Local delivery and transportation giant Uber announced its largest acquisition. They are planning to purchase 2500 driverless cars from Google. Apart from that, the two companies have also signed a pact, in which Uber would distribute its date from its local transportation services with Google. This would further be used by Uber to improve its own independent algorithms for car-routing.
Driverless car: The next generation
Google had declared that it would start manufacturing its own, independent driverless cars five years ago. The vehicles have hit the roads, two and a half years hence. Two models have already been dispatched by Google. Both have been five-seater, family sedans. Latest technology in fuel cell is being used and the car weighs very less. It can drive upto 750 miles, on a single complete charge. Docks would be provided in regular distances (Google PowerUp), for powering the car up. Passengers can connect to the Internet through the WirelessGig service by Google.
An on-demand, autonomous Uber
A more driverless future seems to be in line for Uber , regarding their transportation services. In the past, the company has explored the use of autonomous cars. It is anticipated that there would be a huge demand for driverless cars in the future, and Uber has believed just that. They would be able to deploy cars without drivers in dense cities.
As part of the pact, latest Uber logistics software would be installed directly into the vehicle and it would be able to share some of its traffic back to Google. With that data, Google would be able to provide much more accurate real-time information to all the cars that are a part of its independent driving network.
Such driverless cars would result in faster commuting times and lesser congestion in many important cities. Uber claims that traffic has been reduced by 35%, because of the services offered by their company. Their main goal is to put more driverless cars on the road and they are currently working on that.