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Uber is Exploring Autonomous Bikes and Scooters (techcrunch.com)
Uber is looking to integrate autonomous technology into its bike and scooter-share programs. Details are scarce, but according to 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson, who said Uber announced this at a DIY Robotics event over the weekend, the division will live inside Uber's JUMP group, which is responsible for shared electric bikes and scooters. From a report: The new division, Micromobility Robotics, will explore autonomous scooters and bikes that can drive themselves to be charged, or drive themselves to locations where riders need them. The Telegraph has since reported Uber has already begun hiring for this team. "The New Mobilities team at Uber is exploring ways to improve safety, rider experience, and operational efficiency of our shared electric scooters and bicycles through the application of sensing and robotics technologies," Uber's ATG wrote in a Google Form seeking information from people interested in career opportunities.
Wouldn't they, uh... fall over?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I'm waiting for autonomous shoes that walk over to me and put themselves on.
Who needs this? Who is asking for this? What is the problem that this is trying to solve? I guess my point is what the fuck is wrong with these people?
with delusions of grandeur. Maybe if they waited for the technology to be commoditized they wouldn't be burning cash as badly as if they fed it to a bonfire heating their offices.
Now bikes can drive people into a lake instead of people dumping bikes there. Be nice to the machines or feel their wrath.
for autonomous cargo bikes for local deliveries.
Where will they drive? On the road? On the sidewalk? Either way they would be a menace to cars and/or pedestrians. It's hard enough to see a rider on a bike, imagine dealing with a riderless scooter (basically a skateboard with tiny handle) zipping down a busy sidewalk or street. Then again, maybe the entire purpose of this is to get the rental devices to drive themselves from the private property where they are abandoned (or stolen), back to a public sidewalk where they can be retrieved by the owners without legal complications.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
I'll save them a bunch of money: this will never work. But that won't stop them from trying it and then giving up after spending millions.
How much do I get to sue for when one of these runs into me?
Seriously though, with enough sensors to not be a safety hazard, and an expensive lithium battery, these thing will become prized collectibles to hackers everywhere.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
In Soviet Uber, Segway leans YOU.
Self-righting scooters?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I would love to hear why this would be viable to spend a ton of money developing autonomous scooters and bikes. I'm sure everyone who rides a bike or scooter wants this.
I foresee an autonomous Uber vehicle running over someone on an autonomous Uber bicycle.
One of the reasons I'm not a fan of bike hire places is that you have to end your trip at a bike station, which is usually not close enough to my destination (not enough bike stations in my city). This could allow me to hop off, and let the bike return itself to the nearest depot - that would be really convenient.
I had 2 rounds of interviews there and I've never left a set of interviews more terrified about the product they were making than getting the job. I honestly don't even know what qualifies as 'whistleblowing' but if anyone is interested:
They're playing fast and loose trying to be 'first to market' ignoring a lot of testing. The software that killed the woman should have never made it past hardware in the loop test bench. That was a trivial error.
They're using public streets like closed test courses. They think the TUV is just a bunch of 'academics' that don't understand how to make software. Complying with ISO26262 "Slows development down too much" so they ignore it.
I was being recruited because of my experience in other functional safety areas (Medical, Industrial, Aerospace). The interview vs all of the other interviews I had were night and day. They were treating automated driving like it was some node.js framework or some mobile app and not as a life or death piece of code.
Not that my industry experience has always been great. Aerospace is so conservative and far behind that new development is on 68k. The heavy equipment and existing automotive companies & suppliers (CASE, Veoneer) are a fairly nice mix of "we need to make sure this doesn't kill people" and "Here's some 68k assembly".
Uber on the other hand.... I would hate to have my name attached to any projected near ATG. The NTSB and TUV are eventually going to come knocking. Uber is going to get more people killed in the name of profit and first to market.
If I see this scooter shit in my town, it's not going to be around long.
. .Go ahead, make my day.
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They might want to try something with less inertia when it impacts other peoples property.
Putting autonomous vehicles on existing roads is just plain dumb. Probably right up there with launching a Tesla into space.
Everybody knows that. Just like sharks with freakin' laserbeams.
Red pill