Uber’s first self-driving car is going for a spin today in Pittsburgh. Well…almost self-driving.
After Tesla’s fatal self-driving car crash earlier this year, Uber is taking precautions to avoid a similar incident. Uber’s self-driving cars still have a specially trained Uber employee in the driver’s seat for now. Pittsburgh passengers have the option to agree to the possibility of having a self-driving car when they request an UberX through the app. Self-driving rides are FREE for now.
But “The idea of self-driving needs to be heavily put in quotation marks,” said Columbia Business School professor Evan Rawley, who has researched ride-sharing. “Nevertheless, I think it is a pretty impressive technological breakthrough,” he continued.
Drivers are instructed to keep their hands loosely on the wheel at all times and be prepared to take over should the car encounter any scenarios that are too complex for the current algorithms.
This advancement in Uber technology is taking us one step closer to living like the Jetsons. A fleet of safe, efficient, self-driving cars might revolutionize our world in this lifetime. According to one journalist’s first-hand experience, it might be worth a shot to give this technology a try.
Would you take a self-driving Uber ride? If you’re in Pittsburgh today and take a self-driving Uber, we’d love to hear about the ride experience! Share in the comments below.
