![Google’s driverless car. - [Image credit – Steve Jurvetson, Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/11/21/660x290/b_502x220x82/googles-driverless-car-image-credit-steve-jurvetson-wikimedia-commons_1699563.jpg "Google’s driverless car. - [Image credit – Steve Jurvetson, Wikimedia Commons]")
Experts have predicted that Artificial Intelligence will rule the future, and the Self-Driving Car is one area where it could make a noticeable impact. Uber plans to induct 24,000 such cars made by Volvo at the earliest. The necessary technology is yet to be proved but Uber intends to put them into service on priority to capture the market.
Volvo is a Sweden-based company owned by Geely Automobile Holdings of China. It seems Uber and Volvo have pooled together nearly $300 million for the project because they have realized that these vehicles will be the future of transportation.
They will eliminate the need for cab drivers which will come as a relief for the passengers.
Robots will take over from humans
The New York Times reports that the self-driving car is still in its infancy. Uber and Volvo have realized that it will be a matter of time before the world gets accustomed to seeing such cars on the roads. Jeff Miller, Uber’s head of automotive alliances, has admitted that autonomous vehicles will play a major role in future. Therefore, Uber and Volvo have teamed up to cash in on the concept.
Their alliance is nearly two years old. Uber has always been serious about autonomous vehicles and was exploring the markets to locate suitable component manufacturers. The intention was to create the necessary software and hardware for driverless cars.
Subsequently, it joined Volvo to incorporate the new technologies.
There are others in the fray
The self-driving car has attracted big names in the automobile world like Ford, Tesla, and General Motors (apart from Volvo). Then there is the transportation industry, with players like Uber and Lyft, who want to expand their scope of operations.
Along with them are the technology giants like Google who are equally keen to contribute to the cause. After all, it is an example of the practical application of Artificial Intelligence.
Of course, each player has approached the issue in a different way, but the objective is the same. They have to get the driverless car on the road.
They are still in the experimental stage, the competition is tough, and the stakes are high. The onboard computers would have to be tuned to perfection to avoid accidents, and some of the prototypes are undergoing road tests. Hopes are high because the example of Mars Curiosity rover is there for all to see. It is a robot that has been operating non-stop for over five years on a distant planet.
