April 2023 software release

The latest software release has rolled out to the driverless fleet, containing improvements in these areas:

Expanded driving capabilities

• We expanded the AV’s ability to drive in foggy and wet weather with the addition of moderate fog and rain by shipping perception improvements (PSeg v5.1.4 and PD v28) that improve object footprint accuracy by 45% in fog and increase precision of object detection around puddles and tire spray by 44%. We also enabled our AVs to adjust their speed dynamically as the level of fog increases without needing to pull over as often. In addition we shipped a wet lens detection model that allows each AV to detect when camera lenses are wet and need to be cleaned. 

• We enabled the AV to turn left from mid-block side streets onto one-way major roads. This opens up about 400 new intersections in SF that the AV can now route through. 

• We improved the AV's contextual scene understanding of active emergency scenes and proactively re-route to avoid these scenes.

Improved core driving behavior

• Shipped TSEL v12 which improves lane change behavior by changing lanes more proactively to continue along the planned route, being more decisive to change lanes and braking more smoothly (+21%) during lane changes.

• Shipped AV seeds v4 which increases the quality and diversity of potential AV trajectories considered, resulting in 3%-5% smoother driving, especially while making lane changes.

• Shipped STA-B v11 which improves behavior around motorcyclists by 26% by introducing fine-grained classifications and training data focused on motorcyclist behaviors in key scenarios.

• Shipped LRD v2 which increases the precision of nearfield object detections and further increases detection of nearfield pedestrians in non-standing poses. 

• Shipped LPC V6 which increases steering and braking comfort and improves stopping behavior at stop signs and traffic lights. 

• Shipped DLA v2 and KSE v15 which combine to increase detection of high-speed vehicles by 15%, and improve speed estimation of high-speed vehicles by 70%.

• Increased lateral maneuvering capabilities for expanded obstacle avoidance optionality as well as improved behavior on reduced friction surfaces and higher speed roads.

Increased reliability

• Significantly expanded core remote advisor capabilities in large intersections, at higher AV speeds, when dealing with stuck situations, closed roads, debris in the roadway or narrow gaps, resulting in fewer trip interruptions.

• Shipped SURF+ which provides remote advisors with more fine-grained ability to assist with the movement of the AV.

• Increased redundancy in the controls system, enabling the AV to pull over and stop in a more humanlike way in the rare case of certain diagnostic faults.

• Decreased stuck scenarios during pickup and dropoff due to doors left ajar by passengers.

Improved rider experience

• With this release, we enabled the AV to now make sharper turns and cross bike lanes to pull over, reducing walking distance on 8% of trips, especially near the Embarcadero in SF.

• Increased available pullover locations by 10% in SF, resulting in 3.5% less walking distance for riders during pick up and drop off. 

• Increased the lateral distance between the AV and other parked cars during pick-up and drop-off to provide more space for riders to enter and exit the AV. 

Statistics measuring the percentage of improvement are based on internal benchmarks and metrics.