No, it’s not quite the rise of Skynet just yet but rather a tragic case in Tempe, Arizona – in a state where 600 self-driving vehicles are roaming unfettered. “It was like a flash. The pedestrian just walked out in front of them.” That’s what the Uber ‘driver’ said, according to Sylvia Moir, Tempe’s Police Chief. See for yourself here.
Yet as it stands, there are no new or even stricter laws on the way to prevent this from happening again. It’s worth adding that Volvo have been on a safety drive to make their vehicles so safe that they’re essentially fatality-proof by 2020. But that was before self-driving became such an obsession amongst the public and indeed auto manufacturers. The vehicle was reportedly doing 38mph in a 35mph zone, that’s a mere 60kph so it’s fair to say speed alone was not a factor, rather as footage now shows, the fact that the victim walked in front of the self-piloting Uber.
Uber’s ATG division or Advanced Technologies Group are yet to comment but the accident means fresh eyes yet again on the legalities around the prospect of driverless cars. The future may be imminent but as long as humans remain the fleshy vulnerable bit inside the very clever and expensive metal, a plan for our preservation will be very much imperative. Much to the dismay of the Artificial Intelligence that lays in wait to inherit the Earth. Too dark at the end there? Sorry not sorry.
What is a robo-taxi service?
Precisely what it sounds like, really. Ride-hailing applications such as Uber and Lyft, are pursuing autonomous driving as a core business model. Other companies such as nuTonomy and Waymo are also getting in on the action. So too are manufacturers such as GM and Ford. The future is driver-less it seems, at least for ride hailing services.
