Just a year and a half ago plans were being discussed to make self-driving Uber vehicles and as a result the Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) in Pittsburgh was born. Now, the world’s first ever self-driving Ubers are in operating across Pittsburgh and are looking to cause a whirlwind as they go.
At the moment, just to err on the side of caution and to avoid and Tesla-like fatalities, Uber are putting a driver up front the vehicles just in case human interaction is required. Self-driving Uber vehicles have the potential to reduce the number of traffic accidents and free up to 20 percent of space on the roads and car parks.
This is a massive leap forward in the world of autonomous driving, and Uber are understandably very excited to be in the center of it. While many people are still unsure as to the safety aspects of autonomous cars, they can rest assured that (for the moment at least) all of their self-driving vehicles will also have a driver ready to take over if need be. It’s not that Uber are super unconfident in their vehicle’s abilities, but they recognize that safety is everything and a human may be needed to take over the driving in dangerous circumstances such as extreme weather conditions.
There are some minor downfalls to the self-driving Ubers. One of which is that because they will run on the road constantly 24 hours a day, they will need more maintenance than most other vehicles. But, weighing that up against less congestion, free-time, and a reduced number of accidents, I think I could live with that.
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