Uber acquires "Otto" of automatic driving truck & cooperates with Volvo Automatic driving taxi is in operation this month

"Uber" of online taxi dispatch service, startup to develop automatic driving truck "OttoWe announced the acquisition of. In the future Uber will be promoting full automation of logistics with automatic driving truck. At the same time, it was announced that we had a partnership with Volvo (Volvo), and we will also start sales of automatic driving taxis customized Volvo cars in August 2016.

Rethinking transportation
https://newsroom.uber.com/rethinking-transportation/

Our next chapter: Otto joins Uber - Official Otto Blog
https://blog.ot.to/our-next-chapter-otto-joins-uber-307ee347a5bf#.kg3oep6od

Otto is 90 people scale of startup that launched by former Google employees, we have developed an automated driving system to be mounted on the existing track. Because you are developing an automatic operation car from the previous Uber, automatic operation technology of Otto and Uber is to combine, the idea of ​​Otto aims "to reform the logistics" will be full-fledged implementation. Automatic operation track of Otto has also been running tests on public roads, you can see how the automatic operation track is running actually from the following movie.

Otto - Self-Driving Trucks - YouTube


At the same time, Uber also announced that it has formed a partnership with automobile manufacturer Volvo. AlreadyVolvo XC 90Customized automatic driving taxis have also been completed and scheduled to be in operation in downtown Pittsburgh by the end of August. When you dispatch a taxi from Uber in Pittsburgh, ordinary taxis or automatic driving cars are dispatched at random, and it seems that the fare for passengers to which the automatic driving car was dispatched will be free for a while. The price of Uber is 1.05 dollars (about 105 yen) per mile (about 1.6 km), but as the operation of the automatic driving car increases, it is expected to further lower the price.

Uber's automatic driving taxis operating in Pittsburgh are the following, with Volvo XC 90 equipped with sensors such as riders, cameras, radars, GPS.


Uber and Volvo anticipate the production of 100 automatic taxi cabs customized Volvo XC 90 within the year. Both companies are planning to develop an automatic driving car different from the custom Volvo XC 90 over a budget of 300 million dollars (about 30 billion yen), and that they will operate on public roads by 2021. Automatic driving technology such as rider system installed in Otto's truck is expected to be utilized for this.

Uber's First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh This Month - Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-18/uber-s-first-self-driving-fleet-arrives-in-pittsburgh-this-month-is06r7on

A lawsuit seeking redemption of labor costs continued between labor union as Uber was in violation of the Labor Standards Act, but ultimatelyUber pays $ 84 million (about 8,420 million yen)It is reported that it was ordered. Meanwhile, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has the goal of "replacing more than 1 million human drivers with robots (automatic driving cars)" and it may be that there are no employees in the first place. As Uber is strongly rebounding from the taxi industry as it destroys the existing taxi industry, further opposition is also expected.

Uber's deal to end driver lawsuit for $ 84 million falls apart | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/judge-throws-out-uber-class-action-deal-to-pay-drivers-84m/