Uber Testing Self-Driving Live in Pittsburgh
Burney Simpson
Uber is testing self-driving cars on Pittsburgh roads, and it took a local reporter for a ride recently with John Bares, chief of the company’s local office.
Pittsburgh, in west central Pennsylvania, represents typical North American driving for many. It has four-season weather, is known for its hilly streets, and the area is a combination of older urban and open suburban roads.
“We have the world’s best test site right at our doorstep,” Bares told the Pittsburg Tribune. “We view it as, it’s not quite Everest, but it’s a hard mountain … but the beautiful thing is we do have that mountain right out of our front door to climb.”
Tech Crunch reports that Uber’s hybrid Ford Fusion is equipped with multiple cameras, sensors and lasers that can ‘see’ as far as 100 meters in all directions.
A human is in the driver’s seat at all times during the tests, as required by Pennsylvania law.
The Tribune reports that Uber has been testing the cars on Pittsburgh’s roads for several weeks but that this is the first public confirmation of the live tests.
The car can perform standard driving tasks on its own. It can detect double-parked cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other hazards.
The Fusions are programmed to beep when switching to human-driver mode, or when it senses something it doesn’t understand.
Uber created its Advanced Technology Center in Pittsburgh near the start of 2015. It soon hired several dozen researchers from Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Center, including Bares, its leader at the time.
Uber announced the live tests in a blog post. The post noted that self-driving vehicles have the potential to save the lives of the nearly 1.3 million people that die every year in car accidents.
“While Uber is still in the early days of our self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements. Right now we’re focused on getting the technology right and ensuring it’s safe for everyone on the road,” according to the post. “We’ve informed local officials and law enforcement about our testing in Pittsburgh, and our work would not be possible without the support we’ve received from the region’s leaders.”
Photo by Uber.