The only safety issues that Uber has really had to deal with over the years have been because of its drivers, which is why it’s no surprise that the company is supposedly working on a self-driving vehicle of its own. We already know that Uber is working on driverless technology, among other things, at its Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, but it looks like the company could be closer to an actual autonomous vehicle than we thought.
Most of the issues reported so far by passengers of Uber’s services have all been driver-related and hence, wouldn’t it be great if we could eliminate drivers from the equation? Well, that is what Uber seems to be trying to do, probably in hopes of making the service more reliable, as the company is quietly setting up shop at Pittsburgh – it’s ‘Advanced Technologies Center’. In fact, the company’s test cars have already started rolling out and they have Uber’s ‘Advanced Technologies Center’ emblazoned on the side. The company had announced earlier that it would be coming up with an ‘Advanced Technologies Center’ in Pittsburgh wherein they will work on the area of mapping, vehicular safety, and driverless technology. “This vehicle is part of our early research efforts regarding mapping, safety and autonomy systems,” said Sarah Maxwell, a Uber spokesperson. It should be noted though that the vehicle spotted in Pittsburgh isn’t a driverless vehicle and is instead used by the company for research purposes, which, in this case, might have been for mapping. Having said that, there’s reason to believe that Uber is working on its driverless technology, and we may get to see the self-driving cars anytime now.
