Uber, the US network car platform, decided to suspend the development of self-driving trucks. This is the decision made by the company after reassessing the autonomous driving program since the Uber autopilot car crash in March 2018.
'We decided to stop the development of our self-driving truck project, focusing on passenger cars.' According to the British Financial Times on July 30, Uber's advanced technology team leader Eric Meyhofer said in a statement, 'We have recently taken An important step back to the public road in Pittsburgh, as we continue to maintain this momentum, we believe that focusing the entire team is the best way forward.'
According to the technology website The Verge reported on July 30, some employees engaged in the Uber self-driving truck project will be transferred to the company's larger self-driving car project. Uber also said that it will continue to develop its own optical radar sensor technology ( Lidar) and the truck network apply Uber Freight (Uber Freight).
In March 2018, a self-driving car from Uber knocked down a pedestrian and killed him in Tempe, Arizona, USA. Uber then suspended the test of self-driving cars on public streets and thoroughly examined their own autonomous driving techniques. development of.
According to the British Financial Times reported on July 30, Uber has reevaluated and changed the test project since then, shut down operations in Arizona, and plans to reopen the test in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the next few months, later Tested in California. Uber's self-driving cars have returned to Pittsburgh's roads in recent weeks, and the tests must be manually controlled by human drivers. Now Uber will automatically change the safety operator behind the car's steering wheel for more skilled 'Task experts', they have also been trained to operate Uber trucks. All test cars will be added to two employees, and Uber will monitor their operations in real time.
Employees working on trucking projects in San Francisco will be transferred to other autonomous driving technology-related positions. Some employees will go to Pittsburgh, where the Uber self-driving car project is based, and some employees will receive severance payments.
The Financial Times reported that Uber's technology and testing programs have been under rigorous review since the accident in Tempe. A police report believes that if the steering wheel is not distracted, the car accident can be avoided. An independent report from the US National Transportation Safety Board found that the car did not realize that it needed braking until 1 second before the accident.
Uber's truck project was launched after the acquisition of Otto in 2016. Otto is an autonomous driving company founded by former Google employees. Due to trade secret disputes, Otto launched a lawsuit battle with Waymo, the autonomous driving department of Google's parent company Alphabet, Uber in 2018 2 The case was settled in the month and Waymo paid $245 million worth of Uber stock.