Auro

My step-mom attends church on the Santa Clara University campus. She told me a while back that there was this new self driving shuttle service knowing that I am the Self-driving car paparazzi. 

So finally I made it over to the lovely Santa Clara University Campus. No sign of a shuttle* upon my first arriving. So I walked around the Mission and took a few photos. I went on to try and check out Da Saisset Museum as well, only to find it didn't open for another hour or so. 

So while standing in front of the Mission the self driving Auro shuttle pulls up. As I go to investigate, a woman comes up and asks the driver (what do you call the guy with the stop button on a self-driving car?) what does the Auro do if faced with the option of either hitting a pedestrian or a skateboarder (a variation on the classic Trolley Problem.) I chimed in, please hit the skateboarder, they're annoying! Not sure how well that went over, but I kept a'clickin'. The (button-pusher?) was heard responding, it wouldn't be that big a deal since the vehicle moved so slowly it likely wouldn't hurt ;-)

And the slowness worked to my advantage. I stuck around near the ornate front of the Mission for a few photos than waited at the fountain. Sure enough a few minutes later the self driving shuttle went by and I got another aesthetically pleasing variation for my library. 

Then it was time for my next stop: paparazzi sweep of the Nissan-Renault and Baidu self driving car research centers in Sunnyvale.

*the idiot that I am, I walked right past....yes literally (and I know what that means unlike you kids) a sign reading Self Driving Shuttle on my way in!