Tech
Driverless Car Service Is Uber's Response To Increasing Assaults By Drivers
Franz Cube
First Posted: Sep 06, 2016 05:05 AM EDT
Uber is looking forward to automate their car service by 2021. The company has invested on the research and development of autonomous cars for a while now. According to Bloomberg, the co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick himself went to Carnegie Melon University's renowned National Robotics Engineering Center to consult and outsource experts on self-driving technology. John Bares, founder of Pittsburgh based robotics company and former robotics expert from CMU, joined Uber's team. So far, the plan seems to turn out well, they are currently testing the prototypes in the streets of Florida, with a modified Volvo XC90 SUV as the test model.
This move by Uber was a response to the increasing assaults by drivers to their clients. When Uber was first launched in the US, it was a phenomenal success because commuters prefer Uber because of the integrated GPS system that made the service safer as compared to conventional taxis. However, despite Uber's close monitoring and location sensitive app intervention, driver violations were still rampant ranging from minor cases like over charging to severe ones like theft and sexual assaults.
The Daily Beast emphasized in their report that drivers are the greatest "liability" in the business equation of Uber. If Uber could materialize its full implementation of autonomous cars, despite investing a tremendous capital, Uber will be rest assured that their business will stay put in the market effortlessly since they can provide the comfortability and peace of mind that the clients desire.
"The minute it was clear to us that our friends in Mountain View were going to be getting in the ride-sharing space, we needed to make sure there is an alternative (self-driving car). Because if there is not, we're not going to have any business. Developing an autonomous vehicle is basically existential for us." Kalanick said in the Bloomberg report.
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First Posted: Sep 06, 2016 05:05 AM EDT
Uber is looking forward to automate their car service by 2021. The company has invested on the research and development of autonomous cars for a while now. According to Bloomberg, the co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick himself went to Carnegie Melon University's renowned National Robotics Engineering Center to consult and outsource experts on self-driving technology. John Bares, founder of Pittsburgh based robotics company and former robotics expert from CMU, joined Uber's team. So far, the plan seems to turn out well, they are currently testing the prototypes in the streets of Florida, with a modified Volvo XC90 SUV as the test model.
This move by Uber was a response to the increasing assaults by drivers to their clients. When Uber was first launched in the US, it was a phenomenal success because commuters prefer Uber because of the integrated GPS system that made the service safer as compared to conventional taxis. However, despite Uber's close monitoring and location sensitive app intervention, driver violations were still rampant ranging from minor cases like over charging to severe ones like theft and sexual assaults.
The Daily Beast emphasized in their report that drivers are the greatest "liability" in the business equation of Uber. If Uber could materialize its full implementation of autonomous cars, despite investing a tremendous capital, Uber will be rest assured that their business will stay put in the market effortlessly since they can provide the comfortability and peace of mind that the clients desire.
"The minute it was clear to us that our friends in Mountain View were going to be getting in the ride-sharing space, we needed to make sure there is an alternative (self-driving car). Because if there is not, we're not going to have any business. Developing an autonomous vehicle is basically existential for us." Kalanick said in the Bloomberg report.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone