[msb-alumni] Uber begins testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 May 2016 13:17:26 -0400
BlankIt's coming quicker than even I thought, this article says maybe in three
to four years. Clearly, the technology is there; they need to make sure they
have backup fail-safe systems and then the government regulations need to be
modified; obviously, there will be parts of the public that won't feel
comfortable with autonomous vehicles.
Uber begins testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh Marco della Cava , USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO -- The first Uber car that doesn't need a driver has hit the
streets. The ride-hailing behemoth announced in a blog post Thursday that it
has
begun testing a self-driving car in Pittsburgh, home of the company's nascent
Advanced Technologies Center.
The car, a Ford Fusion Hybrid with a roof-full of radar, lasers and cameras,
will be collecting road-mapping data as well as testing its real-world traffic
reactions. Uber's interest in autonomous car technology dates to a year ago,
when the $60 billion start-up began hiring Carnegie Mellon University robotics
experts to staff its new center not far from the Pittsburgh-based school.
"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. But this is no
movie prop," says the blog post. "While Uber is still in the early days of our
self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements. 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."
The post also notes'that Uber's self-driving mission echoes that of Google,
which is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities that are largely caused by
human error. Last year, 33,000 people died in the U.S. in car accidents and 4.4
million were injured, an 8% jump over 2014, according to the National Safety
Council.
But self-driving tech has a financial appeal for Uber as well. CEO Travis
Kalanick has made reference on a number of occasions to the fact that the
driver
is the most expensive part of its'financial model, not to mention being the
source of an ongoing fight over whether such drivers should be employees or
contractors. Uber recently agreed to pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit over
driver status.
"When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere
becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle. So the magic there is, you basically
bring the cost below the cost of ownership for everybody, and then car
ownership
goes away," Kalanick said at the Code Conference in 2014, shortly after Google
unveiled its self-driving car prototype.
Google has been testing self-driving car technology for the past seven years,
using primarily Lexus SUV's strapped with technology. Google currently is road
testing in Mountain View, Calif, Phoenix, Kirkland, Wash., and Austin. The
search company plans to accelerate its testing through a recent partnership
with
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which will build 100 Pacifica minivans that can
accommodate Google's technology. Ford is testing its own self-driving tech
lashed to a Fusion Hybrid at the Mcity testing facility near Ann Arbor, Mich.,
and has gotten approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to
begin deploying the cars on the roads near its Palo Alto research center.
A growing number of automakers 'from Audi to Kia 'have begun adding
sophisticated driver-assist technology to their vehicles, features that are
heading in the direction of full autonomy. Tesla recently introduced an
Autopilot function to its electric sedans, which keeps the car within its lane
by itself.
Given the pace of autonomous car research, many in the space believe driverless
cars will be ready for consumers within the next three to four years.
But the bigger hurdles remain both regulatory and psychological. Many consumers
still express fear of self-driving technology, while government officials
continue to grapple with establishing a series of overarching national
regulations to govern everything from how the cars should interact with each
other to what happens if there's an accident.
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