Associated Incidents
Google has revealed that its self driving car hit a bus because it made an incorrect assumption about where it would go.
The firm admitted the crash would not be its last - while humans were allowed on the roads.
'Our car was making an assumption about what the other car was going to do,' said Chris Urmson, head of Google's self-driving project, speaking at the SXSW festival in Austin.
'This what driving is about.'
Scroll down for video of the crash
Google has revealed that its self driving car hit a bus because it made an incorrect assumption about where it would go.
WHAT HAPPENED? Neither the Google employee in the driver's seat — who must be there under California law to take the wheel in an emergency — nor the 16 people on the bus were injured. The transit agency has concluded based on the footage that the bus driver was not responsible, spokeswoman Stacey Hendler Ross said. Though it was a low-speed collision, the impact crumpled the Lexus' front left side, flattened the tire and tore off the radar Google installed to help the SUV perceive its surroundings.
A Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in Mountain View in a minor crash on Feb. 14, and the search engine firm said it bears 'some responsibility' for the incident in what may be the first crash that was the fault of the self-driving vehicle.
Urmson revealed the company had taught its cars to move next to the curb when planning a right turn, sidling by traffic stopped at a traffic light, much as human drivers do, according to CNET.
As the drove, it spotted sandbags on the road ahead, so decided to stop and wait for the lane next to it to clear.
After the light turned green, the traffic began moving.
The car detected a city bus coming up the lane, and made the assumption the bus driver would slow down.
As Urmson told it, the bus driver assumed the car would stay put, and kept on going.
The car pulled out, hitting the side of the bus at about 2 mph.
In the wake of that collision, Urmson said his team 'implemented 3,500 new tests to make sure this won't happen again.'
'We're going to have another day like our Valentine's Day, and we're going to have worse days than that,' said Urmson.
'We don't like our car bumping into things,' said Urmson
'This was a tough day for us.'
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) chief Mark Rosekind told Reuters on the sidelines of an event on highway safety that the agency is collecting more information to get a 'more detailed exploration of what exactly happened.'
Google also revealed another example of the same issue, where its car tried to move out of another car's blind spot on a freeway - but slowed too much, moving into the blind spot of the other car.
At SXSW, Urmson also showed an instance where a bike going the wrong way at night suddenly zoomed through an intersection, in front of a Google car, according to Gizmodo.
The car stopped.
But Urmson said he's watched the footage dozens of times, and he believes the cyclist would probably not have been seen by a human driver.
'I am convinced if I was behind the wheel, I would have hit him.'
Urmson revealed the company had taught its cars to move next to the curb when planning a right turn, sidling by traffic stopped at a traffic light
At SXSW, Urmson also showed an instance where a bike going the wrong way at night suddenly zoomed through an intersection, in front of a Google car, according to Gizmodo. The car stopped.
He also revealed the car has seen some odd things, including a woman in an electric wheelchair chasing ducks through a street, and naked people jumping on the hood in Austin.
The firm is also struggling to teach the car the drive in snow, and the mappuing systems struggle to cope.
'The map we use doesn't work when the world changes,' said Urmson.
Chris Urmson, head of Google's self-driving project, speaking at the SXSW festival in Austin.
The top U.S. auto safety regulator said last week it is seeking additional details of the recent crash of an Alphabet Google self-driving car in California.
A Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in Mountain View in a minor crash on Feb. 14, and the search engine firm said it bears 'some responsibility' for the incident in what may be the first crash that was the fault of the self-driving vehicle.
Rosekind said he spoke to Google officials on Wednesday and the company has been 'very forthcoming' in answering requests for details on the crash.
'We have to see what's going on,' Rosekind said.
A Google spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. safety officials said in January they are working on new guidance on self-driving vehicles that they hope to release by July. Rosekind said understanding the Google car crash is important in that process.
'One of the lessons learned would be: there's an incident, how do you make that sure that (the issue) ends up getting corrected and there is quality assurance to make sure it effectively changes what happened,' Rosekind