Waymo’s robot and delivery robot Serve have collided in Los Angeles

On December 27, Mr Waymo robotaxi and a Serving Robotics A roadside delivery robot crashed into a Los Angeles intersection, according to a movie which is circulating on social media.

Footage shows Bottle Serve crossing a street in West Hollywood at night and attempting to enter the street. It came to an intersection, backed up a bit to right itself and started heading uphill. That’s when Waymo turns right to hit the little bot.

The person who posted the video said the Serve bot ran a red light before the collision, although it’s not clear from the footage.

One Reddit user commented on the video: “Waymo computers: ‘It doesn’t look like a person or an animal.’ ‘No live mode found’ BAM!

And although the words may have been said sarcastically, his opinion is not entirely wrong.

When TechCrunch asked Waymo if the robotaxi saw the bot, the spokesperson said that the Waymo Driver system clearly saw that the delivery robot was an inanimate object. The driver is designed to be a defensive driver who prioritizes the best way to drive with the information he has at all times, and his ability to classify and distinguish different types of road users and objects informs what surrounds them. For example, the Driver is designed to be careful around children and pedestrians.

This doesn’t mean that the Waymo Driver will destroy anything inanimate; in this case, the delivery robot was parked on the side of the road before entering the curve of the car as the Waymo robotaxi entered the lane. At that point, the Waymo driver applied hard braking before colliding with the delivery robot at 4 miles per hour, according to a Waymo spokesperson.

Neither AV was damaged, and the two locked up for a minute before going their separate ways. But as autonomous vehicles hit public roads, there is a question to be asked: what happens when they collide? How do companies choose a robot, and therefore, which company is responsible for damage?

Based on previous information Waymo provided to TechCrunch, in the event of a collision, the Waymo Driver notifies the company’s Fleet Response and Rider Support team. The Fleet Response team monitors the incident remotely and dispatches a representative to the side of the road if necessary. The Rider Support team monitors the rider’s condition and, if necessary, contacts first responders.

In this case, there was no passenger inside the robotaxi. It’s unclear if the Fleet Response team was notified of the collision, or if the Waymo robotaxi or Serve bot wanted people to help out remotely.

A Serve spokesperson told TechCrunch that this is the first time one of its bots has collided with a robotaxi, confirming that the bot was under remote control at the time of the incident as it was still part of Serve’s cross-traffic game.

TechCrunch was unable to get a definitive answer from Waymo or Serve regarding any potential future damages. Speakers from both companies confirmed that they will be working together to avoid similar problems in the future.