The Waymo robotaxi honking problem has been resolved for real this time

The great nightly Waymo honk-a-thon — in which the company’s robotaxis erupted into a chorus of honking at night’s end in a San Francisco parking lot— was resolved, then not. Now it is again.

The backstory: Software engineer Sophia Tung set up a livestream of the parking lot that captured the robotaxis streaming in to park — and honk — for up to an hour around 4 a.m.  

Waymo issued a software patch to ensure the robotaxis — often in close quarters — would not honk at each other. But at 4 a.m. Saturday morning, the livestream captured, yes, more honking.

Now, another patch has been issued, per an interview Monday between Tung and Waymo Director of Product and Operations Vishay Nihalani on her livestream. Nihalani explained that while it makes a lot of sense for Waymos to honk on public roads, the group honking was an unintended consequence.