Ride-sharing firm Uber will soon let users in Pittsburgh hail self-driving cars, the company has confirmed. The service, going live in less than two weeks, will see Uber team up with Volvo to launch the service. At first, the vehicles will be supervised by a driver, who can take control if necessary. More than one […]
Ride-sharing firm Uber will soon let users in Pittsburgh hail self-driving cars, the company has confirmed.
The service, going live in less than two weeks, will see Uber team up with Volvo to launch the service.
At first, the vehicles will be supervised by a driver, who can take control if necessary.
More than one million people drive vehicles linked to its app, but are not directly employed by the company.
Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said: “Volvo is a world leader in the development of active safety and autonomous drive technology and possesses an unrivaled safety credibility. We are very proud to be the partner of choice for Uber, one of the world’s leading technology companies. This alliance places Volvo at the heart of the current technological revolution in the automotive industry.”
The new base vehicle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). The development work will be conducted by Volvo Cars engineers and Uber engineers in close collaboration.
Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, said: “Over one million people die in car accidents every year. These are tragedies that self-driving technology can help solve, but we can’t do this alone. That’s why our partnership with a great manufacturer like Volvo is so important. Volvo is a leader in vehicle development and best-in-class when it comes to safety. By combining the capabilities of Uber and Volvo we will get to the future faster, together.”
