Skip to main content

Uber tests self-driving cars on Pittsburgh streets

Uber is deploying fourteen self-driving cars on the streets of Pittsburgh in a real-world test of the technology. The cars are Ford Fusions, equipped with lasers and cameras which collect 1.4 million distance measurements per second, and a human driver to make sure the drive goes smoothly. Uber says real-world testing is critical to the success of this technology. And creating a viable alternative to individual car ownership is important to the future of cities. Uber founder Anthony Levandowski says t
September 15, 2016 Read time: 1 min
8336 Uber is deploying fourteen self-driving cars on the streets of Pittsburgh in a real-world test of the technology. The cars are Ford Fusions, equipped with lasers and cameras which collect 1.4 million distance measurements per second, and a human driver to make sure the drive goes smoothly.

Uber says real-world testing is critical to the success of this technology. And creating a viable alternative to individual car ownership is important to the future of cities.

Uber founder Anthony Levandowski says the company’s self-driving technology has the potential to reduce accidents, free up parking space in cities and cut congestion.

Related Content

  • European ITS Congress emphasises ITS development and deployment
    February 6, 2012
    The 8th European ITS Congress is a key event for the industry. Hermann Meyer, CEO of Ertico-ITS Europe puts the event in context
  • Hackers can fool self-driving car sensors into evasive action
    September 8, 2015
    The laser ranging (LIDAR) systems that most self-driving cars rely on to sense obstacles can be hacked by a setup costing just US$60, a security researcher has told IEEE spectrum. According to Jonathan Petit, principal scientist at software security company Security Innovation, he can take echoes of a fake car, pedestrian or wall and put them in any location. Using such a system, which he designed using a low-power laser and pulse generator, attackers could trick a self-driving car into thinking somethin
  • Getting C/AVs from pipedream to reality
    October 17, 2019
    The UK government has suggested that driverless cars could be on the roads by 2021. But designers and engineers are grappling with a number of difficult issues, muses Chris Hayhurst of MathWorks Earlier this year, the UK government made the bold statement that by 2021, driverless cars will be on the UK’s roads. But is this an achievable reality? Driverless technology already has its use cases on our roads, with levels of autonomy ranked on a scale. At one end of the spectrum, level 1 is defined by th
  • Pioneering IntelliDrive technologies in Michigan
    February 2, 2012
    Pete Goldin reports on upgrades to the USDOT's Michigan Test Bed, where IntelliDrive technologies are being pioneered