Watch a Waymo self-driving car test its sensors in a haboob

Watch a Waymo self-driving car test its sensors in a haboob

4 years ago
Anonymous $ZuTig1gZkQ

https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/23/watch-a-waymo-self-driving-car-test-its-sensors-in-a-haboob/

Waymo, the self-driving car company under Alphabet, has been testing in the suburbs of Phoenix for several years now. And while the sunny metropolis might seem like the ideal and easiest location to test autonomous vehicle technology, there are times when the desert becomes a dangerous place for any driver — human or computer.

The two big safety concerns in this desert region are sudden downpours that cause flash floods and haboobs, giant walls of dust between 1,500 and 3,000 feet high that can cover up to 100 square miles. One record-breaking haboob in July 2011 covered the entire Phoenix valley, an area of more than 517 square miles.