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Uber Self-Driving Cars Back On Public Roads, But In Manual Mode (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the back-at-it-again dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Uber is putting its autonomous vehicles back on Pittsburgh's city streets, four months after a fatal accident involving one of its self-driving cars prompted the ride-hailing company to halt testing on public roads. But for now, Uber's modified self-driving Volvo XC90 vehicles will only be driven manually by humans and under a new set of safety standards that includes real-time monitoring of its test drivers and efforts to beef up simulation. The sensors, including light detection and ranging radar known as LiDAR, will be operational on these self-driving vehicles. They won't be operated in autonomous mode, however. Uber will use these manually operated self-driving vehicles to update its HD maps of Pittsburgh. This manual-first rollout is a step toward Uber's ultimate goal to relaunch its autonomous vehicle testing program in Pittsburgh, according to Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, who published a post Tuesday on Medium. Uber said that all its self-driving vehicles, whether they're driven manually or eventually in autonomous mode, will have two Uber employees inside. "These 'mission specialists' -- a new name Uber has given to its test drivers -- will have specific jobs," reports TechCrunch. "The person behind the wheel will be responsible for maintaining the vehicle safety, while the second 'mission specialist' will ride shotgun and document events." Every vehicle will also have a driver monitoring system that will track driver behavior in real time.

58 comments

  1. wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    the amazing self driving manual car also

    the worlds shortest giant, also

    the worlds tallest dwarf

    step right up

    1. Re:wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the world's straightest slashdot user
      OH SHIT SON HE WENT THERE

    2. Re: wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am going to rape your butthole now. I...do not know when I will stop.

    3. Re:wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even better than that, a self-driving car that requires 2, count them two drivers, ie more than a non self-driving car!

    4. Re: wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      who said you could stop

    5. Re:wow progress by godel_56 · · Score: 1

      Even better than that, a self-driving car that requires 2, count them two drivers, ie more than a non self-driving car!

      For safety reasons one passenger periodically has to get out of the car and walk in front waving a red flag.

    6. Re:wow progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will they still hire transgenders and can those transgenders still pretend to drive while watching videos on their phones and running bicyclists off of the road at night?

  2. You're going the wrong way by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> self-driving vehicles, whether they're driven manually or eventually in autonomous mode, will have two Uber employees inside

    Um...you're going the wrong way. I want my "self-driving car" to have ZERO passenger-recording Uber employees inside.

    1. Re:You're going the wrong way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One to work the clutch, one to work Netflix.

    2. Re:You're going the wrong way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you just get in your regular car, get on the freeway, close your eyes, and jam the accelerator pedal to the floor and take your hands off the wheel? End result will be the same and you won't have to wait for your deathtrap-on-wheels to arrive.

  3. Self driving ... with two drivers? by Hognoxious · · Score: 0

    One of them is there to smack the other if he touches the controls. The second one is there to suck the first one's cock.

    (I think the original joke involved a dog).

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Self driving ... with two drivers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wait, uber has dogs that can drive cars now? i think that's bigger news than the manually driven autonomous car thing.

    2. Re:Self driving ... with two drivers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we please get to the stage of autonomous sucking please? I can't stand the rejection of a human.

    3. Re:Self driving ... with two drivers? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The Japanese have already got there, but unfortunately they put tits on top of it and the sheer creepiness of that puts me off my nut.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. Frnds Don't Let Frnds Txt N Drv by DickBreath · · Score: 1

    Friends don't let friends text and drive.

    A good friend will hold the wheel so the driver can focus on what is important -- their phone. But your honor, I wasn't texting and driving, I was playing with my tweeter.

    I suppose the same holds true for UBER Mission Specialists. Mission Specialists don't let mission specialists watch movies and drive. A good mission specialist, especially employed by UBER, would hold the wheel for the driver so they can also eat their popcorn while watching the movie on their phone.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    1. Re:Frnds Don't Let Frnds Txt N Drv by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      Let's see
      Pay min wage to $10/hr
      BA/BS degree required
      Lot's of nights and weekends required

  5. two people are needed in self mode any ways by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    two people are needed in self mode any ways for now.

    One for driving part and the other to look over the systems.

    1. Re:two people are needed in self mode any ways by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      ...and soon, a third to remind the other two to put down their phones for a while and do their jobs.

  6. have they solved the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It sounds like we are officially into "sunk cost fallacy" territory with Uber's self-driving cars. They have already invested a lot of money and resources to solve the "problem", and all they got was a closed source system built into some proprietary hardware. I guess they are hoping for some patents on all this, maybe they can file a patent for a "computerized system that uses turn indicators to communicate with other drivers" or "a system that detects hazards ahead of the vehicle and initiates a response that accounts for the vehicle's current speed ." Then they can spend the next 20 years milking those patents.

    1. Re:have they solved the problem? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      or "a system that detects hazards ahead of the vehicle and continues to mow down the offending jaywalker"

    2. Re:have they solved the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      90% of AV car software/hardware is "closed source system built into some proprietary hardware", and Uber's (sucky) implementation was like that from the start. Not everyone is into open source as you are.

  7. fucking Uber by SumDog · · Score: 1

    Uber is a shit company. They're using marketing speak for their now "sensor/data gathering" cars. I hope no city lets them put an autonomous car back on the road. Fuck Uber and their toxic company.

  8. Precision, please, people by El+Cubano · · Score: 3, Interesting

    light detection and ranging radar known as LiDAR

    LiDAR (or LIDAR, or lidar, etc.) = light detection and ranging

    RADAR (or radar) = radio detection and ranging

    "light detection and ranging radar" is not a thing.

    1. Re:Precision, please, people by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Now just because light is in the terahertz range does not mean it's not radio. You just need a very directional receiver.

    2. Re:Precision, please, people by El+Cubano · · Score: 1

      Now just because light is in the terahertz range does not mean it's not radio.

      I am not arguing that light is not radio. I am saying that "light detection and ranging radar" is not a thing, just like "American League NL" would be meaningless in the context of baseball. There is an American League (AL) and a National League (NL), but concatenating the two would be nonsensical.

    3. Re: Precision, please, people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You missed the point. RADAR is an acronym. So is LIDAR. El Cubano was trying to explain that. Sadly you still missed it.

  9. "Mission Specialists" by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    They should give them a more accurate name, like "Pedestrian killers" or something.

    1. Re:"Mission Specialists" by PPH · · Score: 1

      I think that's what 'riding shotgun' means. Perhaps literally.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:"Mission Specialists" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They should give them a more accurate name, like "Pedestrian killers" or something.

      No need to reinvent the wheel. There's already a suitable word: "drivers".

  10. Self driving cars by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    ...now with twice as many drivers as before! Progress.

  11. death race uber! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    With 360 live point tracking.

  12. 1:1 employee to manager ratio...nice by edi_guy · · Score: 1

    Because the Uber person in the Arizona accident was texting, they are now seating managers next to the driver. Driver monitors computer, manager monitors driving who is monitoring computer. I think the two back seats could be used for a Director and a person with a VP title at which point the fiasco will be complete.

    1. Re:1:1 employee to manager ratio...nice by Iwastheone · · Score: 1
      If I recall she was not texting but watching a live stream of a talent show on Hulu. (Video in link)

      Elaine Herzberg, 49, was killed in Arizona in March after she was struck by an Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode. The crash prompted investigations by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. (Herzberg is believed to be the first person killed by a vehicle operating without a driver.) According to a report from the Tempe Police Department, the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, could have avoided the crash if she had been paying more attention to her surroundings. (Cars operating autonomously have a safety rider in the driver’s seat, like Vasquez, who can throw the vehicle into manual and override the autopilot.) The report also found she had been streaming The Voice on her phone right up until the moment the accident occurred, Reuters reports.

      The crash was “deemed entirely avoidable” by the police report. “Vasquez looked up just 0.5 seconds before the crash, after keeping her head down for 5.3 seconds, the Tempe Police report said. Uber’s self-driving Volvo SUV was traveling at just under 44 miles-per-hour,” Reuters also reports. Earlier reports in May attributed the crash to a software problem, citing programming designed to let self-driving vehicles “ignore ‘false positives,’” — like detritus in the road — which errantly registered Herzberg as such. Following the crash, Arizona suspended Uber from conducting any further autonomous tests.

      http://nymag.com/selectall/201...

    2. Re:1:1 employee to manager ratio...nice by Iwastheone · · Score: 1

      (Apologies) Video of Arizona incident here: https://www.extremetech.com/ex...

    3. Re: 1:1 employee to manager ratio...nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It didnt err. It accurately deemed her correctly. Just debris. One less useless human.

  13. Pittsburgher here by TimMD909 · · Score: 1

    Uber has been pretty good to the city from the looks of things on the ground. DUI rates seem to be down. Their autonomous cars weren't any problem and seemed to be piloted better than the average insane Pittsburgh driver. We've got other companies testing their vehicles as well without issue. I've never heard any employees of Uber's ATC complain about their pay. I have used their service thousands of times without incident. I don't get all the hate. I could see disappointment or annoyance, but not the level of vitriol I've seen online. I've seen a lot of non-Pittsburgers speak on our behalf, though...

    1. Re:Pittsburgher here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They engage in illegal behaviors to increase their 'profits' and scope of influence in order to gain a monopoly they'll abuse and do so by abusing their workers. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Enjoy your human in your sausages.

      There was nothing preventing those drunks from calling a taxi company.

      Keep your eyes on the horizon instead of on the ground.

    2. Re:Pittsburgher here by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      There was nothing preventing those drunks from calling a taxi company.

      ... except that the taxi costs more, takes longer to arrive, is less convenient, and may not come at all if either you or your destination are in the wrong neighborhood.

      Uber/Lyft ridership tends to increase at three times the rate that taxi ridership falls. That clearly implies that most people don't see them as interchangeable.

    3. Re:Pittsburgher here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So how much does trolly lying pay these days? Or are you someone that does not know what uber did. Or maybe you are someone that knows about uber's obvious clumsy deceptive manipulation of a video in an attempt to create a false impression of a fatal event and you just don't care.

      You have the nerve to use the word vitriol to describe what are actually very mild and muted comments in the face of what would result in a long jail sentence with complete ostracism and hatred if an individual had done what Uber did. Individuals do not get away with misrepresenting about fatal events. Cities bend over backward to get someone to spend cash in town so I guess that's what you are doing. Damn the consequences.

    4. Re:Pittsburgher here by TimMD909 · · Score: 1

      They engage in illegal behaviors to increase their 'profits' and scope of influence in order to gain a monopoly they'll abuse and do so by abusing their workers. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Enjoy your human in your sausages.

      There was nothing preventing those drunks from calling a taxi company.

      Keep your eyes on the horizon instead of on the ground.

      To reiterate: you're not from Pittsburgh. You'd know that your "taxi company" comment is extremely foolish (or at least ignorant). There was no such thing as taxi service in Pittsburgh for all intents and purposes. There's also effectively no public transportation options at night.

      In the 30+ years I've lived here, I've never once heard anyone ever having a taxi pick them up after a night of drinking. On the other hand, I have myriad stories of people waiting for hours for a taxi and never getting picked up. Once Uber came to town, people were for the first time able to drink responsibly and safely. The local taxis couldn't compete because it was cheaper, better, faster, and safer. By every metric, the customer was getting a better deal.

    5. Re:Pittsburgher here by TimMD909 · · Score: 1

      There was nothing preventing those drunks from calling a taxi company.

      ... except that the taxi costs more, takes longer to arrive, is less convenient, and may not come at all if either you or your destination are in the wrong neighborhood.

      Uber/Lyft ridership tends to increase at three times the rate that taxi ridership falls. That clearly implies that most people don't see them as interchangeable.

      Taxis never arrive in Pittsburgh. If you find yourself stuck, you're calling asleep friends or walking miles home. On the plus side, with all the steep hills around here, it is great exercise...

  14. Nice! by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    My 'self-driving' car has been in manual mode for decades, it seems to drive itself only when I'm drunk as a skunk, at least that's what I think, since I can't remember driving home.

    1. Re:Nice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone who drives drunk ought to be shot.

  15. Used to be "Command Mode," ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... but people shortened that to "commode."

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  16. Not to be pedantic, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The self-driving car testing has been seriously stupid. Before letting any bot drive a car there should have been years of data collection in millions of vehicles, with NAV systems connected to basic sensors recording how humans drive and examining the differences between the bot's decisions and what the successful human drivers did to refine the bot. The current situation can only be deemed criminal on the part of both the perpetrators and the corrupt bureaucrats enabling them.

    1. Re:Not to be pedantic, but... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Human driven vehicles kill 3000 people per day worldwide. If we are truly concerned about saving lives, then instead of focusing on a single jaywalker in Phoenix, we should be looking at the big picture and pushing forward with SDCs as quickly as possible.

    2. Re:Not to be pedantic, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In order for self-driving cars to save even a fraction of the 3000 people killed every day there will need to be massive cultural and political shifts before those currently non-existent cars will become feasible. We should be looking at the big picture and start enforcing the laws we already have, require proper maintenance for vehicles, and not allow anyone to drive while intoxicated. While we're at it, we should restructure our cities and public transportation to reduce the total number of hours and miles spent commuting. Then, when the dream of SDC's finally fails, things will still be better.

    3. Re: Not to be pedantic, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pedestrians and cyclists should also be required to follow laws and be cited or arrested when they dont. Additionally, neither should be given right of way. Ever. Too many arrogant assholes out there walking and riding wherever they damn well please.

    4. Re: Not to be pedantic, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a cyclist, I agree with this. I'm one of those weird dudes riding a road bike that stops at every stop sign and every red light even if it's at the bottom of a big hill, because I don't want to die on a cross street. I ride on the correct side as far to the right as is safe, and I respect other vehicles. The number of dudes I've ridden with that leave me in the dust simply because they believe bikes ALWAYS have the right of way and refuse to stop for any reason pisses me off to no end. You're not in the Tour de France fucko, you're riding a highway in the middle of America, where most people would rather mow you down than pay attention to the road. If you aren't riding defensively and paying attention to other vehicles? When you get killed, I'm not gonna mourn you.

  17. Tempe Police are corrupt by cpm99352 · · Score: 2

    Please don't forget that the Tempe Police Dept. immediately placed all blame on the pedestrian. We now know that the Uber car know of the obstruction and had enough braking time to have reduced it to a non-fatal accident.

    Please remember the faked darkened videos, when the street was well lit.

    I have no idea what is happening in this accident in Tempe... Any locals have a clue?

    1. Re:Tempe Police are corrupt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe don't jay walk? Even if the Uber car didn't hit them, there is a good chance they would have been hit anyway.

  18. radar known as LiDAR? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    really? no, just no. *sigh*

  19. This is probably how it went down... by twebb72 · · Score: 1

    Developer: We've just completed QA on this new feature -- autonomous Uber in manual mode
    Manager: Brilliant! We just need another 8bn round of funding and we can deploy manual mode to Pittsburg!

    1. Re:This is probably how it went down... by twebb72 · · Score: 1

      The Uber manager also doesn't know how to spell Pittsburgh

  20. And the fourth by DrYak · · Score: 1

    ...and soon, a third...

    And the fourth's job will eventually devolve into put the light show/VJ-aying for the crazy party music playlist that the third is DJ-aying over the car's sound system.

    What? What do you mean "where does the client who hired the ride actually go" ?
    Oh, if it's one of those small european cars that can only seat 2 com fortably in the back, then I guess you'll have to put the Uber client in the trunk or on the roof's ski case...
    Or he can be busy waving the red flag in front of the Uber party car.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]