Waymo is set to make its way to Toronto, but the journey ahead will be a snowy one, requiring time and training data to overcome challenges, as experts suggest. The U.S.-based company announced plans to commence testing on the streets of Canada’s largest city in the coming days, with human drivers at the helm, for “mapping and safety validation work.”
Waymo aims for passengers to be able to summon driverless taxis by 2028 in Toronto. Tests will occur round the clock and throughout the week to ensure the technology can adapt to the unique driving conditions of the city. While specific details about these conditions were not disclosed, experts point to the winter weather as a significant factor.
Steven Waslander, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Robotics Institute, highlighted Toronto’s winter as a key challenge not yet tackled commercially by Waymo. The company initially launched its autonomous vehicles in warmer climates like Los Angeles and Phoenix, where precipitation is minimal. However, operating in snowy conditions introduces additional complexities for the technology.
Adverse weather, such as snow, can hinder the effectiveness of cameras, radar, and lidar systems that autonomous cars rely on to navigate their surroundings. These conditions present obstacles for the sensors to detect objects accurately, posing challenges for autonomous driving systems. Despite advancements in training data, autonomous vehicles still struggle to interpret obscured objects, especially in snowy conditions.
To address these challenges, Waymo has been actively testing its technology in snowy regions like upstate New York and Michigan. The company has accumulated extensive driving experience in challenging weather conditions, with over 100 million miles of autonomous driving data. By incorporating more winter driving data and employing engineering solutions, Waymo aims to enhance its system’s capabilities for varying weather conditions.
Waymo utilizes heaters and mini windshield wipers to maintain clear cameras and ice-free sensors during winter operations. Additionally, the vehicles function as “mobile weather stations,” collecting real-time weather data to enhance the fleet’s situational awareness. Despite ongoing advancements, Waymo has not yet validated its driver to operate autonomously in snowy conditions as of August 2025.
Experts suggest a phased approach to deploying autonomous vehicles, starting with operation in favorable weather conditions and gradually expanding to challenging environments as the technology improves. This incremental approach mirrors Waymo’s response to extreme weather events in other cities, where services are temporarily suspended during adverse conditions.
Overall, the process of adapting autonomous vehicles to operate seamlessly in diverse weather conditions is expected to take several years, requiring continuous refinement and data gathering to enhance safety and reliability.
[Source](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/waymo-toronto-winter-self-driving-9.7384550)