Uber releases first photo of self-driving cars being tested in Pittsburgh

20 May 2016

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Uber has released the first official photo of the self-driving cars that it has been testing in the streets of Pittsburgh. The development comes after almost a year since local reporters first spotted an earlier prototype. The car, a hybrid Ford Fusion, is gathering marketing data and testing its self-driving capabilities. The car is equipped with "radars, laser scanners, and high resolution cameras to map details of the environment," Uber said in a blog post. But even as it collects data, a trained driver is always behind the wheel.

"While Uber is still in the early days of our self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements," the company says. "Right now we're focused on getting the technology right and ensuring it's safe for everyone on the road - pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers."

Pittsburgh's Tribune-Review reporter Aaron Aupperlee, who rode the car, courtesy Uber, the first media-person allowed to see it in operation up close described the experience, "The car drove itself over the 31st Street Bridge and along River Avenue on the North Side before turning around at the Heinz Lofts. The car will accelerate, brake, steer and perform other basic functions on its own. It switches out of self-driving mode with a loud beep if its sensors detect a car swerving into its lane or it encounters something it does not recognize or know how to negotiate.

Uber is the latest addition to a growing list of companies across the traditional car industry and the technology sector who are developing the world's first self-driving car. Google, is the leader having logged 1.5 million miles of autonomous driving since the start of its project in 2009.

Companies like Tesla and Chinese internet giant Baidu have also joined the fray since then. Car makers like Ford, Toyota and BMW are also actively working on fully autonomous systems even as they roll out semi-autonomous features like self-parking to their current models.

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