Photo: NVIDIA
Following Uber and Toyota, a third major player in the autonomous vehicles (AV) segment has announced a cease of operations, in response to a fatal pedestrian crash which took place in Tempe, Arizona, last week.
By itself, NVIDIA doesn’t operate many autonomous vehicles. It’s AI systems are however widespread, being used in various degrees by several automakers and startups. The decision to stop testing AVs will only affect the chipmaker’s cars, Forbes reports.
NVIDIA tried to distance itself from Uber and the incident, saying that the car sharing company does not use NVIDIA’s AI, but only its GPUs. This contradicts initial information that some NVIDIA self-driving tech is being employed by Uber.
After a Volvo XC90 self-driving car, operated by Uber, hit and killed a woman in Arizona, the yet unknown dangers of autonomous driving have come back into the spotlight. Heavily promoted by carmakers and safety organizations, AVs are regarded with caution by the public.
In-car video released by the police a few days following the crash shows how the 49-year old victim appear out of nowhere in the middle of the road, pushing a bicycle. Neither the car nor the human occupant make any attempt to avoid contact.
In the wake of the crash, Arizona withdrew its support for Uber and its self-driving testing. Additionally, to avoid the need to explain an yet insufficiently investigated incident, Uber decided this week not to renew its permit to operate in California.
Uber’s self-driving cars are still grounded across the country pending investigation, despite mounting evidence that it was little the car’s systems could have done to avoid the collision.
Separately, Toyota announced it would temporarily halt the tests of its Chauffeur autonomous driving system in the United States, but not because of the need to recheck the technology, but because “the incident may have an emotional effect on our test drivers.”
NVIDIA tried to distance itself from Uber and the incident, saying that the car sharing company does not use NVIDIA’s AI, but only its GPUs. This contradicts initial information that some NVIDIA self-driving tech is being employed by Uber.
After a Volvo XC90 self-driving car, operated by Uber, hit and killed a woman in Arizona, the yet unknown dangers of autonomous driving have come back into the spotlight. Heavily promoted by carmakers and safety organizations, AVs are regarded with caution by the public.
In-car video released by the police a few days following the crash shows how the 49-year old victim appear out of nowhere in the middle of the road, pushing a bicycle. Neither the car nor the human occupant make any attempt to avoid contact.
In the wake of the crash, Arizona withdrew its support for Uber and its self-driving testing. Additionally, to avoid the need to explain an yet insufficiently investigated incident, Uber decided this week not to renew its permit to operate in California.
Uber’s self-driving cars are still grounded across the country pending investigation, despite mounting evidence that it was little the car’s systems could have done to avoid the collision.
Separately, Toyota announced it would temporarily halt the tests of its Chauffeur autonomous driving system in the United States, but not because of the need to recheck the technology, but because “the incident may have an emotional effect on our test drivers.”
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