"Uber" has been around for quite some time, with people who had never had any inclination to become taxi drivers suddenly finding themselves chauffeuring passengers all over the place. This has provided a lot of people with the extra income they need to provide for their families. However, with the cab hailing service unveiling its self-driving car, this is about to change.
The company is using a Ford Fusion, installing it with a series of advanced sensory equipment that "Uber" said in a blog post includes "radars, laser scanners, and high-resolution cameras to map details of the environment." The car is currently collecting data, much like what Google and other companies looking to invest in self-driving technology are doing. While it does so, a real driver is still present and ready to intervene if something happens.
There hasn't been any details as of yet regarding where "Uber" is getting their equipment from or if they are building the equipment themselves. Ford has denied any collaboration with the cab hailing service despite the use of one of their cars.
"While Uber is still in the early days of our self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements," the company writes in the same blog post. "Right now we're focused on getting the technology right and ensuring it's safe for everyone on the road - pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers."
Should the company succeed in fully implementing self-driving cars, a lot of real drivers are going to lose their jobs. This is one of the focal points that opponents of automation technology are digging into, saying that the technology benefits only the company and its customers.
The pressure is mounting for "Uber" to deliver the goods though as its rival company Lyft is also investing in self-driving technology. Unlike the former, the latter actually has the support of a major car company in the form of GM.
