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2015 Ford Mondeo: Is This Uber’s Self-Driving Car?

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#1 ·
2015 Ford Mondeo: Is This Uber’s Self-Driving Car?
autoevolution | May 23, 2015


With Google getting the green light to drive their first homemade autonomous vehicles on public roads this summer, some transport companies CEOs are already having a hard time sleeping at night. It’s not like the automotive industry was not aware of the IT giant’s project, but getting the government’s approval is a whole different thing. Uber seems to know that since they are already conducting research on the street.

In case you haven’t heard yet, we’ll take the time to tell you that transportation companies all over the world think (and are right to do so) that a car without a driver costs less money. Whether that vehicle is a lorry carrying food from a city to the other or it’s a cab, the service gets a lot cheaper when the automobile drives itself.

It’s obviously bad news for all the professional drivers since it means a lot of jobs will eventually be cut off. We can only hope governments will think of a solution when the time comes.

Meanwhile, corporations are working hard and spending big to develop a functional, safe and friendly system to make things happen. Google is almost there. As we previously mentioned, their first self-driving car fleet will start hitting the road this summer.

The latest to join the ride is Uber. A Ford Mondeo that had “Uber Advanced Technologies Center” emblazoned on the side of the vehicle with a device rotating on the top of the car was recently spotted by Pittsburgh Business Times.

It could be the self-driving car Uber and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have partnered up for. It was this February when they announced they were creating a robotics research center in Pittsburgh, near the university’s campus. Dubbed the Advanced Technologies Center, the giant ride sharing service claims it will focus on the development of critical long-term technologies that “advance Uber’s mission of bringing safe, reliable transportation to everyone, everywhere”.

The fact the San Francisco company is not willing to offer too many details makes sense considering the competition factor. After all, Uber is about five years behind Google when it comes to the research and development stage. However, it doesn’t mean they can recuperate.
 
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#4 ·
I see how this is important to a company like Uber. A taxi service that does not require a driver. This means vehicles can be available 24 hours a day, and be strategically positioned based on real time need. Revenue that would go to drivers, then goes to Uber, who also has to buy and maintain the vehicles.

Also with Uber, everyone pays with a credit/debit card, and I am sure there will be a phone activated unlock feature to get into the car, so if anything happens to damage the car, they know who to bill. More than likely with video to back it up.

Looking at car sharing in general, I would like to see car sharing expand to neighborhood communities(like Zipcar does with on a college campus), where the community/neighborhood association would have it's sharing managed through a service like Zipcar. Meaning the community can contract with Zipcar to have a vehicle parked within the community for restricted continuity use. Users pay by the hour. Zipcar takes care of the maintenance, fueling(charging)/cleaning(or work that out with the community), insurance, etc.

Many families would not have to buy a second or third car, if there was a shared car in the neighborhood.
 
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