Saw a self-driving shuttle at the Denver airport last week and it actually worked

I was waiting for my ride at the Denver airport pickup area last Tuesday and this little electric shuttle rolled up with nobody driving it. I thought it was just a gimmick at first, something they'd keep on a closed track or whatever. But it was weaving around people and luggage carts like it was nothing. There was a guy nearby who told me they've been testing these for about six months now. I watched it make three perfect stops, picking up passengers without any trouble. Honestly, I've been pretty skeptical about self-driving stuff in busy places like airports. But seeing it handle real chaos with actual travelers made me think maybe we're closer to this being normal than I realized. Has anyone else seen these working in a public spot and had their mind changed?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy_park766d ago

The real test nobody talks about is how these things handle road rage or aggressive drivers. I've been in my fair share of near misses in parking lots where some dude in a lifted truck decides he owns the lane. A self-driving shuttle can't flip someone off or brake check them. It has to just sit there and take abuse until somebody honks or cuts it off. Denver airport has a ton of rental car shuttles and Uber drivers who are not exactly patient. If that little shuttle navigated that chaos without a single fender bender, that's way more impressive than just moving people around.

oliviahenderson6d ago

@wendy_park76 you're spot on. I drove a transit shuttle in Denver for two summers and the rental car lot by the airport is basically Thunderdome. A robot car that can't honk or yell would just have to inch forward and hope nobody sideswipes it.