Uber’s autonomous vehicle noticed the woman, but did not react. Fatal hit-and-run case returns

The incident occurred on Sunday eveningor March 18. Carod Volvo SUV operating in autonomous mode, but as required, under the supervision of the driver, hit a woman walking in a forbidden place. A 49-year-old woman was carrying a bicycle draped with shopping bags across the roadway. Unfortunately, the woman died in the hospital as a result of her injuries.

The incident took place in Tempe, Arizona. Carod at the time of the incident had a speed of about 60 kilometersow on the hour. According to police, the vehicle did not even prob was braking in front of a woman. The incident occurred at night. The driver, ktory was supposed to control the vehicle was sober.

According to an internal report compiled by Uber, to ktore arrived at by journalists from The Information website, the car’s sensors detected the woman, but its software, whichore decides how the vehicle should react, recognized it as a „false alarm”. Perhaps influenced by plastic bags and a bicycle, ktory made it difficult to identify the obstacle, as has been pointed out before.

The report highlights the roalso that the driver, whoory was supposed to supervise the vehicle’s actions, was busy reviewing information on his smartphone, and noticed the woman when it was too poIt was late to intervene.

The Information service cites two sources in its articleodła „well-informed on the matter”. According to them, Uber’s internal investigation found that the cameras, Lidar and radar in the autonomous vehicle’s test vehicle did their jobs correctly. The system was at fault in determining whichore facilities wokoł car can be safely ignored.

The system is tuned to ignore falling leaves or trash pounding on the road. Ma roalso skip cyclistsoin moving along the roadway. All indications are that the system considered a woman with a bicycle and packages to be an insignificant object and that the blame for the fatal hit-and-run would fall on the underdeveloped software and its tworcow, although the investigation by police and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) is still ongoing.

After the accident, Uber suspended testing of the caroIn autonomous across the United States. It also paid compensation to the deceased woman’s family. „Actively supportoWe are cooperating with the NTSB in their investigation, and out of respect for the process we will not comment on the specifics of the incident. We initiated a comprehensive safety review of our software installed in autonomous vehicles. We have hired roAlso, former NTSB chairman Christopher Hart, whoory will advise us on safety issues” – reads a statement from Uber.

The incident in March is the first fatality in an accident caused by an autonomous vehicle, although the divorceoj of this sector is often described as the only way toob to eliminate the accidentoin road. It should be noted, however, that not all autonomous cars have the same software. According to independent testoin from last year, Uber’s technology was described as „a thousand times worse” from at least rival Google-controlled Waymo.

This is the first incident, but it is to be expected that there will be more, and not the fault of the systemow, but through the fault of a human. In this case, it is also difficult to hold the technology itself responsible. An unfortunate coincidence occurred. A woman trespassed on the roadway in a forbidden place, the driver controlling the vehicle was preoccupied with his phone, and the software was underdeveloped by the programmerow. In all the points mentioned, if the person had behaved correctly, the tragedy would not have occurred.

Despite fatal hit-and-run, autonomous vehicles are still a desirable option for the future. The cars are saturated with technology. Depending on the model of the car, these vehicles have many roThe sensorow. The situation on the road is observed by cameras and radars. The wheels house speed sensors, adjusting the driving speed to the prevailing conditionsow. Road signs, or the color of traffic lights „read” is by cameras. GPS is responsible for the smooth arrival at the destination. The latest news in this segment is the absence of a… managers.