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Uber to Begin Testing Self-Driving Cards in Pittsburgh

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Aug 18, 2016.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Max Chafkin, reporting for Bloomberg, on Uber’s announcement that they will begin testing “self-driving” cards in Pittsburgh:


    Starting later this month, Uber will allow customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, crossing an important milestone that no automotive or technology company has yet achieved. Google, widely regarded as the leader in the field, has been testing its fleet for several years, and Tesla Motors offers Autopilot, essentially a souped-up cruise control that drives the car on the highway. Earlier this week, Ford announced plans for an autonomous ride-sharing service. But none of these companies has yet brought a self-driving car-sharing service to market.

    There will be two “safety drivers” that sit in the car and can take over at any time, but this is a step toward our driverless future. A future generation will look back on the days where we all manually drove cars around as barbaric.

     
  2. ian acree

    Newbie

    Self-driving cards, eh? How much for the Spade SUV?
     
  3. Richard

    Trusted Prestigious

    When the title says cards and then you think 'oh typo' and then the opening line says cards and then you wonder if Uber really started testing self-driving cards.
     
  4. ian acree

    Newbie

    This.

    Writer must have been really committed to the point of no return. I like it.
     
    Carmensaopaulo likes this.
  5. aranea

    Trusted Prestigious

    That's Jason's opening line, not the actual article, haha
     
  6. Richard

    Trusted Prestigious

    "Its Uber, but for cards"
     
    slickdtc likes this.
  7. SayHello

    Regular

    Proud to be a Pittsburgher. Amazing, underrated city.
     
  8. ARo24

    Regular

    I thought Pittsburgh was pretty well appreciated? I've heard a ton of great things about the city. Would love to check out the ballpark one of these summers.
     
  9. Iamhollywood315

    Regular

    I saw an uber car the other day with a bunch of sensors and cameras on it here in Austin. Also been seeing a ton of google self driving cars here as well. pretty neat. Pittsburg seems like cool city for this. definitely underrated.
     
  10. SayHello

    Regular

    I guess you could be right, but I think it's still a hidden gem / unbeknown to most people on the east coast (where I'm originally from). PNC Park is the nicest in the country, hands down. Not only are you paying for a baseball game, you're paying for an incredible view of the skyline sunset that's highly accessible (from virtually any seat in the park). Definitely visit the park as soon as possible!
     
  11. disambigujason

    Trusted Supporter

    i'm indifferent about autonomous cars because it's really cool, but as a society we should be going way harder on better public transportation instead. in the interim, this is pretty sweet.
     
    SayHello likes this.
  12. SayHello

    Regular

    Good point.
     
  13. Anticitizen7

    Please be kind. Like actually kind though.

    This reminds me of some post I read somewhere that said at some point in the future it will be an established prank to throw a passed out friend in a car and set it to drive somewhere ridiculous.
     
    Bayside 182 likes this.
  14. I would bet good money this is the future of public transportation.
     
  15. John Zafran

    As If Everything Was Held In Place

    2016 huh?
     
  16. disambigujason

    Trusted Supporter

    That these cars are the future? I'd agree. People want it more and the industry will get its way, but I'll be upset on the sideline.
     
  17. Why? Access to a car fundamentally changes what jobs people can take, how long they have to commute to get to them, we can more easily move to an electric engine, and they're safer.
     
  18. disambigujason

    Trusted Supporter

    i agree with all that, if we have to have car-dependency, i think thats a fine way to go, but i think the long term goal should be expansive public transport, cycling highways, etc. i get its a hard transition to make, and we've been going this direction for so long that it might be effectively irreversible, but that's what i'd want to see.
     
  19. But why? What's the benefit? I'm trying to understand the argument for it as a program.
     
  20. SayHello

    Regular

    Cars emit ridiculous amounts of emissions. Public transportation moves more people and cuts down significantly on pollution / emissions. High speed rail from major metro areas to other major metro areas, updated buses and bus lines, and comprehensive subway systems in medium sized cities is the way to go. Perhaps electric cars may be the future, but status quo driverless cars do nothing to help reduce emissions impact / global warming.
     
  21. disambigujason

    Trusted Supporter

    Exactly, and to add to that, I think public transportation is a much better equalizer of opportunity than getting more people cars, which is needlessly expensive, both upfront and in maintenance. More cars means we need more space for them, which is a massive problem whether they're emission free or not. It is tragic that an American family needs 3 cars to get to work in the same city while a European families can get to work in other countries in the same time for less cost. Dense city living has its problems, but as far as sustainability goes, dense cities with expansive, comprehensive public transport are the way to go.

    Also, more people should cycle And governments should help it along. Way less space needed, way healthier, people get outside. America's doing this commuting thing wrong.
     
    SayHello likes this.
  22. kpatrickwood

    Give what you can.

    Not really a self driving car... but get a load of this fuckin' thing.

     
    js977 and SayHello like this.
  23. ReginaPhilange

    Trusted Prestigious

    I mean, public transportation isn't going anywhere, it'll still be around and expanded upon in cities. Self driving cars are way more important though, simply in terms of lives that will be saved. The sooner we have them, the better.