A mother duck was hit and killed by a self-driving car in Texas, sparking neighborhood outrage

The death of a duck in the Austin, Texas enclave of Mueller Lake has raised concerns among neighbors about autonomous vehicles and whether they belong there.

Although people are always responsible for killing animals with their cars, this incident has brought negative attention to the new technology. Local media became aware of the duck incident after a resident posted in a Facebook group in Mueller’s neighborhood that the Avride autonomous vehicle (with a human safety operator at the wheel) drove past and killed a duck and then stopped. “He didn’t slow down or even hesitate, he just evaporated,” the caption said KXAN reported on this. is reading

Residents’ introduction to this particular duck nesting in a pot outside a local Italian diner has fueled anger and mistrust of autonomous vehicle technology. For those concerned about the future of duck eggs, locals keep them at Axios’ Austin incubator. reports.

An Avride spokesperson confirmed with TechCrunch that the car was in autonomous mode at the time. Avride has not stopped testing on public roads at all. However, according to company spokeswoman Yuliya Shveiko, it has adjusted its scope by excluding some streets around the lake in the neighborhood where the duck incident took place.

In his writings, the resident claimed that the car could not stop at the stop sign. Avride told TechCrunch that it found no evidence to support that claim. The vehicle has come to complete and proper stops at all appropriate stop signs.

Shvejko said the team replicated the vehicle’s data and behavior, including the scene, in the simulation. Avride is now evaluating potential improvements to the technology to prevent similar situations in the future, he said. Note that this involves conducting a series of controlled experiments in the simulation to ensure that any changes do not adversely affect the vehicle’s safety performance in other scenarios.

Avride isn’t the only company in the city testing or using autonomous vehicles for commercial purposes. Zoox is being tested in the city. Tesla and Waymo, in partnership with Uber, also operate a commercial robotaxi service in parts of Austin.