BEIJING — A driverless car in China hit a pedestrian, and people on social media are on the automaker’s side because the person allegedly ran into a traffic light.
The vehicle’s operator, Chinese technology giant Baidu, said in a statement to Chinese media that the car began moving when the traffic lights turned green and had little contact with the pedestrian. The person was taken to a hospital where an examination found no obvious external injuries, Baidu said.
The incident that occurred on Sunday in the city of Wuhan highlights the challenge that autonomous driving faces in complex situations, said Chinese financial media outlet Yicai. It quoted an expert as saying the technology may have limitations when dealing with unconventional behavior, such as other vehicles or pedestrians violating traffic laws.
Images posted online show a person sitting on the street in front of the driverless car with sensors on the roof. Comments on social media were largely supportive of Baidu, pointing out that the pedestrian had broken the law, the English language Shanghai Diary newspaper said in a post on X.
Baidu, a search and artificial intelligence company based in Beijing, is a leader in the development of autonomous driving in China. Its largest “robotaxi” operation, with a fleet of 300 cars, is located in Wuhan, a large city in central China that had the world’s first major outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020.
Apollo Go, as the ride-hailing service is called, also operates in more limited parts of three other Chinese cities – Beijing, Shenzhen and Chongqing. The company launched the sixth generation of its driverless taxi in May, saying it reduced the unit cost by more than half to less than $30,000.
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