Uber shows self-driving car driving around US city

Taxi service Uber has posted an image of its self-driving car online. The car drives around in the American city of Pittsburgh. Uber wants to collect data with the car and conduct tests with autonomous driving. There is always a driver in the car.

The car is a hybrid Ford Fusion, Uber says. The project comes from Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh. With the self-driving car, the taxi service not only wants to collect map material for future cars, it also wants to gain experience with the technology behind self-driving cars.

The tests started a few weeks ago, according to an article by the local newspaper TribLive. The car has 22 camera lenses on board and has sensors and lasers around the car, allowing the system to see 100 meters in any direction. In the self-driving car there is always a driver who can intervene at any time. This is sometimes necessary, because the system emits a loud tone if it does not recognize something or does not know how to react, after which the driver has to take the wheel.

It is unknown when Uber plans to start using the self-driving car as taxis for its service, although that is probably the goal of the project.