Uber launches self-driving taxis

2016 has been all about self-driving cars in the motoring industry with all big companies racing to develop autonomous vehicle technology.

About a month ago Uber rolled out its first fleet of self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh, striding ahead of its rivals such as; Google, Tesla, Ford and GM.

The fleet of self-driving Ford Fusions with sensors developed by Uber have been picking up riders who opted to participate in the test program. Although the program has been successful so far, there are still Uber engineers behind the wheel to seize control if things go awry.

Raffi Krikorian, director of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Centre, said that Pittsburgh had “ideal conditions” for testing because it was an old city with narrow roads and extreme weather. “We like to call Pittsburgh the double black diamond of driving,” he said. “If we really can master driving in Pittsburgh, we feel we have a good chance to master it in most other cities in the world.”

Uber have not yet said when it expects to fully roll out the autonomous taxis however, Its competitors are expected to have market-ready cars in the next three to five years.