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Uber Resumes Testing Self-Driving Cars Nine Months After Deadly Crash (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the let's-try-this-again dept.

Nine months after an Uber self-driving car struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona, Uber has decided that it's time to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads. The company received a letter from Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation authorizing it to restart its program, although it will be massively scaled back from the one it had last year. The Verge reports: For the time being, Uber's self-driving Volvo SUVs will be confined to a one-mile loop around Pittsburgh's Strip District, where the company's Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is headquartered. Only two vehicles are being tested for now, though more will be added. The cars won't exceed the posted speed limit of 25 mph, and will have two safety drivers in them at all times -- Uber calls them "mission specialists." For now, the cars aren't picking up any passengers. A spokesperson for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said since Uber has "accepted established state guidelines, demonstrated transparency, and conformed to our expectations in addressing the unique conditions of a complex urban environment, the city is satisfied that self-driving testing operations by Uber will not introduce an increased level of safety risk in Pittsburgh," the spokesperson said.

32 comments

  1. OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon makes better self driving cars than Uber. Apple makes better self-driving cars than Uber, and every car in Japan is better than an Uber. Is that clear enough?

  2. "We have money and can afford lawsuits again" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll go ahead and assume that's the rationale.

    1. Re: "We have money and can afford lawsuits again" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Excellent. It n fact every car in every country is something I would buy before Uber. Uber is at the very bottom of a long list (if it is on the list at all after their behavior) of things I would buy. Move along!

  3. TWO drivers by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

    Wow, these "self-driving" cars will have TWO drivers in them. Thats gotta be a new record. I love AI and autonomous driving.

    1. Re:TWO drivers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Wait, it's still an Uber... so which driver is the rapist? How does the AI know when to kick it into rape-assist or Heaven-view?

    2. Re:TWO drivers by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Did you see the coal engine in the back?

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    3. Re:TWO drivers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they will come FOR FREE!
      So you get one extra FOR FREE!

      Joking aside, having two people overseeing these tests indicates Uber takes their responsibility more seriously, though not sure if they have any accountability.

  4. "Two safety drivers" by hwihyw · · Score: 1

    is that like having 2 collision avoidance systems, Uber's and Volvo's, and not disabling Volvo's system, instead of solely relying on Ubers beta product to not run someone over?
            https://www.autonews.com/artic...

    1. Re:"Two safety drivers" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably not, one of those two will likely be responsible for most of the monitoring of the sensors and the other will be just paying attention to the road. Presumably, they'll switch off regularly throughout the shift.

      IMHO, they should be required to demonstrate that their auto-braking system is completely functional before being allowed to try anything else. Being able to brake in response to something ahead is the only functionality that we really need in these cars anyways. Everything else is just a bonus.

      Right now between adaptive cruise control, lane assist and auto-braking most of what drivers really need is already covered by existing technology. AI that can't get those things right, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near public streets.

    2. Re:"Two safety drivers" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is pretty much the thing.

      It is extremely hard (I'm was going to say impossible, but that is not technically correct.) to prove that AI or machine learning algorithms follows ISO 26262.
      This means that it is necessary to first design an automatic braking system with redundancy and that is proven to work.
      After that you are free to play around with the fancy self driving stuff.

      If you caused an accident it should at least be of the nature that someone else failed to brake in time and ran into you.

  5. How much was Uber fined? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    $100 million? $150 million?

    1. Re:How much was Uber fined? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The justice system doesn't work that way.
      Since the dead person didn't have much family there won't be much punishment.
      As long as you don't run over some rich persons kid you'll be fine.

  6. 2 people inside at all times!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lucky it doesn't get hot there!!!
    Not allowed to leave a dog in the car when it's parked but it's ok for uber to leave two employees in them???

    1. Re: 2 people inside at all times!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Capital! Just capital! Maybe I will have my secretary tell me when Uber is safe enough to ride in sometime in the future

  7. Uber Resumes Testing Self-Driving Cars Nine Months by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

    Well of course. They're replaced both the car and the person they killed. Damaged mitigated; it's all good now.

    --
    If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
  8. It’s the “Get Smart” approach by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Chief: Max, we had a safety driver in the car and still hit a pedestrian.

    Max: Here’s an idea, Chief. How about we have TWO safety drivers? That way if one’s distracted, the other can take over!

    Chief: Max, what if they both get distracted?

    Max: (pause) Okay... how about THREE safety drivers, Chief?

    (the Chief remains unconvinced, and the discussion continues)

    .
    .
    .

    Chief (later that evening, during the test): I don’t know, Larabee. I’m worried. Maybe I should’ve went with Max’s plan.

    Larabee: What plan was that, Chief?

    Chief: The one with 99 safety drivers.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  9. make America great! by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Now corporations own the streets and, oh, the right to conduct a homicide. Wonderful, part of making America great again!

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:make America great! by liquid_schwartz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Now corporations own the streets and, oh, the right to conduct a homicide. Wonderful, part of making America great again!

      Roughly 3000 people die *every month* currently. We can improve on that and should keep trying to. Learn from mistakes yes but keep trying.

    2. Re:make America great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now corporations own the streets and, oh, the right to conduct a homicide. Wonderful, part of making America great again!

      Roughly 3000 people die *every month* currently. We can improve on that and should keep trying to. Learn from mistakes yes but keep trying.

      I agree. We are disunited and it is turning us into slackers. If we'd all just get together and work out our differences, I expect we could improve this to 6000 or more. Something like the Apollo project, which helped keep us together despite divisive times.

      Personally I think assigning points would help. As a side-benefit, think of the social engineering prospects. Hunamity has been aiming towards this since the invention of game theory.

    3. Re:make America great! by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Roughly 3000 people die *every month* currently. We can improve on that and should keep trying to.

      Next month let's go for 3500!

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    4. Re:make America great! by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Ok but these companies should explain exactly how the improvement is going to happen because right now they are nowhere close.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    5. Re:make America great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. You need dog named sparky so you can type "Isn't that right sparky?" and get the "ruff, ruff" response.

      This is not "WE" it is Uber. Uber mowed a lady down on a well lit street and lied about it. They released an intentionally doctored video to create a narrative that didn't even properly cover their butts. It was so ridiculous and tragic that Uber should NEVER be allowed to conduct street trials again. Uber could still develop and patent tech while many other companies are researching as well.

      So WE can still research while weeding out the dishonest, unethical and incompetent.

  10. You are not understanding the roles here by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, these "self-driving" cars will have TWO drivers in them.

    One is for watching the road. The other is an Uber lawyer with a briefcase filled with $100 bills and release forms.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: You are not understanding the roles here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also 2 people makes it easier to dispose of the bodies.

    2. Re:You are not understanding the roles here by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      TFW Silicon Valley recreates a Portlandia skit (thinking of the trampoline vendor with the legal department offering blanket million dollar settlements over the phone)

  11. Way to go Safety Driver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The âoesafety driverâ who was in the car during the fatal accident clearly didnâ(TM)t get punished enough. First, the avoidable accident gave the entire AI car industry a bad reputation. Second, now Uber is wasting countless dolllars with double drivers. All because the dumb bitch couldnâ(TM)t stay off her phone!

    The tech isnâ(TM)t there yet but one day it will be. That phone watching butch is proof of exactly why we need self driving cars; people canâ(TM)t stay off their phones!

    1. Re:Way to go Safety Driver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      avoidable accident

      Indeed. The accident could have been avoided if the pedestrian hadn't been jaywalking, and had bothered to find a proper crosswalk.

  12. THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR FAGGOTY LIES NAZI PROPAGANDA HOMO KEN DOLL

    Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

  13. They knew about the problem by Mikkeles · · Score: 1

    There was even a memo about Uber's self driving cars hitting a lot of things before the killing.

    --
    Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
  14. distributed responsibility by reanjr · · Score: 1

    This is textbook distributed responsibility. The likelihood of any agent acting to address a problem is inversely proportional to the number of agents who are responsible for a problem.

  15. Double Standard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Geez, if we stopped a driving method for 9 months every time someone was killed, we'd have no cars no the road at all.

    Human drivers are far far worse than robotic ones.

  16. I hate to defend Uber but.. by JThundley · · Score: 1

    I hate to defend Uber, but I really feel like they carry a very small part of the blame in this. Sure, there was a memo about the automated cars hitting things, but isn't that exactly the problem they're trying to fix? They're putting their cars through real-world tests to improve that, with human operators present in case the automated system fails.

    Isn't this the same thing we do with airplanes? Autopilot automates much of the flight, with a couple pilots present in case the automated system fails. On those rare occasions that it fails, the autopilot software makers don't get sued. Instead we look into why the pilot failed to do their job.

    In this case, we know exactly why the driver didn't do their job. We have video of her shirking her responsibilities and watching videos instead of the road.