Uber starts self-driving car pickups in Pittsburgh read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/852-uber-starts-self-driving-car-pickups-in-pittsburgh

Uber riders in Pittsburgh will get a surprise the next time they request a pickup. Uber users will get the option to ride in a self-driving car.

 The vehicles are loaded with features that allow them to navigate on their own. There will be only four self-driving vehicles available to passengers. An Uber engineer will sit in the driver’s seat and seize control if things go wrong.

The launch of Uber’s self-driving pilot program marks the public unveiling of the company’s secretive work in autonomous vehicles.

The San Francisco-based startup, Uber has already occupied   the world’s taxi services, earning a valuation of $68 billion. Uber's next plan is to launch self-driving cars.

The Uber vehicles are equipped with seven traffic-light detecting cameras and a radar system that detects different weather conditions to 20 spinning lasers that generates a continuous, 360 degree 3-D map of the surrounding environment.

A reporter from The Associated Press who experienced the ride said, the ride through downtown Pittsburgh and over some bridges went smoothly.

 

Many experts predict that it will be years, if not decades, before the public is being driven around in fleets of fully driverless vehicles under any condition.