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Self-driving cars are coming sooner than you may realize.
Uber, the hugely valuable startup that is upending on-demand transportation services worldwide, has announced that customers in Pittsburg, PA would get to ride in autonomous cars as soon as this month.
To be clear, self-driving Uber rides won't be picking up customers by themselves. The technology isn't quite there yet, despite the huge amount of resources that automotive and technology giants are pouring into research. An Uber engineer will be in the driver's seat at all times, along with a technician that will monitor the self-driving equipment, which reportedly includes a liquid-cooled computer mounted in the car's trunk. The engineer will be ready to take full control whenever the traffic situation asks for human intervention.
Uber is partnering with Volvo, the Swedish automaker that is known for its focus on driver and passenger safety. Volvo will supply Uber a fleet of 100 modified XC90 SUVs by the end of the year.
In a $300 million deal, the two companies will collaborate to develop the underlying platform for future self-driving cars, though it looks like they won't share their self-driving technology itself.
Volvo, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely of China, has its own self-driving technology in the works.
An "outrageous PR stunt"
Despite Volvo's reputation for safety and Uber's assurance that human overseers will be ready to act at a moment's notice, some critics think that putting customers in unproven autonomous vehicles is a recipe for disaster.
John Simpson of the respected Consumer Reports called the move an "outrageous PR stunt," saying that it's "unconscionable" to involve passengers at this point.
It's a reproach that Tesla's already familiar with. Elon Musk's company has drawn heavy flak for entrusting the life of its customers to the "beta" functionality of its Autopilot assisted-driving system, especially after the recent death of a driver who crashed into a trailer while his Tesla S was driving itself.
Uber drivers should be worried
Back to Uber, CEO Travis Kalanik openly admits that its self-driving system is still in its early days. But the clear goal is to, eventually, replace human drivers completely. "Nobody has set up software that can reliably drive a car safely without a human," Kalanick told Bloomberg. "We are focusing on that." That's probably not good news for Uber's drivers, the million or so "partners" who face the very real prospect of losing their jobs within the next years.
For Uber passengers, the robo-ride won't be too different from any human-powered ride. Customers will hail a ride from the app as normal and self-driving cars will be randomly assigned to them. For now, these rides will be free, though that may change as Uber becomes more adept at replacing human brainpower with silicon-based AI.
Read next: Best electric cars (August 2016)
The Uber-Volvo partnership comes after General Motors struck a deal with Uber-competitor Lyft (and reportedly tried to buy the ride-hailing company) and Ford announced plans to develop autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing applications by 2021.
Would you ride in a self-driving Uber? Let us know your thoughts!
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