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.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • March 14, 2023
    Watch your step: the sidewalk robots are here
    The way we order and pay for goods has changed radically – but what about how those goods are delivered? Gordon Feller looks at how sidewalk robots might reshape the urban landscape
    Read More
  • November 6, 2018
    Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality
    Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities. Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The
    Read More
  • July 30, 2012
    Solar studs a cost-effective alternative to street lighting?
    Road traffic accidents have an enormous impact on society in terms of human loss, pain and suffering and a significant cost to the economy, the individual and their families. Accident rates on South Africa's roads are among the highest in the world and cost the country in the region of $163 million each year. The former head of the Department of Transport (DoT), Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, described the situation as "carnage on our roads", with over 500,000 accidents and 10,000 fatalities per annum and the number of
    Read More
  • February 11, 2016
    US regulator ‘paves the way for Google’s self-driving car’
    A letter to Google, the US federal transport regulator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), appears to pave the way for self-driving cars, but adds the proviso that the rule-making could take some time. Google had requested clarification of a number of provisions in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) as they apply to Google’s described design for self-driving vehicles (SDVs). “If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable
    Read More

Highlighted Content