Uber takes the high road by launching a driverless car service!

11 Oct

If you like to get out and about socially – and do so safely, and prefer not to incur the expense of airport parking, you’re probably well aware of just how convenient and popular Uber is in South Africa. Uber is quite literally a ‘mobile app’ that can be installed on your smartphone and used to find affordable, registered drivers close by. It’s a “taxi service” with a difference.

While South Africa as a whole was seemingly impressed by Uber when it first became available, it’s questionable as to just how impressed or secure we will feel about the latest tech launched by the transport giant: the driverless car service.

Described as nothing less than “ground breaking”, industry specialists have indicated that a driverless car service could very well be the type of technology that truly transcends the transportation industry.

Taking a risk?

Driverless cars are not exactly the type of tech for the faint hearted. It’s quite a responsibility and perhaps that’s why other transport companies haven’t jumped on the bandwagon! It would seem though that Uber wasn’t too scared to give it a trial. The company released an experimental fleet of cars all kitted out with lasers, cameras and sensors that are specially designed to navigate a vehicle with no driver present.

Uber chose Ford’s Fusion as the car of choice for their experiment and tested out their proud creation on the streets of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, USA. Rumour has it that they plan to make use of Volvo cars for their future driverless car projects.

The development and testing phase is still in its infancy in that it’s taken less than two years to get the project to the point of picking up regular Uber passengers in a driverless car. Passengers will of course have their concerns, and so will the technicians on the project.

Safety first

To put passenger’s minds at ease, Uber offers two technicians to accompany all those who elect to ride in a driverless car…just to make sure that customers are getting a smooth ride and that confidence can be built up amongst newbies to the world of Uber and driverless car technology. Of course one technician will be taking notes while the other sits behind the wheel, prepared to step in if the car isn’t handling a situation safely and correctly.

It’s not all about peace of mind though!

State laws currently require a driver to be present in a car, which makes the driverless car concept a little tricky, but the market has confidence that this will change.

While the driverless car service is a project in the making, it’s still bound to change the way we get around in the near future, not just in the USA, but in South Africa too. We wonder – If Uber was suddenly to offer driverless car service testing in South Africa just how many would be brave enough to test drive with them? We’d love to hear your thoughts on driverless technology!

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