Uber Starts Self Driving Taxis

A select group of Pittsburgh Uber users will get a surprise the next time they request a pickup: the option to ride in a self-driving car.

The announcement comes a year-and-a-half after Uber hired dozens of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University’s robotics center to develop the technology. Uber gave a few members of the press a recent review when a fleet of 14 Ford Fusions equipped with radar, cameras and other sensing equipment pulled up to Uber’s Advanced Technologies Campus (ATC) northeast of downtown Pittsburgh.

During a 45-minute ride across the city, it becomes clear that this is not a bid at launching the first fully formed autonomous cars. Instead, this is a research exercise. Uber wants to learn and refine how self-driving cars act in the real world. That includes how the cars react to passengers, and how passengers react to them.

“How do drivers in cars next to us react to us? How do passengers who get into the backseat who are experiencing our hardware and software fully experience it for the first time, and what does that really mean?” said Raffi Krikorian, director of Uber ATC.

The autonomous Ford Fusions that Uber is now dispatching to riders appear to be, for the most part, regular cars. The most noticeable difference is an array of sensors that jut out of their roof. Additional sensors are integrated into the cars’ sides.

A Lidar unit uses a laser to collect 1.4 million map points a second, resulting in a 360 degree image of the car’s surroundings. Cameras and a GPS system add additional intelligence.

The self-driving car detected obstacles, people and even potholes, and responded intelligently. The expected is already mundane. The bigger challenge for Uber is planning for the unexpected.

Uber is first offering autonomous pickups in a few Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Within a few weeks, it will expand to the airport and a northern suburb. The slow rollout is because Uber pre-maps the roads its cars travel, a practice Carnegie Mellon University researcher Aaron Steinfeld, who is unaffiliated with Uber, assured me is totally normal. The cars receive pre-collected maps that include speed limits and other generally applicable information so they can focus on real-time detection of variables like pedestrians.

Uber logs each of its road tests and uses the data to tweak how the cars should respond in specific situations. For example, the cars know that when they arrive at a four-way stop they should drive on in order of when they arrived. But what happens when another car fails to respect that order? It knows it should stop if another car jumps the gun, but it should also know to go if another car takes too long.

Humans still abide by many social cues when they’re driving. They make eye contact with other drivers and can read the subtle body language of a jogger that says they are thinking about cutting across the street. Uber’s cars can predict the likelihood that a pedestrian is about to cross the road, but reading actual social cues is still just a goal.

The company plans to switch to one ride-along engineer within the next six months. Eventually, the final engineer could be replaced by a remote help center; when a car encounters a foreign situation, it contacts a human in the center for help. Uber is also researching how to prevent accidental gridlock situations and how cars should behave when there are many pedestrians in the street.

TechCrunch:
 

« Will NSA & CyberCom Split?
US Is Not Drawing 'Red Lines' in Cyberspace »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

Watch this webinar to hear security experts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SANS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is, how to use one, and what it can do for your security posture.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT)

Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT)

CSIT is a UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for secure information technologies. Our vision is to be a global innovation hub for cyber security.

ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH

ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH

ESG offer a comprehensive portfolio of cyber and IT services ranging from consulting, solutions and operations to testing, simulation and training.

Sequitur Labs

Sequitur Labs

Sequitur Labs is developing seminal technologies and solutions to secure and manage connected devices of today and in the future.

Sistem Integra (SISB)

Sistem Integra (SISB)

SISB provide IT Security Infrastructure & Development, Mechanical & Electrical Services, Fire Safety & Detection Services, Facilities Management & Application Development.

OcuCloud

OcuCloud

OcuCloud protects businesses' valuable information in the cloud, preventing security breaches caused by employees and remote vendors.

Cyber Security Cloud (CSC)

Cyber Security Cloud (CSC)

Cyber Security Cloud provides web application security services worldwide using world's leading cyber threat intelligence and AI technology.

SyferLock Technology Corp.

SyferLock Technology Corp.

SyferLock is an innovative provider of next-generation authentication and security solutions.

Fortify 24/7

Fortify 24/7

Fortify 24×7 provides a robust portfolio of managed cybersecurity solutions to help you identify and prevent attacks.

Vectra AI

Vectra AI

Vectra threat detection & response - see and stop threats across hybrid and multi-cloud enterprises.

Swish Data Corp.

Swish Data Corp.

Swish delivers when the problems are complex, requirements are difficult, and the mission is absolutely critical.

Rausch Advisory Services

Rausch Advisory Services

Rausch delivers solutions that address compliance, enterprise risk, information technology and human resource capital.

ALSCO

ALSCO

ALSCO is dedicated to bringing first class IT services, technical support, and solutions to goverment, companies and organizations worldwide.

SphereX Technologies

SphereX Technologies

SphereX is the first on-chain security solution for Web3 applications.

Forward Global

Forward Global

Forward Global designs and delivers services and technologies to manage digital, economic, and information risks.

Dapple Security

Dapple Security

Dapple Security is creating cutting edge technology utilizing responsible biometrics that protects people and privacy through a first-of-its-kind passwordless platform.

Computer Futures

Computer Futures

Computer Futures are a global specialist IT recruitment partner, matching candidates with roles across niche IT markets and core technologies.