It finally happened. Uber is testing autonomous vehicles and the apocalypse is upon us.
In other news, my favorite startup just started testing my favorite technology.
This week’s (or last week’s really) autonomous car story finds us on the mean streets of Pittsburgh. The Steel City is home to Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center, and also home to its first driverless car test. Uber, for those of you who don’t know, is currently a transportation company that connects drivers with people looking for rides via an app, but apparently they’re looking to dump the whole “human driver” thing.
The company is using a hybrid Ford Fusion to serve two purposes. First, the car is gathering mapping information, and it’s also testing self-driving capabilities. Currently the car has a human test driver behind the wheel in case of emergencies.
Uber says that it’s trying to make driving a safer experience. Given that 94 percent of accidents involve human error, they’re not that far off. But, if we’re being real, this means they no longer have to deal with all the legal disasters the company has been bogged down with when it comes to its human drivers. Basically, it would be a win for everyone, but the actual Uber drivers.
The Uber car is loaded with the usual widgets and doodads: sensors, laser scanners, and high resolution cameras to map details of the environment.
Uber is the first taxi-esque service to announce this type of testing, but they probably won’t be the last.