A pregnant woman in San Francisco gave birth Monday night inside a Waymo robotaxi en route to UCSF Medical Center, the latest milestone in the driverless car saga that no one saw coming — except everyone with more than six months of experience behind the wheel of a ride-share vehicle.
according to sf standardWaymo’s remote team detected “unusual activity” and called 911, although the vehicle overran the hospital’s emergency services.
It seems that few traditions are immune to disruption.
For decades, expectant mothers have been racing against biology in the back seats of taxis and Ubers from London to Los Angeles. In India she was the mother who Named his son Ubar After giving birth to her on the way to the hospital (reportedly the driver helped with the delivery). There was also a California couple in 2017 who welcomed their baby in an Uber during shabbat“Everyone is telling us to name the baby Uber,” the father joked, “but we can’t do that.” (Ah, though, they could!)
The stories go on. Now, Silicon Valley has at least partially automated the experience.
The vehicle was immediately removed for cleaning in San Francisco. Plus, this wasn’t Waymo’s first birth — a Phoenix baby was the first to arrive, the company told the Standard. “Although this is a very rare occurrence,” a Waymo spokesperson said, “some of our new riders can’t wait to experience their first Waymo ride.”
