Could we have robotaxis by next year?
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What is the overall focus of the robotaxi episode and who is the expert guest?
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They've arrived on London's ancient streets. So when will robo taxis be cruising around Sydney or Melbourne? Today Michael Milford, Professor of Robotics and Director of the QUT Centre for Robotics, on why autonomous taxis might not be too far away. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigor Land in Sydney. This is ABC News Dale.
Michael, the black cab in London is iconic, as is the black cab driver. Their knowledge of those old London roads is incredible, isn't it? And you know, I've never met one that's not up for a a big chat when you get into it. I'm sure you've experienced that too.
Yeah, they're an institution and they're famous because they're such great navigators around London.
You learn three hundred and twenty runs that crisscross away. And then you just repeat, repeat, repe you know, you get them in your head and then when you go through exam, they'll ask you any random point to any random point in London and you will need to navigate from A to B, naming every single street.
And of course, more than a decade ago, Uber did come in to shake things up a bit, but now a new threat, right? Driverless taxis. They're on London streets. Just tell me what's happening.
When could autonomous taxis start operating in Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne?
So there have been a couple of companies jockeying to deploy robotaxis in London. One is Waymo, which is the the Google spin-out self-driving car company. But more recently, Wave RoboTexis have been announced as deploying initially in small numbers in London. So right now there's a proposal for a small scale deployment of these wave robotaxis. They will be supervised, uh as I understand it, by a safety driver. But obviously the intent, if successful, is to go towards wider spread deployments.
Yeah, all right. Well some London cabbies they think they might be safe for now, given their extensive knowledge of the roads in London.
Technology evolving. Are we there yet? I I don't be like a an ignorant tax child. It's like, no, we're not there yet. I just don't I can't see it.
And well there aren't many robotaxis on the road yet, only about 15 I think in the city. And as you say, there still needs to be a human sitting in the passenger seat for now. Now BBC journalist Zoe Kleinman, she was the first to experience a ride as part of this trial period in the heart of London.
It has managed lots of hazards on the road. There's been crowds, there's been people. There was a demonstration outside Westminster. We had some road works as well.
And we've seen these taxis, they're in San Francisco. I've had a a bit of a ride in one before. They're pretty smooth. Tell me how sophisticated is the tech?
The tech is incredibly sophisticated.
How do sensors and AI work together to enable safe driver‑less taxi navigation?
There's a reason they've been working at this problem for forty years really comes down to two components. One is the cars have amazing sensors on board that help them see and understand the world. And then of course the artificial intelligence or AI that helps them make intelligent and safe driving decisions. It's one of the most cutting edge areas of technology today.
Yeah, I did find it, I've got to say, it was somewhat smoother than a real driver I found when I had a go. Have you had a go of one as well?
I've been riding, one of the perks of my jobs is I get to ride in these a lot. So since twenty twelve, I've been riding in autonomous vehicles and they discovered really early on, just that like they did with elevators, that people are very sensitive to accelerations that don't feel natural. So the ride quality was one of the things they focused on really early on.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the overall focus of the robotaxi episode and who is the expert guest?
0:00–2:19
2
When could autonomous taxis start operating in Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne?
2:19–3:53
3
How do sensors and AI work together to enable safe driver‑less taxi navigation?
3:53–5:50
4
What have London’s early robotaxi trials revealed about real‑world performance?
5:50–8:09
5
Why are unexpected road events the biggest technical challenge for robotaxis?
8:09–10:11
6
How does Wave’s map‑free, AI‑first approach differ from other self‑driving companies?
10:11–11:59
7
What regulatory hurdles does New South Wales impose on autonomous vehicle trials?
11:59–14:11
8
Will driverless taxis become common in Australian capitals within the next decade?
14:11–15:46