California just banned Cruise self-driving cars. The reason ? A series of accidents, one of which caused a serious injury.
These accidents are the result of a major problem: Cruise’s autonomous cars cannot stop. Indeed, they are so autonomous that they are no longer able to make simple decisions, such as stopping in front of an obstacle.
In the most serious accident, a woman jumped in front of a Cruise car. The car failed to brake and hit it. The woman passed under the car, which then backed away to free her, but dragged her for several meters.
This accident was a blow to Cruise, which was one of the leaders in the autonomous car market. The company will now have to revise its algorithms so that its cars can finally learn to stop.
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