US investigators have identified software flaws in an Uber self-driving vehicle that struck and killed a woman last year.
In a report released ahead of a meeting to determine the cause of the accident in Arizona last year, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the company's autonomous test vehicles were involved in 37 crashes over the prior 18 months. The accident that killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, as she was walking a bicycle across a street at night, was the first fatal crash to involve a self-driving car.The NTSB is expected to use the findings of its investigation to make a series of recommendations on regulation of the autonomous vehicle sector.
Its report found the vehicle failed to properly identify Ms Herzberg as a pedestrian crossing a street until it was too late to brake effectively.It further concluded that the vehicle's systems lost a second of reaction time due to a failed search for an alternative route. The study identified at least two further instances of Uber vehicles not recognising hazards in the road, including a bent cycle lane sign in one instance.
Thin end of the wedge
Software flaws ? Tell that to the grieving family.
And there lies the problem.