Uber announced its close, strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon University on February 2. The purpose of this partnership is for the company to utilize the university's expertise in computer science, and specifically the know-how of the robotics center. Uber will set up its own Advanced Technologies Center next to the university's campus in Pittsburgh to study what is required for the safe circulation of autonomous vehicles, as is evident from the announcements.
At the same time, according to exclusive information from Bloomberg, this move by Uber is provoking the reaction of its biggest investor. Google, through its investment arm, Google Ventures, invested in 2013 about $258 million in the company that became known for organizing rides with private cars (car sharing service). Meanwhile, Google has set high expectations regarding mobility through autonomous vehicles, as it plans to have them on American roads within two to five years. According to Bloomberg's estimates, a rift appears between the two companies, from which the big loser will be Uber, mainly due to its reliance on Google's analytical maps.
Nvidia is also betting on powerful chips for driverless cars
Indeed, both companies seem to have reasons to consider the scenario of autonomous taxi circulation realistic, without a driver, thanks to maps rich in precise information, sensors of all kinds, and advanced software. Google's autonomous vehicles have traveled more than a thousand kilometers without causing any accident, the Google engineers have declared with pride.
Source: in.gr
