If "baby born in a robo-taxi" wasn't on your bingo card for today, well, I'm right there with you. But that's just what has happened, in a self-driving Waymo vehicle in - where else? San Francisco. Congratulations to the parents! At least this Waymo incident won't inspire controversy over a moving violation, even though... No, you know what, I'm going to just stop right there.
Moving right along: When this kid grows up, he or she (the story doesn't specify, and since this is in San Francisco, perhaps they didn't want to presume his/her/xe/xir/foop/borborygmi's gender) will have a heck of a story to tell.
Self-driving Waymo taxis have gone viral for negative reasons involving the death of a beloved San Francisco bodega cat and pulling an illegal U-turn in front of police who were unable to issue a ticket to a nonexistent driver.
But this week, the self-driving taxis are the bearer of happier news after a San Francisco woman gave birth in a Waymo.
The mother was on her way to the University of California, San Francisco medical center Monday when she delivered inside the robotaxi, said a Waymo spokesperson in a statement Wednesday. The company said its rider support team detected “unusual activity” inside the vehicle and called to check on the rider as well as alert 911.
Unusual activity, at least for a passenger in a self-driving Waymo vehicle, may be something of an understatement. Given what we already know about the outcome of the event, and based on my own experience having been present at the births of three children (one of ours is adopted), I can say that it's probably for the best that Waymo isn't discussing this in detail. Some things are better left unsaid.
Here's the interesting bit:
The taxi and its passengers arrived safely at the hospital ahead of emergency services. Jess Berthold, a UCSF spokesperson, confirmed the mother and child were brought to the hospital. She said the mother was not available for interviews.
The mother has been through a rather unusual and certainly unsettling experience, and we can't blame her for not granting interviews; she's got enough to deal with as it is. There's an apocryphal quote generally attributed to Carol Burnett, who reportedly said that one could understand what it felt like to give birth thusly: "Take your lower lip - and pull it over your head." This new mother did all this in a robo-taxi. With that, and a new baby, she's got enough to process.
What's remarkable is that the Waymo car and the company's rider support team were clearly up to the task and got her to the hospital in good order, even beating emergency responders to the scene. But, according to the parent company, Alphabet, this little one wasn't the first baby born in a Waymo vehicle, they apparently have some experience in these things.
I hope they Scotch-Guard the seats. Seems like something you'd want to do, especially in San Francisco.
Read More: Perils of High Tech: Turns Out You Can't Give a Ticket to a Robot
Report Says Terrorists Could Use Driverless Car Technology in a New and Terrifying Way
And, finally:
Waymo said the vehicle was taken out of service for cleaning after the ride.
I should hope so!
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