Uber Self-Driving Pilot

The Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), Uber’s self-driving vehicles arm, is currently testing its self-driving system on public roads in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. This on-road testing is focused on core self-driving system development. Vehicles are operated by two safety drivers, or Mission Specialists, who are full-time Uber ATG employees; rides to members of public are not currently offered.

The objective of this pilot is to test and gather data and insight in support of a safe self-driving system. The best way to harness the power of self-driving technology for broad public benefit is to deploy it in managed fleets of shared vehicles equipped with Level 4 capability.

This approach:

• Improves access to technology which is otherwise prohibitively expensive for personal ownership and technologically more difficult to operate and maintain than a conventional vehicle, thereby familiarizing consumers and speeding adoption

• Encourages a shift away from private car ownership, thereby reducing the size of the vehicle fleet and space required for parking

• Manages the risk of increased Vehicle Miles Travelled and related sprawl, congestion, and environmental impacts by combining trips and using infrastructure more efficiently.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issues Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Regulations to which manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment must conform and certify compliance.

The U.S. DOT and NHTSA have issued:

• Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.

• Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety 2.0.

• The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has issued Automated Vehicle Testing Guidance.

• The City of Pittsburgh has established an Autonomous Testing Guidelines and Submission Process

1: Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) - LIDAR is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distances to actors and objects. Each upfitted XC90 is equipped with one, top-mounted LIDAR unit. Uber’s self-driving system utilizes a LIDAR unit with a range of over 100 meters (m).

2: Cameras - Each upfitted XC90 is equipped with cameras that provide high resolution, near-, medium-, and long-range imagery. There are cameras mounted in the sensor pod on top of the vehicle and around the vehicle for 360˚ coverage. The camera hardware and accompanying firmware are custom to the Uber self-driving system. Some of these cameras have a wide field of view and some have a narrow field of view. A system of cameras provides imagery to support near-range sensing of people and objects within 5m from vehicle, in particular to assist during pick up and drop off, lane changing, and parking.

3: Radar - Each upfitted XC90 is equipped with radars that provide object detection, ranging, and relative velocity of objects. Forward-facing radars are mounted below the headlamps, side-facing radars are mounted in the front and rear corners of the vehicle, and rear-facing radars are mounted near the ends of the bumper beam.

4: Global Positioning System (GPS) - The GPS system provides rough position to support localization, vehicle command, map data collect missions, and satellite measurements.

5: Self-Driving Computer - The self-driving computer is the main system computer running Perception, Prediction, Motion Planning, and other software. The computer hardware and firmware are custom to Uber’s self-driving system. The computer is liquid-cooled for high power heat rejection.

6: Telematics - Custom telematics hardware and software provide cellular data communication to support carrier network redundancy, secure mobile data traffic, and authenticated cloud communication.