A woman has given birth in a self-driving Waymo taxi while en route to hospital in San Francisco, the company has confirmed. The incident occurred on Monday as the woman was travelling to the University of California, San Francisco medical centre.
Waymo said its rider support team detected 'unusual activity' inside the vehicle and called to check on the occupant as well as alert emergency services. The autonomous taxi and its passenger arrived safely at the hospital before paramedics could attend.
A spokesperson for the medical centre confirmed that both mother and child were brought to the facility and are in good health. Waymo, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, declined to specify how the vehicle recognised something was amiss.
The taxi was taken out of service for cleaning following the birth. Waymo noted that while still rare, this was not the first baby delivered in one of its autonomous vehicles. 'We're proud to be a trusted ride for moments big and small, serving riders from just seconds old to many years young,' the company said.
Waymo's driverless taxis have faced scrutiny for incidents including a cat fatality and an illegal U-turn that police could not ticket due to the absence of a driver. Nonetheless, they have grown in popularity across cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
