited about the potential for autonomous vehicles to be integrated with other assistive technologies. Imagine if your autonomous vehicle could communicate with your smart home, or with wayfinding apps, or with other mobility aids to create a seamless end-to-end experience.

And I think as the technology continues to improve, we’ll be able to provide even more sophisticated assistance. Right now, the vehicle can get you from point A to point B. But in the future, maybe it could provide real-time audio descriptions of what’s outside the window. Maybe it could help you navigate complex environments like airports or shopping centers. The possibilities are really exciting.

SVEN BEIKER: Lucas, what about the technology roadmap? Where is the technology headed?

LUCAS WATSON: From a technology perspective, we’re constantly working to improve every aspect of the system. Our perception systems are getting better at understanding complex environments. Our prediction systems are getting better at anticipating what other road users will do. Our planning systems are getting better at making decisions that are both safe and comfortable.

We’re also expanding to new cities and new types of roads. Each new environment brings new challenges and helps us improve the system. We’re learning how to handle everything from dense urban streets to highways to adverse weather conditions.

And we’re working on making the system more personalized. Right now, every passenger gets a similar experience. But in the future, we want to be able to adapt the vehicle’s behavior to individual preferences. Maybe you prefer a more conservative driving style, or you want more or less audio feedback. We want to be able to accommodate those preferences.

SVEN BEIKER: That’s exciting. So as we start to wrap up, I’d like to give each of you a chance to share one final thought or message for the audience. Aaron, let’s start with you.

AARON LAI: I think my message would be that autonomous vehicles represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine transportation and make it more inclusive. For too long, people with disabilities have been an afterthought in transportation design. But with autonomous vehicles, we have a chance to design from the ground up with accessibility in mind. And that’s exactly what we’re doing at Waymo. We’re not just building autonomous vehicles—we’re building a transportation service that works for everyone.

SVEN BEIKER: Eamon?

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: I would say that the work we’re doing is about more than just technology. It’s about independence, dignity, and freedom. It’s about giving people the ability to live their lives on their own terms, without having to depend on others for basic mobility. And that’s something worth working toward. We’re not there yet—there’s still a lot of work to do. But I’m incredibly optimistic about where we’re headed.

SVEN BEIKER: And Lucas?

LUCAS WATSON: I’d just say that this work has been incredibly rewarding for me personally. As an engineer, it’s easy to get caught up in the technical challenges and lose sight of the real-world impact. But hearing from users about how Waymo has changed their lives—that’s what keeps me motivated. It reminds me why we’re doing this work. And it pushes me to keep improving and keep solving hard problems.

SVEN BEIKER: Well, thank you all so much for joining me today and for sharing your insights. This has been a fascinating conversation. And thank you to everyone in the audience for your time and attention. The future of mobility is inclusive, and companies like Waymo are leading the way. Thank you.

AARON LAI: Thank you.

EAMON CAMPOLETTANO: Thanks, Sven.

LUCAS WATSON: Thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]