BREAKING: Uber HALTS All Autonomous Vehicle Testing After Pedestrian Fatality

The safety driver didn't catch the bicyclist either, so the car may have not been at fault if the bicyclist darted out in front of the car. Given it is UBER, a company constantly up to no good, I wouldn't be surprised if they were truly at fault--which would set back AVs and screw over other companies working to develop autonomous tech. UBER did also run a red light in SF last year, sofware was not properly mapped and the car didn't know there was a light there (apparently they rely on maps to know where some things are, not an ideal solution vs. smart cameras).

Is there an algorithm to profile "darty" behavior and give a wider berth? Detect a child, even one standing still, vs an adult and also give it a wider berth? I've been in software for many years and I'd just like to see some humility rather than hype about the massive undertaking even just to compile the tens of thousands of scenarios.

Oh it will be a massive amount of work to cover all of the edge cases for sure. Also in this specific case, I have to retract my statement after watching the video. The bicyclist was still at fault for making an illegal crossing but the car had almost a solid second to react--at least emergency brake to minimize impact... come on uber get your s*** together.

This unfortunate autonomous car caused death may set back autonomous vehicles quite some time.

GM is scheduled to deliver autonomous cars with NO steering wheel next year. Instead of rushing to market, autonomous engineers better keep beta testing for extra years before unleashing this nascent science onto the public.

Sad to say but there will be more deaths and freak occurrences. These are test beds put into real life circumstances to determine what is right and what is wrong with current autonomous programming and technology. What cannot be anticipated in the lab will be disclosed on our streets...unfortunately with casualties. Its the cost of progress and sad for those caught up in it.

Autonomous vehicles may not be perfect yet but they sure are a lot better than some of the drivers I see on the road that should not have a drivers license...

While autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers, these types of setbacks will further delay widespread adoption of autonomous technology. Regulators will be keeping close watch on autonomous driving now that a person has been killed by an autonomous vehicle.

If there are any more fatalities either by GM or another brand that plans on testing autonomous vehicles on public roads, it will likely take several more years before the technology is approved for widespread use given its questionable safety.

Because we don't have a legal framework for autonomous vehicles to be used. Questions like liability in the event of an accident and interaction with other human drivers are still unanswered.

The public is frightened by autonomous car/trucks. It is a more than unsettling to see, be near or be in an autonomous vehicle.

Even my desktop computer sometimes runs amuck. A 4000+ pound computer driven vehicle can far more damage.

I hope Uber gets their asses sued off.

PR show, nothing will really change after the news stops talking about the unfortunate souls that are murdered in the name of progress. Uber and Volvo are the same Greedy Machiavellian companies that puts $$ above all else, their lawyers will spin the fault onto anyone other than the individuals who wrote KILLER Software Code. NO doubt the companies determine that the bicycler and the woman crossing the road were incidental to learning what Computers that murder will cost in terms of human outrage and financial cost to the companies? (you could assert that someone needed to die to test the response from consumers and Law enforcement alike) Why the self driving push? So we innocent by-standards can make Uber a viable enterprise instead of the unethical S#!+ Show that it is? How many lost lives in the process of makeing Uber profitable?
Are we as a society so numb to the facts that Killer cars are like nut-jobs with guns? The Only Difference is the killer cars have corporate owners with billions of dollars in the bank and legions of lawyers to fight back anyone that thinks they are the same as a murderer... Can any individual pilot a car with self driving control and not go to jail for killing someone? Why can Volvo and Uber get away with Murder in the name of research?

The hate is abundant. It's sad that people die everyday in pedestrian accidents. yet we don't let loose the same why when a person is behind the wheel.
I believe the police indicated that a persons' reaction time wouldn't have been enough to avoid the hit.
Everyday I see drivers not stopping at a red light as they make a fast right turn. They don't car if anyone's crossing. But I suppose that's ok because "they're" only human and accidents will happen.

According to the police, It sounds like the pedestrian was at fault for darting in front of the car in part of the street with no crosswalk. The safety driver also did not see her until after hearing her hit the car.

I'm assuming the "safety driver" (sic) was texting.

After watching the actual video, I have to disagree that nothing could be done. There was almost a full second to react (and the safety driver was not paying attention). The bicyclist was still at fault for making an illegal crossing, but the car should at minimum have slowed down or swerved into the left lane assuming no cars detected there. An autonomous car should be able to take an evasive action in a fraction of a second if needed.