from the begun-the-fido-and-robots-wars-they-have dept.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/06/autonomous-waymo-car-runs-over-dog-in-san-francisco/
One of Alphabet's Waymo autonomous cars has killed a pet dog. TechCrunch spotted the public report of the incident, which says one of the Waymo Jaguar I-Pace cars ran over a dog in San Francisco while in autonomous mode with a safety driver behind the wheel.
[...] On May 21 in San Francisco, a small dog ran in front of one of our vehicles with an autonomous specialist present in the driver's seat, and, unfortunately, contact was made. The investigation is ongoing, however the initial review confirmed that the system correctly identified the dog which ran out from behind a parked vehicle but was not able to avoid contact.
[...] The incident is Waymo's first reported fatality.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Snospar on Thursday June 15 2023, @03:04PM (3 children)
Check the windshield and the rest of the front of the car it will be covered in many, many fatalities. None as big as a pet dog of course.
Huge thanks to all the Soylent volunteers without whom this community (and this post) would not be possible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 15 2023, @04:46PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG5ghP8XLW8 [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday June 15 2023, @05:07PM (1 child)
The difference is that generally a pet dog is not considered a pest. Unlike the majority of insects that end up on your windshield. One could make an argument for the butterflies, though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Touché) by ewk on Friday June 16 2023, @07:17AM
And bees... bees also seem to be pretty important...
I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday June 15 2023, @03:56PM
Bumper stickers in San Francisco:
Ordinary car: I brake for animals
Waymo car: I break fur animals
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Thursday June 15 2023, @04:12PM (14 children)
Humans run over dogs and cats and squirrels all of the time. I just got off the road and was almost hit multiple times by people staring at their GPS on their tiny little phones instead of reading the large road signs right in front of them. GPS clearly didn't warn them of me either. Dogs would have been toast if they were in these peoples paths, and no one would have thought anything of it.
I have yet to grasp why this article has made the rounds.
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Thursday June 15 2023, @04:30PM (3 children)
Subs queue running low?
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Friday June 16 2023, @01:59PM (2 children)
I appreciate the post here so I can comment on the ridiculousness of the mass media. This comment was in no way directed at you or the staff. I enjoy these types of articles for said reason.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday June 16 2023, @02:55PM (1 child)
I wasn't taken as a snipe at the staff. As I am currently reducing my involvement in some tasks because of my involvement in resolving the site's future, I haven't been searching for submissions. It was entirely speculation on my part :)
As I think significant progress is about to be made then I might be able to spend more time on my primary roles rather than the current one. We are expecting an announcement in a Meta from NCommander today. Until we see that we are all holding our breath.
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Friday June 16 2023, @03:07PM
I'm rootin' for it to all go well. I enjoy the site. Appreciate your hard work and never ending patience.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday June 15 2023, @05:17PM
PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals. Er..., wait, the other PETA. You know the generalized PETA persona of "poor animal" vs "evil human". Where the PETA supporter cares more about the animals than the people. I am saddened upon the occasion where I hit a poor little creature. That doesn't mean, I'm going to be jeopardizing the lives of those in vehicles around me, to swerve for a squirrel, etc. I thought the story was more interesting when compared to Uber's track record. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2023-04-25/driver-in-fatal-uber-autonomous-crash-set-for-june-trial [usnews.com] (For the 2018 incident.)
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Tork on Thursday June 15 2023, @05:50PM (4 children)
Buckle up. We're gonna see a news article every time a self-driving vehicle steps outside of scope. Examples of what I expect to see in the near-future: "Self-driving car wipes out on black ice." "Self driving car interferes with police chase." "Self-driving car pulled over for not turning on headlights, who gets the ticket?" It's all new because, well, this is a scifi-technology coming to life and profit-driven-press has a lot of movies to reference.
There is a silver lining, though. The extra scrutiny has the potential to keep us safer, we all know these manufacturers are going to say "good enough" earlier than we would. I personally would rather the media hype that than worrying about seductive M&Ms or Potato Head packaging, maybe we'll see fewer doggos injured as a result.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 15 2023, @06:07PM
What I don't want to see is more humans killed by self driving cars safeguarding dogs, squirrels, caterpillars, etc.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday June 15 2023, @10:19PM (2 children)
In truth though, black ice [youtu.be] can be hazardous in many situations.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday June 16 2023, @12:02AM
Maybe Waymo cars could be programmed to kill black ice?
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday June 16 2023, @01:24AM
I suspect though that AI drivers will have fewer problems with black ice than humans.
Not because they're especially good at it, but because so many human drivers panic and completely lose control whenever their vehicle loses traction. Keeping control on ice on ice isn't actually that difficult, so long as you know what you're doing. But I've seen so many people lose control even on packed snow that it's not even funny.
Of course if you don't see it in time you may still go sliding through an intersection, all the skill in the world doesn't let you ignore physics, but at least you'll go sliding through the intersection (or into a snow drift, bush, etc) under control rather than running head first into oncoming traffic.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Thursday June 15 2023, @05:54PM (1 child)
Its because people like us that have some idea how this shit works know darn well that self-driving cars will never work out like people think they will, and with all of the marketing hype that anything with "AI" has these days, it does not get the negative press it deserves.
(Score: 2) by aafcac on Friday June 16 2023, @03:31AM
It will eventually, but I wouldn't expect it to any time soon.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 15 2023, @06:05PM
"Self driving cars iz dangerous. I don't trust 'em!"
It's a "vibe" out there that the various "news" outlets are feeding - because outrage gets readers, readers see advertising, eyeballs on ads == $$$
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 15 2023, @11:22PM
A few months ago, I nailed a possum.
I was distracted by a bicyclist sharing the road, he seemed distracted too judging by his past trajectory, no problem, bicyclists around here do it all the time. Just give 'em a wide berth,. I am stable on four wheels, he's only got two, and for him, the physics of inertial dynamics insists on course corrections / inertia for stability, especially when the road isn't absolutely flat. I've ridden bikes too and know all too well the needs and physics governing a cyclist.
Something that unexpectedly scoots out into your path, inertial dynamics takes precedence. Neither me nor Waymo had much say in what happens.
Lacking evidence of reckless driving, I'd chalk it up as an accident. No blame to anyone.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by istartedi on Thursday June 15 2023, @04:43PM (7 children)
My neighbor lets them run loose. I know about it and we live on a winding hilly street where you'd have to be nuts to go very fast. Sadly, some people are in fact nuts. Other people let their pets loose on much faster streets, even the smooth feeder route with the double-yellow where people go 40+ (supposed to go 25). I haven't seen a dog that was hit. Yet. I've seen a cat though. So sad, and what are you saving speeding in the neighborhood? It's the last 5 minutes of your trip, you're risking somebody's pet, or spinning out and rolling in to somebody's house so you can save 20 seconds. Wankers.
Anyway, whoever let a small dog run without a leash on the streets of SF, IMHO bears most of the responsibility. It was just a matter of time.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 15 2023, @06:55PM (6 children)
Wife and I have a saying while driving: "suicide squirrel" - meaning: I'll be damned if I'm going to do anything crazy to avoid that thing. On our street they will dart back and forth in front of cars like they want to be hit. I have noticed a pattern in the general area: squirrels are really good at avoiding being hit by cars - up to about 40mph. Below 40, I have never hit one of them, I have killed several in the 45mph+ range. Then there was the long road from our house out to the next town that was 45mph speed limit. On there I "winged" a couple of them, they were darting back and forth, like they always do, but apparently I'd run over a tail, or a leg, or some other piece of them and they'd jump about and screech as I drove on.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 15 2023, @07:17PM (1 child)
Yeah, well, squirrels are a whole different ballgame than dogs, deer, cats, or whatever. A squirrel in traffic is indeed a suicide machine. And, any driver who even tries to avoid a squirrel ain't real smart.
For people who don't have our standard red or grey squirrels in their part of the world, those goofy suckers will run in front of you, get out of the way, run in front again, and keep repeating. They are extremely fast, and totally unpredictable. Did I say they were extremely fast? Actually, they're even faster than that. If they were literally programmed to cause as many auto accidents as possible, they couldn't be more deadly to people who swerve to avoid them.
The best thing to do, is to drive on, like you don't know they are around. Even if you "run over" the stupid animal, you're unlikely to kill it. He's so low to the ground, all but the lowest of cars will pass right over him. To actually harm him, you've got to run a wheel over him, and that is highly unlikely to happen, even if you're trying.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Friday June 16 2023, @10:20AM
Dogs vary wildly in size. A small dog is very much comparable to a squirrel.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Thursday June 15 2023, @08:41PM (3 children)
I don't think I've ever splatted a squirrel, usually because they're on residential streets where your 40 mph threshold isn't met. There are a couple times when I vividly remember squashing small mammals though. First one was a ground hog, actually kind of a chunky thing. I was accelerating up a ramp to get on I-95 in Virginia, when out of the green dense foliage this thing comes leaping and I heard a pretty good THUD. Didn't look back. Too busy merging. Hard to imagine that ended well for it. The other time was on a rural road in California. Little bunny rabbits. Everywhere. They kept darting across the road. I'm pretty sure we hit at least one, and I really hated that but like you say, swerving to save a wild animal is dumb. I've hit the brakes for deer, but never swerved. One time this buck leaped across the road, a truck was coming in the opposite direction. I slowed enough to avoid it, and for a split second made eye contact with the trucker who was in the same kind of split-second shock that I was. Any trucker worth their salt is going to keep right on going too. They'll just wipe some deer guts off the grill, but for a car it can be a lot worse--I've heard hooves can come through the windshield and impale you. I don't really want to google that to confirm it.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 15 2023, @09:28PM (1 child)
My first squirrel hit was on Key Biscayne (Miami) in 2 lanes one way of heavy traffic doing about 45mph, we came around a corner - the squirrel was just standing in road up on his hind legs - I was about 17 and had a car full of family - I just drove on as if the squirrel were going to move, but nope: thump, thump. My Uncle said "he had a depressed look on his face."
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by RS3 on Thursday June 15 2023, @10:32PM
Before or after?
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 15 2023, @10:47PM
Southbound in New Mexico, headed into Texas late at night. Silly rabbits line up on both sides of the road to watch you go by. I got to the truckstop I wanted to reach, and went to bed. Next morning, I inspected truck and trailer, and found an aluminum trailer wheel with a huge gouge out of it, and the sidewall ripped out of the tire. That was a real head scratcher - no rabbit did that, not even a fabled jackalope.
Talking to the tire guy, he says he gets three or four tires like that every year, sometimes more. Javelina sometimes take offense at the traffic, and attack the tires.
I can't imagine the javelina fared well - at 65 and 70 miles per hour, that tire and rim had to impart a lot of energy into his tusk!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wBLdhKb3GU [youtube.com]
(Score: 1) by dwilson98052 on Thursday June 15 2023, @08:14PM
...for the damage to the vehicle.
Had the owner been responsible and kept their dog on leash and out of the street as required by law this never would have happened.
(Score: 2) by SomeRandomGeek on Thursday June 15 2023, @10:18PM
Waymo mentions in this article that they are planning to increase their trip volume by 10x over the next year: https://waymo-blog.blogspot.com/2023/05/waymo-one-doubles-service-area-in.html [blogspot.com]
I wonder if that means they are getting serious about commercializing their service, or if they are just trying to collect more test data faster?
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday June 15 2023, @10:49PM
Another fender bender? [youtube.com]
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 16 2023, @01:33AM