Volvo and Uber engineers will work in close collaboration to develop base vehicles based on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which is now used on the multiple award-winning Volvo XC90 SUV, as well as the S90 premium sedan and V90 premium estate.
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“Over one million people die in auto accidents every year”, Travis Kalanick, Uber chief executive, said. Volvo is a leader in vehicle development and best-in-class when it comes to safety.
Within a fortnight, Pittsburgh citizens will be able to order driverless cars – a customised Volvo XC90 – from their mobiles (just as Uber is used in the traditional sense) that will initially be supervised by humans in the driver’s seat. “Together with Uber, we will create the future of commercial transportation: first, self-driving trucks that provide drivers unprecedented levels of safety; and second, a platform that matches truck drivers with the right load wherever they are”, Otto said on its website.
He said, “the minute it was clear to us that our friends in Mountain View were going to be getting in the ride-sharing space, we needed to make sure there is an alternative [self-driving car]”.
The Volvo-Uber project is a significant milestone for the vehicle industry, marking one of the biggest partnerships between a traditional manufacturer and contemporary digital business.
This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed AD systems to the Volvo base vehicle, with Volvo then using the same base vehicle for the next stage of its own autonomous auto strategy, which will involve fully autonomous driving. Both companies will use the same base vehicles for the next step in their autonomous driving strategies.
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Now these laws don’t allow for fully autonomous vehicles to be on the road. “This alliance places Volvo at the heart of the current technological revolution in the automotive industry”. Uber didn’t officially partner up with Carnegie Mellon, but Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick flew out to Pittsburgh in order to hire dozens of world experts in autonomous vehicles and software development.
