Mar 23, 2018

Report: Uber autonomous cars underperformed before crash

Sign with logo at the headquarters of ride-sharing technology company Uber in San Francisco, California. Photo: Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images

Months before an Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman in Arizona, there were concerns of its ability to navigate "through construction zones and next to tall vehicles," the New York Times reports.

The details: Per the Times, Uber "was struggling to meet its target of 13 miles per" human intervention in Arizona, while Waymo, a former autonomous vehicle project from Google, had been testing almost 5,600 miles until intervention. Uber's test drivers were requested to go "on solo runs" when they had previously been working in pairs.

The safety driver in Uber's car was shown "looking down, away from the road" in the dashboard camera footage. The driver's hands were also "not hovering above the steering wheel," as is expected.
Worth noting: Waymo moved to one test-driver in 2015, the Times reports, and "is now testing cars in...a Phoenix suburb, with no safety drivers."

Go deeper: Recode reported last March on Uber's struggle with self-driving cars.

Go deeper

Axios

Updated 45 mins ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus surpassed 400,000 worldwide on Sunday morning, per Johns Hopkins.

By the numbers: Almost 6.9 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 globally and more than 3 million have recovered from the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world with over 1.9 million.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Rashaan Ayesh

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

George Floyd updates

Protesters gather north of Lafayette Square near the White House during a demonstration against racism and police brutality, in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world to protest the killing of George Floyd. Huge crowds assembled in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago for full-day events on Saturday.

Why it matters: Twelve days of nationwide protest in the U.S. has built pressure for states to make changes on what kind of force law enforcement can use on civilians and prompted officials to review police conduct. A memorial service was held for Floyd in Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born. Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all flags to fly at half-staff to honor him until sunset.

Go deeper (2 min. read)