Waymo acknowledges reliance on overseas remote assistance operators.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Waymo's Chief Safety Officer, Mauricio Peña, publicly disclosed for the first time that "remote assistance" personnel are needed to guide vehicles when they encounter difficult or unexpected situations. He also admitted that Waymo relies on remote assistance operators located overseas (in the Philippines). This statement quickly drew public attention. The direct consequence of this transoceanic intervention is latency. Waymo's operators in the United States experience a latency of approximately 150 milliseconds, while the latency for the Philippine team rises to 250 milliseconds.