# Passenger of confused Waymo robotaxi discusses what went wrong

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2021-05-19
- Length: 1h 14m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong

## Summary

Joel Johnson, a prolific Waymo One rider and content creator, discusses a specific incident where his robotaxi became confused by construction cones in Chandler, Arizona, leading to multiple disengagements and miscommunication with remote assistance. Tom Ryden, executive director of MassRobotics, explains the development of a new mobile robot interoperability standard designed to allow autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from different vendors to coordinate and share data in shared environments like warehouses.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=7) Introduction and Podcast Housekeeping
- [4:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=271) OmniLabs Telepresence Robot and Use Cases
- [13:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=807) Joel Johnson's Waymo One Experience and the Cone Incident
- [29:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=1768) Joel Johnson's Career and Camera Setup
- [45:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=2729) Host Analysis of Waymo vs. Tesla Approaches
- [50:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=3023) MassRobotics Interoperability Standard with Tom Ryden
- [1:10:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong#t=4235) Conclusion and Standards Overview

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Waymo (company)
- OmniLabs (company)
- MassRobotics (company)
- Cruise (company)
- Tesla (company)
- 6 River Systems (company)
- Locust (company)
- Amazon Robotics (company)
- GoPro Fusion 360 (product)
- Ross (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [BONUS: Leaders in Robotics, AMRs, and Logistics, Pt. 2 of 2 (brought to you by A3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2021-11-26-bonus-leaders-in-robotics-amrs-and-logistics-pt-2-of-2-brought-to-you-by-a3) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [A Disaster Waiting to Happen | Get Up, Stand Up](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-04-02-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-get-up-stand-up) (EE Times Current)
- [BONUS: Leaders in Robotics, AMRs, and Logistics, Pt. 1 of 2 (brought to you by A3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2021-11-23-bonus-leaders-in-robotics-amrs-and-logistics-pt-1-of-2-brought-to-you-by-a3) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Episode 132: Collaborating with industrial robots - Anthony Jules](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-11-07-episode-132-collaborating-with-industrial-robots-anthony-jules) (Robot Talk)
- [BONUS: Leaders in Machine Vision and Robotics: Live from Boston, Pt. 1 of 2 (brought to you by A3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-12-20-bonus-leaders-in-machine-vision-and-robotics-live-from-boston-pt-1-of-2-brought) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-05-19-passenger-of-confused-waymo-robotaxi-discusses-what-went-wrong. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Robot Report Podcast.