(Living)

Self-Driving Ubers Are About To Be A Thing

by Laura Lajiness Kaupke

Uber fanatics, brace yourselves. The on-demand car service is sending its first self-driving automobiles into the world this month, starting in Pittsburgh. Semi-autonomous vehicles will be assigned at random to customers booking rides through the company’s app with a test fleet consisting of modified Volvo XC90 SUVs. Each car will have a human co-pilot slash engineer to supervise (because ya know, legal requirements), monitor performance and take control of the car if need be. Each customer greeted by a self-driving Uber will earn themselves a free trip complete with a tablet in the backseat to inform the car’s capabilities. Like, whoa. While fully independent Uber’s are still a long ways away, for now, we’re kind of feeling a jaunt to Pittsburgh to witness the futuristic mode of transportation firsthand. Who’s with us?