Real-world testing is critical to Uber’s efforts to develop self-driving auto technology.
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The billion dollar startup is embracing more technology with Ford Fusion cars which drive themselves.
The vehicle, a hybrid Ford Fusion, will be collecting mapping data as well as testing its self-driving capabilities.
Though we’ve known about Uber’s autonomous vehicle ambitions, especially considering the opening of its Pittsburgh-based Advanced Technology Center more than a year ago, this is the first time the company has publicly admitted testing these vehicles. But the company will soon have another challenger in the form of Uber, which has announced it will be bringing its autonomous motors to the roads of Pittsburgh “in the coming weeks”.
It’s the first time that Uber has confirmed it is testing self-driving cars on the road.
Like other self-driving cars, Uber’s is loaded with equipment including laser scanners, radar, and high-resolution cameras, much of which is visible on top the vehicle. Self-driving cars have the potential to save millions of lives and improve quality of life for people around the world.
Lest humans fret, Uber points out in the blog that when the auto is in self-driving mode, a “trained driver” will be in the driver’s seat keeping an eye on things. “Right now we’re focused on getting the technology right and ensuring it’s safe for everyone on the road – pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers”.
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Uber says it will be driving in Pittsburgh to collect mapping data and test its self-driving mode. “The city’s long history of innovation continues today as it helps us shape the future of transportation”, Peduto said in a statement on the blog posting. The model, a Ford Fusion hybrid, was developed by the company’s Advanced Technologies Center (which you might recall is now staffed by former Carnegie Mellon researchers after Uber raided their robotics lab).
