So I employed a Thai plumber ...

[webfact]

Uber to stop developing self-driving trucks

 

A partially self driving Uber semi truck at the Mcity autonomous vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor Michigan, U.S., September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joseph White

 

(Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] will stop developing self-driving trucks that have been hauling cargo on U.S. highways, the ride-hailing company said on Monday, seeking to focus its autonomous-vehicle technology solely on cars.

 

Through its acquisition of Otto in 2016, Uber had sought to disrupt freight hauling with self-driving trucks and Uber Freight, its smartphone app that connects truck drivers and shippers.

 

Uber Freight, which has seen "rapid" growth, is unaffected by the decision, the company said.

 

Trucking has been viewed by transportation experts as a natural application for self-driving technology because of the relative predictability of highways compared with busy city streets.

 

Uber had unveiled plans earlier this year to integrate manual trucking with self-driving trucks by deploying the former for short hauls and the latter for longer distances.

 

"We believe having our entire team's energy and expertise focused on (self-driving cars) is the best path forward," Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an emailed statement.

 

San Francisco-based Uber faces competition from Silicon Valley companies including Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> and Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> Waymo as well as traditional automakers such as Ford <F.N> and General Motors <GM.N> in the race to bring self-driving cars to the market.

 

Uber said it will move employees working on self-driving trucks to other internal roles within autonomous vehicle development.

 

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-31

[thaibeachlovers]

While I doubt uber has done so from social responsibility, it's a very good thing. Self driving trucks have the capability of putting millions of unskilled workers out of work, with all sorts of unintended consequences.

[AhFarangJa]

Thailand has had self driving trucks for years.................

[ncc1701d]

Neither will work anytime soon imo.

[pegman]

Autonomous trucks will be rolled out step by step. A lack of drivers in many counties is making it a pressing need.

[bendejo]

I just don't get it with this self-driving vehicle stuff, who in their right mind would put their life or well-being in the trust of this technology?  If someone has to be at the wheel "just in case" then may as well keep things the way they are.  What is the attraction, to give the millennials more time to diddle with their phones?

 

 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, bendejo said:

I just don't get it with this self-driving vehicle stuff, who in their right mind would put their life or well-being in the trust of this technology?  If someone has to be at the wheel "just in case" then may as well keep things the way they are.  What is the attraction, to give the millennials more time to diddle with their phones?

Who in their right mind would put their life in the trust of somebody else having the control of the car, the boat or the airplane? It's hard to give the power to others, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

Now, think about traveling for 5 hours between cities in a car. Would you rather drive the car by yourself, having full control, or could you imagine yourself enjoying a hot bath with a beautiful woman, drinking  good whiskey, while the car drives itself to your wanted destination.

 

Transportation is just a logistic problem, why it should be anything else?

 

 

 

 

[mikebike]

1 hour ago, oilinki said:

Who in their right mind would put their life in the trust of somebody else having the control of the car, the boat or the airplane? It's hard to give the power to others, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

Now, think about traveling for 5 hours between cities in a car. Would you rather drive the car by yourself, having full control, or could you imagine yourself enjoying a hot bath with a beautiful woman, drinking  good whiskey, while the car drives itself to your wanted destination.

 

Transportation is just a logistic problem, why it should be anything else?

 

 

 

 

Well that is ONE point of view. Another is I actually like driving and find it an enjoyable way to pass time and mentally relaxing.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, oilinki said:

Who in their right mind would put their life in the trust of somebody else having the control of the car, the boat or the airplane? It's hard to give the power to others, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

Now, think about traveling for 5 hours between cities in a car. Would you rather drive the car by yourself, having full control, or could you imagine yourself enjoying a hot bath with a beautiful woman, drinking  good whiskey, while the car drives itself to your wanted destination.

 

Transportation is just a logistic problem, why it should be anything else?

 

 

 

 

Are you saying uber will be supplying vehicles with a beautiful woman in a bath to play with? If so, they are going to get very, very rich.

[Briggsy]

13 hours ago, bendejo said:

What is the attraction,

I believe it has been shown that machines i.e. self-driving vehicles have fewer accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities than human drivers. This could be problematic for Thailand which has put some serious effort into making itself the road death and injury capital of the world.

[thaibeachlovers]

14 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

I believe it has been shown that machines i.e. self-driving vehicles have fewer accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities than human drivers. This could be problematic for Thailand which has put some serious effort into making itself the road death and injury capital of the world.

Unless they can develop a self driving motorbike for less than 50,000 baht, nothing is going to change. Most accidents in LOS are with m'bikes.

[Briggsy]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Unless they can develop a self driving motorbike for less than 50,000 baht, nothing is going to change. Most accidents in LOS are with m'bikes.