One of the big design challenges with self-driving cars like Waymo is communication with pedestrians - have to have some analogue to making eye contact or waving so pedestrians know they've been seen (possibly through audio or LED message signs)[0]
It's fascinating to me that a plane in full (emergency) autonomous mode, having run an algorithm to identify airport and landing sequence, is using speech to text to broadcast over analogue radio to the humans in the area. And the tower tentatively communicating back ('Outfitter 9, if you can hear me, cleared to land...') to do the expected final step in the exchange.
It's fascinating to me that a plane in full (emergency) autonomous mode, having run an algorithm to identify airport and landing sequence, is using speech to text to broadcast over analogue radio to the humans in the area. And the tower tentatively communicating back ('Outfitter 9, if you can hear me, cleared to land...') to do the expected final step in the exchange.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23913251/waymo-roof-dome...