SAN FRANCISCO — More than a second before a self-driving car operated by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in March, the vehicle’s computer system determined it needed to brake to avoid a crash. But a built-in emergency braking system had been disabled while the car was in autonomous mode to ensure a smoother ride, according to the preliminary report of federal regulators investigating the crash. The report also affirmed what many experts on self-driving cars said in the days after the crash: Uber’s cars are loaded with sensors and cameras that should have detected a pedestrian with plenty of time to stop. But this one failed through a combination of a computer system not responding properly to the pedestrian’s presence and a distracted safety driver. It has also dampened some enthusiasm for self-driving cars as a technology that researchers believe could eventually save lives because robot drivers, unlike humans, don’t get distracted or tired and obey traffic rules.

Source: New York Times May 24, 2018 17:09 UTC