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On December 27, A The Waymo robot and a Serve robotics A sidewalk-carrying robot collided at an intersection in Los Angeles video spread on social networks.
The footage shows the Serve bot trying to cross a street in West Hollywood and onto a sidewalk at night. He reached the curb, pulled back a little to right himself, and began to move down the ramp. At that moment, Waymo, which was turning right, hit the small bot.
The person who posted the video said the Serve bot ran a red light before the collision, although it was not clear from the footage.
One Reddit user commented on the video: “Waymo computers: ‘Doesn’t look human or animal.’ ‘No life forms detected’ BAM!
And while that comment was probably made in jest, the sentiment isn’t entirely wrong.
When TechCrunch asked Waymo if the robotaxi saw the bot, a spokesperson said the Waymo Driver system correctly observed that the delivery robot was an inanimate object. The driver is designed to be a cautious defensive driver, choosing the safest driving path with the information it has at any given moment, and its ability to classify and differentiate between different types of road users and objects informs its behavior around it. For example, Driver is programmed to be more careful around children and pedestrians.
That doesn’t mean the Waymo Driver will bulldoze everything inanimate; in this case, as the Waymo robot entered the intersection, the delivery robot stopped at the curb before moving into the vehicle’s turning lane. That’s when the Waymo Driver applied hard brakes before making contact with the delivery robot at 4 mph, according to a Waymo spokesperson.
Neither AV was injured and the two remained locked for a minute before going their separate ways. But as more autonomous cars hit public roads, the question is what happens when they collide? How do companies decide which robot, and thus which company, will be held responsible in the event of an injury?
When a collision occurs, Waymo Driver notifies the company’s Fleet Response and Rider Support teams, according to Waymo’s previous disclosure to TechCrunch. The Fleet Response team monitors the scene remotely and dispatches a roadside assistance representative if necessary. The Rider Support team checks on riders and contacts first responders as needed.
In this particular case, there were no passengers inside the robot taxi. It’s unclear if the Fleet Response team was alerted to the collision, or if the Waymo robotaxi or Service bot required humans to remotely assist them out of the traffic jam.
A Serve spokesperson told TechCrunch that this is the first instance of one of its bots colliding with a robotaxi, and confirmed that the bot was under the control of a remote controller during the incident, as this is still part of Serve’s playbook for crosswalks.
TechCrunch was unable to get more specific answers from Waymo or Serve about the specifics of liability in the event of future incidents that could result in more damage. Spokespeople for both companies confirmed that they are in contact to work to prevent similar problems in the future.
