Self-driving delivery van filmed dragging scooter
But a recent incident has raised serious safety concerns.
Footage shared on social media shows a self-driving delivery van dragging a scooter along a major road in Xi'an, China, heightening fears over safety regulations.
According to reports, the truck, developed by Jiushi Intelligent Technology Co., was trying to navigate around debris when it became entangled with a scooter that had been involved in a prior crash.
In the video, the vehicle's front left wheel has visibly driven over a scooter, causing the wheel to lock.
Surprisingly, the autonomous system continues to drive.
'A bit concerning that the robot van doesn't know it has a wheel completely locked up,' one Reddit user said.
'Man the front left wheel isn't even spinning. You would think it would be able to sense that at the very minimum,' another user said.
The video has been video over 50,000 times on social media which has raised concerns on what would have happened if it were a person or an animal that was being dragged instead.
According to online reports, the manufacturer stated that this was the first time such an incident had occurred and promised to improve its algorithm to detect irregularly shaped obstacles better.
In recent years, China has been accelerating the rollout of autonomous delivery vehicles, particularly for short-distance logistics to help address labour shortages and boost efficiency.
This growth has also been fuelled by government incentives and policies designed to accelerate adoption.
In Australia, there are laws that prohibit the use of automated vehicles on public roads nationwide.
Australia, however, has no national laws allowing fully automated vehicles on public roads.
While many modern cars offer partial automation through Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) — such as lane-keep assist and parking assist — these features still require a human driver to remain fully responsible.
However, the Federal Government is preparing for the future of autonomous driving.
The government currently working with the National Transport Commission and state and territory governments to develop a consistent legal framework for the safe introduction of automated vehicles.
'The department is working with the National Transport Commission and state and territorial governments to implement this national approach,' according to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts website.
'The department is developing the AVSL in line with the National in-service safety framework for automated vehicles developed by the National Transport Commission.
'The AVSL will deliver a nationally consistent regulatory approach to ensure the safe operation of automated vehicles on Australian roads.'
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