Geofenced deployment

A geofenced deployment operates only inside a defined geographic boundary that has been pre-mapped and validated. The robot or vehicle cannot operate outside this boundary. Most current robotaxi services are geofenced: Waymo runs inside defined service areas in each operating city; early robotaxi services typically expand by adding new geofences rather than removing the boundary entirely.

The distinction from open-world or full-autonomy operation matters when comparing operators. Two services with similar fleet sizes may have radically different geofence footprints, and the geofence determines the addressable rider market more than the fleet size does.