Six years after fatal crash, Uber signs new RoboTaxi deal

Uber was a pioneer in self-driving, but a fatal accident in 2018 changed everything. Affected by this, the company threw in the towel and sold its Advanced Technologies Group in 2020.

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While Uber isn’t the only company to have suffered setbacks with self-driving, the company is now ready to try again. Uber and Uber Eats are once again embracing self-driving vehicles as part of a “multi-year strategic partnership” with Avride.

More: Uber safety driver pleads guilty to endangering safety in fatal Arizona crash

The multi-pronged effort will begin in Austin, Texas, where delivery robots equipped with lidar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors will deliver food for Uber Eats on sidewalks. These micro-electric vehicles have a battery life of up to 12 hours and have storage compartments large enough to hold six 16-inch pizzas and three 1.5-liter bottles.

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Following a launch in Austin in the coming weeks, Uber will bring the robots to Dallas and Jersey City, New Jersey, later this year. The company said customers in eligible areas can choose to have their orders delivered by robots. While things may be slow to move, Avride CEO Dmitry Polishchuk said there are plans to deploy “hundreds” of Uber Eats bots by 2025.

Of course, we’re more interested in their robotaxi plans, which could eventually compete with Cruise and Waymo. Uber isn’t revealing much on this front, but says their “mobility partnership is expected to launch for riders in Dallas later next year.”

While it’s still a long way off, Avride is using a Hyundai Ioniq 5 self-driving electric car. They are equipped with four lidar sensors, six radar sensors and more than a dozen cameras. This is expected to provide a 360° view “hundreds of meters ahead” in a variety of conditions, including rain and snow.

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