If you call a cab and it pulls up without a driver, it's a robotaxi. A number of car companies are experimenting with the concept of self-driving rides in the U.S. and China. The vehicles operate in geo-fenced areas for safety and include varying degrees of human backup for help if needed. "Self-driving" is rated on an SAE Automation scaled from 1-5, with 1 meaning the driver does everything and 5 meaning the system controls the vehicles under all conditions and circumstances. The car's system uses constant visual and audio data from outside and inside the vehicle to create a virtual model of the road, the traffic, observable objects and their relative motion and speed, and more, which, combined with a knowledge of area roads and local traffic laws, allows the software to determine how best to move forward. They navigate by maps which can include recent obstacles, traffic changes, etc. Waymo from Alphabet (Google), which bills itself as "the world's first autonomous ride-hailing service" and already operates robotaxis in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin has announced plans to come to Miami by 2026. Amazon's Zoox has also been testing in Miami, as well as the San Francisco Bay area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin and Los Angeles. There are also already autonomous vehicles operating in Florida. A self-driving shuttle launched in West Palm Beach in May and other services in Orlando, Altamonte Springs and Tampa have started or are in testing. The Beep service in Lake Nona boasts of being the "largest and longest autonomous vehicle network at one location in the country." And on June 30, Jacksonville became the first city in the country to launch a self-driving transit system. For years, Musk has promised, without delivering, that Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) advanced driver assistance software would result in completely self-driving and control robotaxis. The first fleet of standard Model Ys with advanced software debuted in Austin in June, to mixed results. Problems with Tesla Robotaxi rollout First, before the car doors opened Texas quickly passed legislation requiring autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets without a human driver and giving state authorities the power to revoke permits if they deem a driverless vehicle "endangers the public." Musk has said Tesla would be "super paranoid" about safety, sticking to known areas, avoiding bad weather and difficult intersections and not carrying anyone below the age of 18. The company planned to operate only in areas it considered the safest and to have human "safety monitors" riding in the front passenger seat. It is not clear how much control the monitors would have over the vehicles in an emergency situation.