Two moving cars collided in Arizona on Friday. If one of them hadn't been fitted with Waymo self-driving tech, no one would have noticed.
The crash occurred in Chandler, Ariz. when a Honda sedan swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid another accident. It then struck the Waymo van, which the company claims was operating in manual mode -- which means the human behind the wheel was in charge -- at the time.
SEE ALSO:Here's what Waymo's electric, self-driving Jaguar looks likeA video captured from the van's own camera and released by Waymo shows the 5-second period leading up to the crash.
The sequence of events seen in this short clip are pretty clear. The Honda swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle in the intersection and seemed to momentarily lose control as it crossed the median. Waymo's van, traveling in the center lane on the opposite side of the street, appears to have been a victim of circumstance.
The whole thing happened very quickly and with little warning -- faster than it seems here, even, as the video appears to be slowed down. Waymo's human test driver, who sustained only minor injuries (thankfully), didn't get out of the way in time.
All eyes are on self-driving tech as companies like Waymo and Tesla continue to fine-tune their work on products that could, in the long run, lead to fewer vehicle collisions overall. The PR side of their work has been set back in recent months by a number of high-profile incidents with unfortunate outcomes.
In March, the driver of a Tesla Model X was killed while the vehicle's autonomous Autopilot mode was active. Just a few days earlier, a self-driving Uber in Arizona struck and killed a pedestrian, leading the ridesharing company to suspend its driverless program.
This particular crash didn't end in tragedy, and it isn't even a PR disaster for Waymo. But the widespread news coverage of what is otherwise a simple, two-car wreck only serves to demonstrate just how sensitive we are in this current moment to an up-and-coming technology.
(责任编辑：探索)
Xiaomi accused of copying again, this time by JawboneEric Schmidt steps down as chairman of AlphabetDating site ad banned for claiming that its algorithms work better than fate'A Christmas Prince' vs 'Christmas Inheritance': Which to watch?Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central ItalyAustralian football makes history with first LGBT Pride Game
The rainbow flag took over Melbourne's Etihad Stadium Saturday night in a powerful statement of acce
...[详细]13 tweets about 'Black Mirror' that will make you laugh despite the fear
Humanity may be irreparably doomed, but at least we have a sense of humour about it.。SEE ALSO:The 2
...[详细]The weirdly dystopian photo from the White House press briefing
Sure, things are bad, but it’s not like we’ve gone full dystopia yet.。 I mean, our Great
...[详细]Team internet reunites a man with an envelope full of money after he left it in the pub
Here's a tale of lost and found that'll restore your faith in humanity. A pub in London rallied to f
...[详细]Old lady swatting at a cat ends up in Photoshop battle
We all have that relative who gets annoyed with the cat. 。This timeless photo of an old woman shooing
...[详细]This supermarket might have the solution for 'avocado hand'
Earlier this year, doctors raised a scary warning for brunch-loving millennials: mishandling avocado
...[详细]Twitter has timeouts for users who violate its standards, and it's been putting them into effect mor
...[详细]
Passengers are enduring delays in blacked-out terminals or have had their flights diverted mid-air,
...[详细]Felix the cat just raised £5000 for charity because she's the hero we all need
LONDON -- Remember Felix, the Huddersfield train station cat who got promoted to Senior Pest Control
...[详细]Highly thoughtful grandma doesn't quite understand how Uber works
Remember a time before Uber? Your grandma does, and she's more pure than this world will ever be aga
...[详细]MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?
Apple says it broke another big App Store record on New Year's Day