Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality
Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality
Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a pedestrian in Arizona.
The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities.
Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The
November 6, 2018
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8336 Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a %$Linker: 2Internal<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />4342720link-external pedestrianfalse/categories/utc/news/ubers-autonomous-taxi-kills-pedestrian-north-american-trials-suspended/falsefalse%> in Arizona.
The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety %$Linker: 2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external reportfalsehttps://uber.app.box.com/v/UberATGSafetyReportfalsefalse%> to the US 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities.
Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The training includes modules on distracted driving and a preventive fatigue monitoring programme.
In %$Linker: 2Internal<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />4361890link-external Julyfalse/categories/location-based-systems/news/ubers-self-driving-cars-resume-trials-in-pittsburgh-in-manual-mode/falsefalse%>, the company’s mission specialists began manually driving Uber’s AVs on public roads in Pittsburgh to trial new safeguards which are expected to improve vehicle safety and performance.
One mission specialist remained behind the wheel to maintain the vehicle’s safety while the other documented notable events in the passenger seat.
According to Uber, all self-driving vehicles are now equipped with a third-party driver monitoring system and feature improved system latency to detect objects and actors sooner and react faster.
In the introduction of the report, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO says the company has conducted a review of Uber Advanced Technologies Group’s safety approaches, system development and culture.
“We continue to support the 5628 National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the Tempe crash. We have taken a measured, phased approach to returning to on-road testing, starting first with manual driving in Pittsburgh,” Khosrowshahi adds.
Khosrowshahi emphasises that Uber has committed to deliver the safety report before returning to on-road testing in self-driving mode and will only go back on the road once the improved process has been implemented.
Uber’s self-driving cars are being manually driven on public roads in Pittsburgh after a fatal crash which prompted the company to pull out of its testing programme in North America. The company is trialling new safeguards which it says will improve vehicle fleet safety and performance.
According to a report by Medium, Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies, says: “While we are eager to resume testing of our self-driving system, we see manual driving as an important first step in piloting thes
Drive.ai is using self-driving vans to carry passengers on a near two-mile route in Frisco, Texas. According to a report by CBS News, the company is the first to launch such a test since an Uber vehicle driving in autonomous mode killed a pedestrian in Arizona.
These vans will operate over the next six months, with a safety driver on board, and will travel between an office park and a nearby dining area and entertainment complex.
Conway Chen, vice president at Drive.ai, says the service has been desi