Guest: Phil Koopman, safety expert, professor at Carnegie Mellon University
Reference Materials:
- Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers’ Report
- Exponent’s report on “Technical Root Cause Analysis” (attached as Appendix of Quinn Emanuel Report)
- Phil Koopman’s analysis: “Anatomy of a Robotaxi Crash: Lessons from the Cruise Pedestrian Dragging Mishap.”
Below is our 1-hour discussion with Phil Koopman on Oct. 2 Cruise crash.
Phil Koopman of Carnegie Mellon University offers a stellar one-hour walkthrough of what happened at the Cruise Robotaxi crash on Oct. 2nd, 2023.
This crash led the Calif. Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend Cruise’ autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits.
In his report, “Anatomy of a Robotaxi Crash: Lessons from the Cruise Pedestrian Dragging Mishap,” Koopman reconstructed the timeline leading to the crash based on facts disclosed by two reports – Quinn Emanuel Report (QER) and Exponent’s Report (EXPR) – both commissioned by Cruise.
In addition to crash details previously unrevealed until the QER and EXPR reports became public, Koopman discusses in this podcast what went right, what went wrong in the autonomous vehicle’s design and operation, including the moment the robotaxi decided to move again after hitting the victim, eventually dragging her twenty feet while trapped beneath the vehicle. He also addressed the differences between “system engineering” and “safety engineering,” and what constitutes a “design gap.”
Listen to the audio version:
Junko Yoshida is the editor in chief of The Ojo-Yoshida Report. She can be reached at junko@ojoyoshidareport.com.
Copyright permission/reprint service of a full Ojo-Yoshida Report story is available for promotional use on your website, marketing materials and social media promotions. Please send us an email at talktous@ojoyoshidareport.com for details.