Uber recently announced a pilot program for driverless cars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They partnered with Ford to create autonomous driving cars and modified several models of the ford fusion hybrid sedan, equipping it with 20 cameras, seven lasers, a spinning 360-degree laser-based detection system, and 1,400 other aftermarket parts that render millions of bits of data about the environment in real time. The initial trials for the self driving cars will take place exclusively in Pittsburgh and will have safety engineers inside the cars.
The company chose Pittsburgh as its trial city because of the difficult terrain it possess: there are over 400 bridges, many steep grades, and a large number of sharp turns. Raffi Krikorian, engineering director of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center, said on CNBC that “Pittsburgh is double black diamond of driving.” Uber believes that if the self-driving cars can perform in Pittsburgh, they will perform anywhere.
The company believes that the self driving cars can actually reduce the amount of vehicle related deaths in this country despite poor results from other companies’ self-driving cars. For example, a Tesla self driving car was involved in a fatal accident last June. The Uber cars, however, ere on the side of caution for its customers. The car will not turn right at red lights where it is legal to turn right and will stay at or below the speed limit for the whole ride. These extra features keep the passengers safe but also frustrate other drivers on the road.
Uber plans to have these cars up and running all over the world in the next five years; however, that goal may seem a bit aggressive because of the legislative and government approval that will be needed for the car to gain traction in the world. Self-driving cars have had mixed results from several different companies including Google, Apple, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla. Uber’s autonomous driving cars have only recently began, so it is difficult to make on prognosis on whether the company's new initiative has succeeded. Time will tell.
Uber recently announced a pilot program for driverless cars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They partnered with Ford to create autonomous driving cars and modified several models of the ford fusion hybrid sedan, equipping it with 20 cameras, seven lasers, a spinning 360-degree laser-based detection system, and 1,400 other aftermarket parts that render millions of bits of data about the environment in real time. The initial trials for the self driving cars will take place exclusively in Pittsburgh and will have safety engineers inside the cars.
The company chose Pittsburgh as its trial city because of the difficult terrain it possess: there are over 400 bridges, many steep grades, and a large number of sharp turns. Raffi Krikorian, engineering director of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center, said on CNBC that “Pittsburgh is double black diamond of driving.” Uber believes that if the self-driving cars can perform in Pittsburgh, they will perform anywhere.
The company believes that the self driving cars can actually reduce the amount of vehicle related deaths in this country despite poor results from other companies’ self-driving cars. For example, a Tesla self driving car was involved in a fatal accident last June. The Uber cars, however, ere on the side of caution for its customers. The car will not turn right at red lights where it is legal to turn right and will stay at or below the speed limit for the whole ride. These extra features keep the passengers safe but also frustrate other drivers on the road.
Uber plans to have these cars up and running all over the world in the next five years; however, that goal may seem a bit aggressive because of the legislative and government approval that will be needed for the car to gain traction in the world. Self-driving cars have had mixed results from several different companies including Google, Apple, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla. Uber’s autonomous driving cars have only recently began, so it is difficult to make on prognosis on whether the company's new initiative has succeeded. Time will tell.
