Ride-sharing companies are forming alliances with big carmakers – such as General Motors Co and ride-hailing service Lyft – to accelerate these efforts, which depend on software and hardware working together to give the vehicle the right reflexes in traffic.
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Professor of a University of South Carolina, Bryant Walker Smith who studies self-driving technology, said that By using human backup drivers, Uber is basically testing the technology and taking people along for the ride. Both companies will design autonomous vehicles on their own.
Walker Smith said that the move of Uber to haul passengers with self-driving vehicles is not surprising.
The deal with Volvo and the acquisition of Otto are the two latest indications of Uber’s apparent ambitions for self-driving vehicles, for providing ride-hailing services to consumers as well as businesses.
Silicon Valley firms are posing a potential threat to traditional auto manufacturers, with the likes of Tesla launching its own cars under the technology model, while Google and others develop their own cars without being forced to rely on companies such as Ford or Volvo.
The $300 million project – equal to around £228 million – will see Swedish vehicle maker Volvo build the taxis and Uber fit them with its new driver-free technology. Not content with that, the company also acquired the self-driving truck startup called Otto.
Uber will purchase Volvos for its development of driverless control systems.
The base vehicle would be developed on Volvo’s fully modular scalable product architecture (SPA).
Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, added: “Volvo is one of the most progressive and contemporary vehicle makers in the world”.
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Uber’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, said driverless cars can help reduce the number of people who die in auto crashes every year. But the deal will not stop either party from striking further deals with other companies, with staff retained by their respective companies.
