According to a segment circulating on social mediavideo, on December 27, a Waymo self-driving car and a ServeRobotics sidewalk delivery robot collided at an intersection in Los Angeles.Video shows a Serve robot crossing a West Hollywood street at night, trying to drive onto the sidewalk. It walked to the side of the road, backed up a bit to correct its course, and then started moving toward the ramp. Just then, a Waymo turning right hit the little robot.
The person who posted the video said the Serve robot ran a red light before the crash, but it's not clear from the video.
One Reddit user commented on the video with this line: Waymo computer: "'Doesn't look human or animal. 'No life form detected' and then, boom!"
While the quote was most likely meant in jest, the sentiment isn't entirely wrong.
A Waymo spokesperson said the Waymo Driver system correctly observed that the delivery robot was an inanimate object. "Driver" is designed to be a cautious defensive driver, able to prioritize the safest driving path at any moment based on the information it has. It is able to classify and distinguish different types of road users and objects, and provide a basis for behavior around it. For example, "drivers" will be more cautious in the presence of children and pedestrians.
That's not to say that Waymo's drivers would just knock over anything inanimate; in this case, the delivery robot paused on the side of the road and then moved into the vehicle's turn lane, just as Waymo's self-driving taxi entered the intersection. According to a Waymo spokesperson, the Waymo driver braked suddenly before coming into contact with the delivery robot at a speed of 4 miles per hour.
Neither self-driving car was damaged and they remained locked for a minute before going their separate ways. But as more self-driving cars hit public roads, people are asking, what happens when they collide? How do companies decide which robot, and therefore which company, is responsible for the damage?
When a collision occurs, Waymo drivers notify the company's fleet response and rider support teams, according to information previously provided by Waymo. Fleet response teams remotely monitor the scene and dispatch roadside assistance representatives if necessary. The passenger support team will check the passenger's status and contact emergency personnel as appropriate.
In this specific case, there were no passengers inside the self-driving taxi. It's unclear whether fleet response teams were alerted to the collision, or whether Waymo's self-driving taxis or Serve robots required remote human assistance to get out of the jam.
A spokesman for Serve confirmed that this was the first time a robot had collided with a self-driving taxi on Serve, and confirmed that since the robot was under the control of a remote supervisor at the time of the incident, this was still one of Serve's strategies for crossing the road at intersections.
It is currently impossible to obtain more specific answers from Waymo or Serve about the liability of both parties in the event of a future accident that may cause greater damage. Spokespersons for both companies confirmed they have been in contact to try to avoid similar issues in the future.