According to Lyft, the rideshare company has partnered with Motional to launch a multimarket robotaxi service in major US cities in 2023. The new vehicles will be fully driverless, the fleet size will grow significantly, and the service will have the potential to scale widely.
The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in Uber scaling back some of its most high-tech programs. Last week, Uber announced it sold its autonomous vehicle united. Now, the company has announced it has also offloaded Uber Elevate, its air taxi operation.
As the market and interest for autonomous vehicles continue to rise, there are often discussions regarding accident rates and how self-driving cars have the potential to reduce those numbers. Considering the majority of collisions are currently attributed to driver error, it’s a reasonable assumption that an autonomous vehicle could weed out problems like distractions, drunk driving, and more. A new study, however, predicts that the crash rates for self-driving vehicles will not be as low as we think.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), self-driving cars may only be able to prevent around one-third of all crashes: “According to a national survey of police-reported crashes, driver error is the final failure in the chain of events leading to more than 9 out of 10 crashes. But the Institute’s analysis suggests that only about a third of those crashes were the result of mistakes that automated vehicles would be expected to avoid simply because they have more accurate perception than human drivers and aren’t vulnerable to incapacitation.”
As Ford continues to push its autonomous vehicle operation forward, a new patent filed by the company outlines a way ridesharing vehicles can be sorted based on the way they smell. This patent includes autonomous vehicles and those driven by rideshare workers.
The patent, titled “Transportation System Using Odor Preferences,” could help rideshare users who are sensitive to odors like cigarette smoke. For example, if a non-smoker needs a vehicle that has not been smoked in because of a sensitive lung condition, Ford’s technology could ensure they get the right vehicle for their needs.
Some Uber drivers and riders have been in dangerous situations where they’ve been unable to call 911 for help. To alleviate this issue and bring peace of mind to rideshare workers and users, Uber launched a new feature allowing app users to text emergencies to 911. When a driver or rider texts 911, they can provide information about the ride, what the situation is, and their current location.
This service is available wherever “Text to 911” has been activated by area 911 officials. So far, this includes counties and cities in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington State.