from the only-way-to-find-potential-problems dept.
Uber will pick up ride-hailing passengers with autonomous cars in a test beginning in Pittsburgh next month. Pittsburgh is the home of Carnegie Mellon University:
Starting later this month, Uber will allow customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, crossing an important milestone that no automotive or technology company has yet achieved. Google, widely regarded as the leader in the field, has been testing its fleet for several years, and Tesla Motors offers Autopilot, essentially a souped-up cruise control that drives the car on the highway. Earlier this week, Ford announced plans for an autonomous ride-sharing service. But none of these companies has yet brought a self-driving car-sharing service to market.
Uber's Pittsburgh fleet, which will be supervised by humans in the driver's seat for the time being, consists of specially modified Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles outfitted with dozens of sensors that use cameras, lasers, radar, and GPS receivers. Volvo Cars has so far delivered a handful of vehicles out of a total of 100 due by the end of the year. The two companies signed a pact earlier this year to spend $300 million to develop a fully autonomous car that will be ready for the road by 2021.
Uber also acquired self-driving truck startup Otto.
It is not clear whether Uber users will be able to opt out of getting the surprise autonomous Volvo SUVs sent to them (due to privacy or safety concerns), but rides in the autonomous cars will be free during the Pittsburgh test.
Also at NYT, WSJ, TechCrunch, and The Verge.
Previously: Uber Testing Driverless Car in Pittsburgh
Related Stories
Uber poached around 50 scientists working on self-driving car technology at Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center earlier this year. Uber had been partnering with CMU to research building its own autonomous vehicles. But then it pulled from a massive venture funding war chest to hire away a lot of CMU's talent for its Uber Advanced Technologies Center.
Now, Uber appears to be publicly trying to win back the good graces of the academic community by announcing a $5.5 million gift to CMU. The money will support hiring a new robotics faculty chair and three fellowships.
"Poached around 50 scientists." CMU scientists are like the King's Deer.
Uber is testing a driverless Ford Fusion on the streets on Pittsburgh in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University. It's all part of a plan to liberate itself of the drivers/contractors/employees/meatparts it currently depends on:
Uber's big inconvenience is the fact it needs drivers, and so this line of research is about eliminating that final piece of the puzzle to boost profits even more. Uber isn't alone - rival ride-sharing service Lyft announced a tie-up with Chevrolet to use autonomous driving as well, but it's Uber that seems unstoppable in its goal to be the dominant force in global ground travel.
Uber said in its statement that real-world testing was "critical to our efforts to develop self-driving technology", and explained a trained driver was still monitoring operations in the car at all times. The company has also recently joined a coalition with Google and several car makers to help steer the regulations needed to make self-drive cars a reality. Together with Ford, Volvo and Lyft, they aim to lobby lawmakers and regulators on some of the legal barriers that would need to be changed before driverless cars could hit the roads.
Statement on Uber's website.
According to c|net, Uber is preparing to launch self-driving cars in San Francisco, as it has done in Pittsburgh:
Uber's self-driving cars, accompanied by a human driver, have been traveling on the streets of San Francisco for the last three to four months. The company has said the cars are being used solely to collect data for maps. Mapping streets is part of readying autonomous vehicles for the open road, so they can identify routes and learn to detect obstacles.
Uber isn't saying when it's going to roll out its self-driving cars to passengers in San Francisco. The company declined to comment for this story. But CNET has learned that Uber will officially launch the program on Wednesday; we also learned that Uber worked in partnership with Volvo to develop the self-driving cars.
As of September, Uber didn't have a permit to run autonomous cars in California. It's unclear if the Department of Motor Vehicles has since given the company a permit. The DMV didn't return requests for comment.
So far, Uber's self-driving cars are available in only one US city -- Pittsburgh. After 18 months of testing, the company launched a small fleet of autonomous vehicles in September in the city. Now when riders hail an Uber there, they have a chance of being picked up in a self-driving car that's accompanied by a "safety driver." Uber said it plans to have 100 self-driving cars in Pittsburgh by the end of the year.
Also at The Verge .
Uber, the master of routing around regulations and exploiting legal loopholes, has found a rather big hole undermining a letter recently sent by the California Department of Motor Vehicles demanding that the company obtain a permit to test "self-driving cars" in San Francisco. Uber is arguing that the cars it plans to use in San Francisco are not truly autonomous and thus don't require a permit to operate:
Uber's position is that the semi-autonomous car system it is testing here is really no different from current advanced driver assistance systems available now for owners of Teslas and other cars that help with parking and collision avoidance. In that light, Uber doesn't believe it needs a permit because what it's working on doesn't meet the DMV requirements for a truly autonomous vehicle, which would be one that drives without the active, physical control or monitoring of a human being.
The permitting process "doesn't apply to us" because "you don't need to get belts and suspenders or whatever else if you're wearing a dress," Anthony Levandowski, who runs Uber's autonomous car programs, said in a press call Friday afternoon. "We cannot in good conscience" comply with a regulation that the company doesn't believe applies to it, he said.
The DMV cease-and-desist letter said that under the California Vehicle Code, an autonomous vehicle must have a permit to ensure that "those testing the vehicle have provided an adequate level of financial responsibility, have adequately trained qualified test drivers on the safe operation of the autonomous technology; and will notify the DMV when the vehicles have been involved in a collision." If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action, DMV attorney Brian Soublet wrote in a letter addressed to Levandowski.
The Uber "self-driving cars" will have not one, but two people at the front capable of taking control of the car.
Previously: Uber to Begin Picking Up Passengers With Autonomous Cars Next Month
Former Uber Employee Claims Widespread Privacy Problems
Uber's Self-Driving Cars to be Tested in San Francisco
Uber plans to purchase 24,000 Volvo XC90 SUVs between 2019 and 2021. The number is set to change:
Uber has entered into an agreement with carmaker Volvo to purchase 24,000 of its XC90 SUVs between 2019 and 2021 to form a fleet of autonomous vehicles, according to Bloomberg News. The XC90 is the base of Uber's latest-generation self-driving test car, which features sensors and autonomous driving computing capability installed by Uber after purchase on the XC90 vehicle.
The deal is said to be worth around $1.4 billion, per the Financial Times, with the XC90 starting at $46,900 in the U.S. in terms of base model consumer pricing. Uber is already testing the XC90 in Arizona, San Francisco and Pittsburgh in trials with safety drivers on board to help refine and improve their software. Uber also paired up with Volvo to jointly develop autonomous driving and a vehicle ready for self-driving implementation, with investment from both sides committed last year.
Also at NYT.
Previously: Uber Testing Driverless Car in Pittsburgh
Uber to Begin Picking Up Passengers With Autonomous Cars Next Month
Uber's Self-Driving Cars to be Tested in San Francisco
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @05:24AM
When did we actually achieve the ability for self driving cars? Thought it was still 'works ok under controlled sites'. Basically nice sunny cities and no rain with hyper mapped cities.
If this is true the world is about to change radically.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @05:31AM
This looks like Level 3 autonomous since there is a well-trained driver in the driver's seat: https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2013/12/sae-levels-driving-automation [stanford.edu]
(Score: 2) by TheLink on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:36AM
They still need drivers for this:
http://www.dmv.org/pa-pennsylvania/safety-laws.php [dmv.org]
http://www.vindy.com/news/2003/feb/15/pennsylvania-taxi-drivers-say-child-seat-law-will/?print [vindy.com]
If you are driving with anyone under 8 to 18 years old in the vehicle, they must wear a seat belt at all times both in the front and back seat. Failure to do so is considered a primary offense, and as the driver, you could face the following fines:
Passengers 4 to 8 years old: $75 fine plus court fees.
Passengers 8 to 18 years old: $10 fine plus court fees.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @05:35AM
Uber doesn't require you to entire a destination before entering the car. Pittsburgh to New York, anyone?
(Score: 2) by PocketSizeSUn on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:30PM
Actually ... they only place I use Uber it does require a destination for some situations (before allowing you to 'hail' an uber).
Specifically when arriving to Jakarta at the airport (CGK) you must specify a destination to hail an Uber.
Also you may find (frequently) that outside of the Airport specifying a destination can either hinder or help your changes of
getting an Uber to show up .. many drivers will either ignore you after accepting the ride and/or contact you and demand a
destination .. if they don't like where you are going (ride too short, or not in a direction they want to go) then they will cancel
or just ignore you until you cancel.
So my point is that they can turn on "destination required" for all locations and probably should anyway ... then find a better way
to convince drivers to not accept requests unless they intend to actually perform the service.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @05:46AM
Good! I'm tired of Uber drivers harassing me when I'm waiting for the bus. Hey did I call an Uber? No! Take your damn hipster ride shitting and die in a fucking fire!
And some assholes have been littering Lyft coupons at bus stops too. Goddamn capitalism scum. This is exactly why I ride the communist bus instead. Bus drivers don't care whether I ride or not!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @10:36AM
Sorry. All tech advancement of this millennium has been made in the name of bothering people, this will be no exception.
if distance(self.position,nearest(busStop.position)).lessthan(mt,50) and area(IRsensor(right).map).greaterthan(areaof(kid)) then
self.accelerateTo(kph,20);
self.outsidespeaker.play("hey_want_a_ride.mp3")
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Snotnose on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:02AM
I don't trust self driving cars enough to half pass out in the back seat while the car brings me home. And if it's got a "monitor" in the driver's seat, double hell no. I'd rather trust my life to drunk me than to some unknown entity who's job skills are in the "sit in the driver's seat and take over if something bad is about to happen" category.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday August 20 2016, @07:01AM
I believe the "driver's" main job is to chaperone the vehicle and hold you accountable if you vandalize or make a mess in it. Also someone to hold accountable for nannying you to obey whatever passenger laws are in effect... i.e. tossing empties out the window....
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @07:13AM
Firstly, at least three persons shall be employed to drive or conduct such locomotive, and if more than two waggons or carriages he attached thereto, an additional person shall be employed, who shall take charge of such waggons or carriages;
Secondly, one of such persons, while any locomotive is in motion, shall precede such locomotive on foot by not less than sixty yards, and shall carry a red flag constantly displayed, and shall warn the riders and drivers of horses of the approach of such locomotives, and shall signal the driver thereof when it shall be necessary to stop, and shall assist horses, and carriages drawn by horses, passing the same
(Score: 1) by baldrick on Saturday August 20 2016, @01:15PM
I can't wait until I can buy a self driving toyota van
there will be lounge chairs in the back and a full bar
... I obey the Laws of Physics
(Score: 2) by Capt. Obvious on Saturday August 20 2016, @10:21PM
Why do you think they'll ever sell you a van. A self-driving car is a car they can just lease you. Or sell to a ridesharing service for a few hundred thousand (or more likely, a chunk of stock). Why, because how many competitors will self-driving cars have? There's going to be one that's there a few years ahead of the competition. And, given the winner-take-all nature of software, they will dominate the industry.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @01:40PM
Hey, you! Come work for Uber. Be part of a cool, new, job-creating company!
We create jobs for people. But they're not employees so we have zero obligations to them... Ask us how we did this!
JAHBS for everyone in the new gig economy. Also, you're all fired from our job-creating company because we've got self-driving cars now.
Where's my tax break because I am a jahb-creator?