Now that video footage has been released of the moments preceding a fatal crash between an Uber self-driving vehicle and a pedestrian, it appears that more than just a flaw in Uber autonomous technology may have contributed to the crash.
A human safety driver, who did not act as the required fail-safe in the event something went wrong, was distracted moments before the crash. Yet that driver may not have been solely to blame, either. Investigators are still probing the incident, but it was likely a confluence of both factors.
Video footage of the crash, released Wednesday by the Tempe Police Department, sheds those insights on the circumstances which led to the death of Elaine Herzberg, 49, the first person killed in an incident involving a self-driving system on U.S. public roads. Contrary to early news reports that described Herzberg as ?abruptly? and ?suddenly? entering the roadway, front-facing video shows she had already crossed at least one lane of Mill Avenue, possibly more, and was methodically pushing her bicycle in the center of a lane at the time she was struck by the Volvo XC90 SUV that Uber uses for testing. Weather conditions were clear.
It was dark at 10 p.m., the time of the crash, which affected what the front-facing cameras could capture. But the performance of the lidar and radar sensors in the self-driving system is not affected by lighting conditions, according to industry experts. Video of the immediate pre-crash circumstances underscores questions a...