Posts Tagged: selfdriving

Uber safety driver involved in fatal self-driving car crash pleads guilty

The Uber safety driver at the wheel during the first known fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian has pleaded guilty to and been sentenced for an endangerment charge. Rafaela Vasquez will serve three years of probation for her role in the 2018 Tempe, Arizona collision that killed Elaine Herzberg while she was jaywalking at night. The sentence honors the prosecutors’ demands and is stiffer than the six months the defense team requested.

The prosecution maintained that Vasquez was ultimately responsible. While an autonomous car was involved, Vasquez was supposed to concentrate on the road and take over if necessary. The modified Volvo XC90 in the crash was operating at Level 3 autonomy and could be hands-free in limited conditions, but required the driver to take over at a moment’s notice. It noticed Herzberg but didn’t respond to her presence.

The defense case hinged on partly blaming Uber. Executives at the company thought it was just a matter of time before a crash occurred, according to supposedly leaked conversations. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) collision findings also noted that Uber had disabled the emergency braking system on the XC90, so the vehicle couldn’t come to an abrupt stop.

Tempe police maintained that Vasquez had been watching a show on Hulu and wasn’t paying attention during the crash. Defense attorneys have insisted that Vasquez was paying attention and had only been momentarily distracted.

The plea and sentencing could influence how other courts handle similar cases. There’s long been a question of liability surrounding mostly driverless cars — is the human responsible for a crash, or is the manufacturer at fault? This suggests humans will still face penalties if they can take control, even if the punishment isn’t as stiff for conventional situations.

Fatal crashes with autonomy involved aren’t new. Tesla has been at least partly blamed for collisions while Full Self Driving was active. The pedestrian case is unique, though, and looms in the background of more recent Level 4 (fully driverless in limited situations) offerings and tests from Waymo and GM’s Cruise.While the technology has evolved since 2018, there are still calls to freeze robotaxi rollouts over fears the machines could pose safety risks.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-safety-driver-involved-in-fatal-self-driving-car-crash-pleads-guilty-212616187.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

DOJ reportedly investigating Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving claims after crashes

The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating whether Tesla has misled customers and investors by claiming that its Autopilot technology enables full-fledged self-driving capabilities. According to Reuters, the DOJ launched the probe last year following over a dozen crashes, including fatal ones, in which Autopilot was activated. Prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining if Tesla had made unsupported full self-driving claims about the technology, and they could ultimately pursue criminal charges or seek sanctions. But they could also shut the probe down without doing anything if they determine that Tesla hasn’t done anything wrong. 

Back in August, reports came out that the California DMV had filed complaints against the automaker with the California Office of Administrative Hearings. The state’s DMV had accused Tesla of using advertising language on its website for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving products that aren’t based on facts and made it seem like its vehicles are capable of fully driverless trips. One example is part of the Autopilot page on Tesla’s website that says “All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go.” In the same page, there’s a video that starts with a note that reads “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He isn’t doing anything. The car is driving itself.”

But at the same time, Tesla explicitly states in its support page that “Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel.” Those currently enabled features, the company added, “do not make the vehicle autonomous.” Its sources told Reuters that Tesla’s warnings that drivers should keep their hands on the wheel could complicate any case the DOJ may bring. 

Aside from the Justice Department, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also looking into Tesla’s Autopilot system. The agency initiated a probe in 2021 following the report of 11 crashes with parked first responder vehicles since 2018. Those crashes results in 17 injuries and one death. In June this year, the NHTSA upgraded the probe’s status and expanded it to cover almost all Tesla vehicles sold since 2014.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Ford pilot uses self-driving shuttles to deliver food to Detroit seniors

Ford's autonomous delivery experiments now include potentially vital services. The automaker is launching a six-month pilot project that will have self-driving shuttles bring fresh food to residents of a Detroit senior living center, the Rio Vista Detroit Co-Op Apartments, that might otherwise have challenges fetching groceries. The free-of-charge offering will have the "low-speed" vehicle drive a fixed route between a Ford facility and Rio Vista, with a safety driver and a remote team ready to take over if necessary.

Notably, the shuttle doesn't involve Ford's partner Argo — this is a distinct effort between Ford's in-house autonomy team and the company's Quantum Signal AI subsidiary. The two have modified the shuttle to help with packing and unloading food, but it's otherwise a stock machine (as far as autonomous shuttles go, at least).

There's certainly a degree of publicity grabbing involved — Ford is conducting a pilot that doubles as a goodwill campaign. This will help Ford study slower self-driving technology and remote control, though. It also hints at a future where driverless vehicles help seniors maintain their quality of life when travel is impractical.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Waymo and FCA’s expanded deal includes self-driving Ram vans

Ever since 2016 Waymo and FCA (which will soon be known as Stellantis) have partnered on self-driving vehicles and technology, and now that connection is expanding “in several important ways.” From FCA’s side, it’s exclusively using Waymo’s autonomou…
Engadget RSS Feed

Intel’s Mobileye will test self-driving cars at up to 80 MPH in Germany

Intel’s Mobileye self-driving division has received regulatory approval to test its vehicles on German roads, Intel announced. With a safety driver at the wheel, it can shake down its systems on city streets and the Autobahn at up to 130 km/h (81 mph…
Engadget RSS Feed

Waymo’s self-driving vans will return to Bay Area streets on June 8th

Waymo’s plan to resume self-driving operations will soon extend to San Francisco. A spokesperson has confirmed a report in The Verge that Waymo’s autonomous minivans will return to San Francisco Bay Area streets on June 8th. The company isn’t carryin…
Engadget RSS Feed

Tesla’s ‘full self-driving’ feature is coming in subscription form

During the Q1 2020 earnings call on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system will become available as a monthly subscription later this year.Tesla has been installing the necessary hardware for its autono…
Engadget RSS Feed

US House panel will discuss self-driving cars next week

On February 11th, a House panel will hold a hearing that could help shape the future of self-driving vehicles in the US. The Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee under the Energy and Commerce Committee will hear from trade groups representin…
Engadget RSS Feed

Uber may have to pay Waymo or redesign its self-driving software

In 2017, Waymo accused Uber of stealing its autonomous driving trade secrets. You may have thought the Uber-Waymo legal battle was over when, in 2018, the companies reached a settlement and Uber agreed to pay around $ 245 million. But as part of the s…
Engadget RSS Feed

Ford bought a robotics company to boost its self-driving cars

Back in April, Ford chief Jim Hackett admitted that the company overestimated the arrival of self-driving cars. He added that the applications of Ford's first autonomous fleet will likely be narrow, "because the problem is so complex." Now, the autom…
Engadget RSS Feed

Florida allows self-driving car tests without backup drivers

Companies that want to test their self-driving cars will have an easier time of it in the Sunshine State. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill allowing companies to test autonomous vehicles without backup drivers. It also lets occupan…
Engadget RSS Feed

Volkswagen ends deal with self-driving startup Aurora

Volkswagen is cutting ties with Silicon Valley self-driving startup Aurora after only a year, amidst talks of working with Ford's Argo AI instead. Financial Times reported the news of the split, adding that VW expects to reach a deal with Argo AI thi…
Engadget RSS Feed

Microsoft and MIT can detect AI ‘blind spots’ in self-driving cars

Self-driving cars are still prone to making mistakes, in part because the AI training can only account for so many situations. Microsoft and MIT might just fill in those gaps in knowledge — they've developed a model that can catch these virtual "bl…
Engadget RSS Feed

Patent describes how Lyft’s self-driving cars might communicate

Safety is a major concern when it comes to autonomous vehicles, for both the people they're transporting as well as those who are nearby. And it's not yet clear how or even if self-driving cars will communicate with the people around them. But Lyft h…
Engadget RSS Feed

Waymo may launch its self-driving car service in early December

It's been a long time in coming, but Waymo finally appears to be on the cusp of launching a commercial self-driving car service. Bloomberg sources claim that the Alphabet-owned brand will launch its autonomous transport option in the Phoenix suburbs…
Engadget RSS Feed

Apple hires ex-Waymo engineer for self-driving project

Apple may not be as loud about its plans to create a self-driving car as Google or Uber, but the company is still in the game. According to The Information, Apple has just hired Jamie Waydo, a prominent engineer from Waymo's autonomous vehicle unit.
Engadget RSS Feed

Didi Chuxing receives permit to test self-driving cars in California

You might not hail a ride from China's Didi Chuxing unless you visit Mexico, but there's still a real chance you'll see its vehicles on the road. California's Department of Motor Vehicles has issued an autonomous vehicle testing permit to Didi's Ame…
Engadget RSS Feed

Roborace’s self-driving car isn’t faster than a human (yet)

Ever since Roborace unveiled plans for driverless track cars, there's been a lingering question: can its technology outpace a human? The answer is a solid "no…" for now. The company used the recent Formula E race in Rome to pit its DevBot prototy…
Engadget RSS Feed

Uber CEO discusses self-driving cars and food delivery by drone

On the second day Uber Elevate Summit 2018, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took the stage for an interview covering everything from a recent fatal crash involving one of its self-driving cars, to his relationship with Google and Waymo, to drone deliveries.
Engadget RSS Feed

MIT’s self-driving car can navigate unmapped country roads

There's a good reason why companies often test self-driving cars in big cities: they'd be lost most anywhere else. They typically need well-labeled 3D maps to identify curbs, lanes and signs, which isn't much use on a backwoods road where those feat…
Engadget RSS Feed

Ford’s self-driving car network will launch ‘at scale’ in 2021

Ford hasn't been shy about its plans for a self-driving car network in 2021, including its hopes of fielding a purpose-built vehicle that year. However, there have been questions about the size — will this be like the services we've seen so far, wh…
Engadget RSS Feed

Arizona governor suspends Uber’s self-driving car tests

As the investigation into last week's fatal crash where an autonomous Uber SUV struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, AZ, the state's governor has suspended Uber's permission to test its cars there. While the company had already halted testing nati…
Engadget RSS Feed

Uber’s self-driving trucks are making deliveries in Arizona

Uber announced today that its self-driving trucks have been operating in Arizona for the last couple of months. The company said it has two main transfer hubs in Sanders and Topock, but other than that, Uber is being pretty tight-lipped about the ope…
Engadget RSS Feed

Fragmentation in self-driving cars will eventually be a problem

If you remember the '80s, you were probably amazed that you could walk up to a computer, type the following in BASIC and something would happen: 10 PRINT "Robbie is rad" 20 GOTO 10
Engadget RSS Feed

China will allow self-driving car tests on public roads

China is opening up its roads to self-driving cars. The Beijing Municipal Transport Commission released a statement today saying that on certain roads and under certain conditions, companies registered in China will be able to test their autonomous v…
Engadget RSS Feed

Intel’s self-driving supergroup brings Fiat Chrysler into the fold

Intel's self-driving supergroup has added another member to the team: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The partnership, which already includes BMW, Intel and Mobileye, has ambitious plans to get autonomous vehicles on the road by 2021, and FCA's incl…
Engadget RSS Feed

Audi takes its self-driving car where others dare not go

The self-driving future has a ratings scale. The classifications begin at zero, where you're constantly in charge of all the car's acceleration, steering and braking. Basically a car without cruise control. It ends with Level 5, where the car that do…
Engadget RSS Feed

Einride’s self-driving truck looks like a giant freezer on wheels

Einride has just revealed the prototype of the T-pod, its autonomous electric truck. The Swedish company's self-driving vehicle can transport 15 standard pallets and can travel 124 miles on one charge. And because there's no need for a person to sit…
Engadget RSS Feed

Researchers find a more effective way to test self-driving cars

It's tricky to test self-driving cars. Even if you have hundreds of thousands of miles under your belt, it's still difficult to account for every possible real-world peril. Researchers think they can fast-track that experience, however. They've devel…
Engadget RSS Feed

Weekly Rewind: Insane stunt pilot lady, life beyond Earth, $700 self-driving car

In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of it. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week.

The post Weekly Rewind: Insane stunt pilot lady, life beyond Earth, $ 700 self-driving car appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends

Weekly rewind: Nintendo Switch incoming, incredible space photos, Vegas’ self-driving buses

In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week.

The post Weekly rewind: Nintendo Switch incoming, incredible space photos, Vegas' self-driving buses appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends

BMW, Intel and MobilEye will test self-driving cars later in 2017

BMW, Intel and MobilEye just gave a roadmap for some of their self-driving car plans. The trio expects to test autonomous cars on roads sometime in the second half of 2017. About 40 modified BMW 7 Series sedans will start roaming American and Europea…
Engadget RSS Feed

Volvo’s self-driving cars will hide from UK ‘bullies’

If you could see that the car in front of you was being driven autonomously and therefore navigating in an ultra-safe manner, how would you react? Would you treat it as you would any other road user or be more inclined to torment it, knowing it would…
Engadget RSS Feed

Tesla ex-partner finds someone else to help with self-driving tech

Now that Tesla has kicked Mobileye's image recognition tech to the curb, what is its former partner going to do? Run into someone else's arms, of course. Mobileye has revealed that it's teaming up with Delphi on a self-driving platform that automaker…
Engadget RSS Feed

How BMW’s self-driving car tech will give American swimmers a leg up in Rio

BMW is lending its automotive computer vision expertise to helping Team USA develop cutting-edge technology for improving their swimming. “This tool allows for customized coaching,” Peter Falt, director at BMW Designworks, tells Digital Trends.

The post How BMW’s self-driving car tech will give American swimmers a leg up in Rio appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends

Uber expands self-driving car project with University of Arizona partnership

Ride-hailing company Uber said Tuesday it’s linked up with the University of Arizona to help advance its driverless car project. The partnership will involve work on optics technology to develop its self-driving car’s mapping system and safety features.

The post Uber expands self-driving car project with University of Arizona partnership appeared first on Digital Trends.

Mobile»Digital Trends