Senator calls for federal oversight of remote helpers for autonomous vehicles
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Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is urging federal safety officials to investigate the remote assistance practices of autonomous vehicle companies, accusing them of "a stunning lack of transparency."
Why it matters: Robotaxis and self-driving trucks are beginning to roll out across America, typically with a small army of human overseers working remotely behind the scenes to help them navigate complex scenarios.
- Markey's concern is that these remote agents — some of whom are located overseas — could cause serious safety, national security and privacy risks.
Catch up quick: The senator sent a letter to major AV companies on Feb. 3, demanding answers about the safety of their remote assistance operator systems.
- A day later, at a Senate committee hearing, he grilled industry officials, including Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, who revealed that some of Waymo's remote assistants are located in the Philippines.
The latest: Seven AV companies responded to Markey's written inquiry, including Waymo, Tesla, Zoox, Aurora, Motional, May Mobility and Nuro.
- Their responses exposed a patchwork of safety practices across the industry, Markey said Tuesday, with significant variations in operator qualifications, response times and overseas staffing.
Zoom in: None of the companies disclosed how frequently remote assistants intervene to help their AVs, he said.
- Network delays varied across companies, indicating that operators are making their own determinations about the latency threshold that constitutes a safety risk.
Waymo, the leading robotaxi provider, is the only AV company that uses overseas remote operators, the responses showed.
- The company said it has approximately 70 remote assistance agents on duty worldwide at any given time overseeing some 3,000 robotaxis.
- These agents provide advice and support to the Waymo Driver but do not directly control the vehicle, it noted, information it has also published on its blog.
- About half of its agents are located in the U.S., in Arizona and Michigan, and the other half are based in the Philippines.
- The U.S.-based agents include a specially trained Emergency Response Team (ERT), whose job is to respond to collisions, interact with law enforcement and coordinate towing when necessary.
What's next: As a result of his findings, Markey is asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate the industry's remote assistance practices.
- Markey also says he is working on legislation "to impose strong, enforceable regulations" around the use of remote assistants.
