Google car accident is a good sign of technology development

As you know, on February 14, the Google Gen-2 unmanned vehicle (Lexus) first got into an accident when it collided with a bus, moving at a speed of 3 km / h. This is the first accident that occurred due to a computer fault. Google partially pleaded guilty.

What really happened can be judged from the official incident report . For more details, see the Google Robot Car Monthly Report .

The description of the emergency leads to some interesting thoughts. Apparently, the robotic car program began to handle typical road situations that are not described in the SDA.

Google reports that it recently began to run in new patterns of behavior. In this case, turn right to a red lightfrom the main street where the rightmost lane is widened. In such a situation, the usual practice is that drivers turn an extended lane into a double lane, placing cars in two rows. In this case, the right row is pressed against the curb.

According to the standard car program, only one lane would be available, so the first stopping car would block everyone else from turning to the right, which would be very unpleasant.

So, the Google developers decided to implement a scenario of subjective "expansion" of the rules in accordance with generally accepted practice, so that the unmanned vehicle also pressed against the curb in the extended lane.

In the case of the latest incident, the car unexpectedly discovered that sandbags blocking the drain of the storm sewer blocked its path. Then he decided to return back to the left row. There was a bus in the stream.

The program decided that the bus, as a respectable driver, would slow down slightly, losing the lane. But he did not, and the unmanned vehicle collided with him at a very low speed.

Perhaps the program could better solve the problem due to a faster reaction and better foreseeing the intentions of the bus driver. Surely, over time, she will learn to do it. In any case, this is an example of how the situation on the road is resolved by understanding the intentions of another driver. The rules do not have the concept of "join the stream" and of course it is not indicated that it is necessary to give way to someone who "flows into it". The Google car determined this on its own and did not stand in its right lane forever. This is a clear sign of progress in the development of technology. Of course, at first there will be mistakes, this can not be avoided. In some situations, robotic cars will have to show aggression, otherwise they will not survive on the roads.

It is not entirely clear why in the last incident the robotic car did not cancel its decision when it was convinced that the bus did not intend to concede, because the description of the accident indicates that Lexus touched its side.

Google Unmanned Vehicle Report February 2016


Google car accident