Uber unveils testing of self- driving car


Uber unveiled its first self-driving car on
Thursday, announcing it had begun testing
an autonomous vehicle on the streets of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“If you’re driving around Pittsburgh in the
coming weeks you might see a strange sight:
a car that looks like it should be driven by a
superhero,” said a statement from the ride-
sharing giant.
“But this is no movie prop — it’s a test car
from Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center
(ATC) in Pittsburgh.”
Uber said it was “still in the early days of
our self-driving efforts,” and was “focused
on getting the technology right and ensuring
it’s safe for everyone on the road —
pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.”
While Uber has said little up to now about
its plans in the sector, the California group
last month was among the founding
members of an industry group called the
Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets
which also includes Alphabet unit Google,
Ford, Volvo and Lyft.
Uber will be using a hybrid Ford Fusion that
will gather mapping data as it tests the
autonomous driving capabilities.
The car will have multiple sensors including
radars, laser scanners, and high resolution
cameras to map details of the environment.
Uber said that even when the vehicle is in
autonomous mode, “a trained driver will be
in the driver’s seat monitoring operations.”
Like others involved in autonomous driving
research, Uber said this could avert
accidents, save lives and reduce congestion.
“Self-driving cars have the potential to save
millions of lives and improve quality of life
for people around the world,” the company
statement said, adding that “94 percent of
(road) accidents involve human error.”
Uber has a research center in Pittsburgh
and said it chose the city because it “is an
ideal environment to develop and test our
technology across a wide variety of road
types, traffic patterns and weather
conditions.”
Alphabet earlier this month announced an
alliance with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
(FCA) in a major expansion of its fleet of
self-driving vehicles.
An array of automobile makers including
Audi, Ford, Mercedes, Lexus, Tesla and
BMW are working on building self-driving
capabilities into vehicles.
Uber unveiled its first self-driving car on
Thursday, announcing it had begun testing
an autonomous vehicle on the streets of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“If you’re driving around Pittsburgh in the
coming weeks you might see a strange sight:
a car that looks like it should be driven by a
superhero,” said a statement from the ride-
sharing giant.
“But this is no movie prop — it’s a test car
from Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center
(ATC) in Pittsburgh.”
Uber said it was “still in the early days of
our self-driving efforts,” and was “focused
on getting the technology right and ensuring
it’s safe for everyone on the road —
pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.”
While Uber has said little up to now about
its plans in the sector, the California group
last month was among the founding
members of an industry group called the
Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets
which also includes Alphabet unit Google,
Ford, Volvo and Lyft.
Uber will be using a hybrid Ford Fusion that
will gather mapping data as it tests the
autonomous driving capabilities.
The car will have multiple sensors including
radars, laser scanners, and high resolution
cameras to map details of the environment.
Uber said that even when the vehicle is in
autonomous mode, “a trained driver will be
in the driver’s seat monitoring operations.”
Like others involved in autonomous driving
research, Uber said this could avert
accidents, save lives and reduce congestion.
“Self-driving cars have the potential to save
millions of lives and improve quality of life
for people around the world,” the company
statement said, adding that “94 percent of
(road) accidents involve human error.”
Uber has a research center in Pittsburgh
and said it chose the city because it “is an
ideal environment to develop and test our
technology across a wide variety of road
types, traffic patterns and weather
conditions.”
Alphabet earlier this month announced an
alliance with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
(FCA) in a major expansion of its fleet of
self-driving vehicles.
An array of automobile makers including
Audi, Ford, Mercedes, Lexus, Tesla and
BMW are working on building self-driving
capabilities into vehicles.