Despite not being nearly as common as we all thought they might be by now, Uber is ready to grow beyond the idea self-driving cars and expand that same technology into other vehicles, like 18-wheelers.
Partnering with a self-driving technology company, Uber hopes to fully automate their fleet of freight vehicles before offering the same to other shipping companies, leaving long-haul drives driverless.
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Uber and Waymo have teamed up to forge the future of autonomous cars.
Well, autonomous trucks, actually.
Waymo, a self-driving technology company, has joined forces with Uber to look above and beyond in the world of fully autonomous vehicles. They want to graduate from cars to 18-wheel trucks.
They’ll be working alongside Uber Freight.
Their hope is to fully automate long-distance shipping and hauling.
As Waymo put it in a press release, they want to “bring together the power of the Waymo Driver with the scale of Uber Freight’s marketplace technology, ultimately enabling the safe and scalable implementation of the ‘Waymo Driver’ on America’s roads.”
This is just the first step in a long-term dream.
“Both companies envision a future where autonomous trucks tackle the long-haul portion of driving, easing some of the burden of the increasing demand for freight while also enabling drivers to shift into short-haul jobs that enhance the occupation’s quality of life,” said Uber in their own press release.
This is a pretty big step seeing as self-driving cars are still in their early stages.
Both companies have faced their own issues regarding the safety and accuracy of their self-driving technologies in the past, but are seemingly ready to look past that and keep expanding into bigger consumer projects.
Who knows? In a few years, maybe that truck you pass on the freeway won’t have anyone inside. Does that make anyone else a little nervous? Just me?
h/t: Gizmodo
