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Ride-sharing technology company Uber is extending its autonomous driving pilot to San Francisco with a fleet of converted Volvo XC90s. This is the next phase in the alliance between the two companies, established in August 2016, to build vehicles that can be used to develop fully autonomous, driverless cars. An initial phase of testing was undertaken in Pittsburgh.
Volvo constructed the base vehicles, which have been sold to Uber and fitted with Uber's own self-driving hardware and software. The most visible alteration is the roof-mounted control apparatus. While the cars are driving autonomously around San Francisco an Uber technician will ride on-board to supervise the system's operation.
The alliance with Uber is one element of Volvo's three-part plan to develop autonomous driving (AD) technologies. Volvo Cars and Uber are contributing a combined $300m to the project. Uber and Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies.
In January 2017 the 'world's largest autonomous driving test' entitled Drive Me will start in Sweden. Up to 100 AD cars will be given to members of the public to use on real roads and the driver experience will shape the AD development programme.
Volvo has also established a joint venture with Autoliv, the automotive safety technology company, to set up a new jointly owned business to design and manufacture separately branded AD and driver-assistance software technology packages for sale to third-party OEMs. The new company will be based in Gothenburg, Sweden with an initial workforce taken from both companies. The company is expected to start operations in the beginning of 2017.