Self-Driving Vehicles Launched by Uber in Pittsburgh

Unites States: Uber launched its self-driving cars on September 14, 2016, allowing passengers to request a self-driving car through the Uber app. Uber’s self-driving fleet includes Ford Fusion cars fitted with GPS, 3D cameras and a LIDAR system which detects objects using lasers. Uber also plans to arm Volvo SUVs with the same technology.      

As a part of this pilot program, only four self-driving vehicles are available presently for the passengers and two Uber employees will be sitting at the front seats for monitoring the software system and for taking over driving if necessary.

According to the company protocol, the driver needs to manually control the vehicle to allow the pedestrians to cross the streets, make left turns across traffic and for passing through construction zones. Pittsburgh state law and regulations permits self-driving vehicles if there is a driver present behind the steering to take over the driving when required. Uber has been planning to replace its 1.5 million drivers with autonomous vehicles in years to come.

As per TechSci Research, the strategic move of Uber is expected to encourage several other leading radio taxi companies in the United States to adopt autonomous cars in near future, which is further anticipated to increase the demand for autonomous vehicles in the in the country as well as at the global level in approaching years.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “Global Autonomous Car Technology Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2035 – ADAS, Semi-Autonomous, Fully-Autonomous”, the automobile sector has been constantly evolving in terms of engine performance and design. Apart from these parameters, evolution of autonomous features in passenger cars is garnering attention of consumers across the world. Global autonomous car technology market is primarily divided into three segments - Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) car technologies, semi-autonomous car technology and fully-autonomous car technology. ADAS technologies are currently moving at a brisk pace on account of rising inclination towards greater automation. Moreover, fully-autonomous cars are expected to be commercially available by 2025, which is expected to translate into dramatic growth in the market. Key factors which are expected to drive growth in the market over the next twenty years include anticipated increase in regulations mandating integration of autonomous technology in new vehicles, decline in prices of autonomous technology and the rising focus on safety on roads.