Uber announced this week that it has purchased Otto, a self-driving truck startup with fewer than 100 employees. The deal is estimated to be worth around $680 million, or 1 percent of Uber, reportsReuters.
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Anthony Levandowski, former member of Google's self-driving car program and Otto's co-founder, will lead Uber and Otto's combined driving efforts in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Pittsburg. He'll lead ventures involving personal transportation as well as trucking and delivery services. As part of the deal, Otto employees will receive a fifth of profits Uber earns from the self-driving truck division, if certain targets are met.
On its blog, Otto points out a number of problems related to trucking that autonomous technology could improve. Trucks account for nearly 9.5 percent of all driving fatalities, according to government data, although they drive just 5.6 percent of all miles on U.S. roads. Large trucks also create 28 percent of all road pollution, although they make up just 1 percent of vehicles on the road, Otto says. However, a recent article also pointed out driverless trucks could cost millions of jobs.
Otto isn't the only company working on a self-driving big rig. Mercedes-Benz recently tested three autonomous Actros trucks on the streets of Europe. The trucks traveled for two days from Stuttgart, Germany to Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Uber recently also partnered up with Volvo on autonomous cars. The deal, said to be worth $300 million, involves testing autonomous technologies on a new Volvo base vehicle. Volvo will also provide Uber with 100 self-driving XC90 vehicles to run on the streets of Pittsburg by the end of the year.
Check out the video below for a look at Otto's self-driving truck technology.
When I tell people I write about cars, the most common reply I receive is “Really?” I guess I never strike people as a car type as I drive down the freeway in the right lane going 60 mph in my old SUV. My gripes about driving in city traffic and fast drivers don’t help my case, either. For a time, the only cars I liked were old cars. Not old as in "classic" or "vintage," but as in well-worn. My first appreciation of cars came when I drove a very old Ford pickup. It wasn't perfect: I used a booster seat to reach the gas pedal, and the turn signal once fell off in my hand as I was learning to drive. But the thing I valued most was the memories. It took several years for me to truly become a "car person." Being a long-time writer and an avid reader has helped me develop a healthy curiosity and a desire to know how things work. This has made cars one of the most fascinating points of study for me because they are such intricate machines. I am interested in how cars can reach 200 mph, how they can run on hydrogen, and how they can drive and park on their own. I also enjoy learning how cars can solve problems whether it be in the form of reducing pollution, minimizing traffic, or helping people stay connected on the road. Yes, maybe I’m not a gearhead. Perhaps I’m a car nerd. Either way, I very much enjoy writing about cars and helping people stay in tune with the automotive industry. I wouldn't want to be writing about anything else. And don’t get me wrong: I know how to drool over a hot car. I am fascinated by the Tesla Model S, awed by the Lamborghini Veneno, and am hopelessly obsessed with the Audi R8.
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