Uber self-driving robotaxis are coming to UK roads NEXT YEAR
UBER is set to trial driverless robotaxis in London next spring, where passengers could be driven by artificial intelligence (AI) in place of a human.
The ride-hailing app has partnered with UK AI firm Wayve, which has been testing autonomous vehicles in the capital with human oversight.
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A driverless car being tested by Uber in Pittsburgh, PA
Credit: Alamy
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Uber has previously said it intends to introduce fleets of driverless cars to its UK app as soon as legislation allows
Credit: Getty
The pilot will be the first of its kind for the company, Uber said in a statement.
It is not yet clear whether the vehicles in Uber's trial will be available for customers to use.
The company said it is still working out the details.
If all goes well, passengers may soon be able to take Uber rides without a safety driver present.
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Uber has previously said it intends to introduce fleets of driverless cars to its UK app as soon as legislation allows.
Such journeys have become commonplace in the US, namely San Francisco, home to Google's driverless taxi firm
Andrew MacDonald, president and chief operating officer of Uber, said the partnership with Wayve would help "to make autonomy a safe and reliable option for riders everywhere."
"This is a defining moment for UK autonomy," Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall said in a statement.
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"With Uber and a global OEM partner, we're preparing to put our AI Driver technology into real service on the streets of London."
Watch moment passenger left TRAPPED in driverless car 'going round in circles' after robot taxi malfunctions
The trial has been made possible following a change in UK regulation that aims to get driverless cars on the road sooner.
The UK government was originally aiming for the tech to come to British roads in 2026, then the date was changed to the second half of 2027.
However, the government's new stance is that it wants them on the roads sooner, and so it's introducing an accelerated framework for small autonomous "bus and taxi like" commercial services.
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The legislation will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as 'competent and careful human drivers', the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
Driverless vehicles are hoped to reduce road deaths and injuries, as their systems will be more fault-proof than humans.
The development of automated vehicle technology could create 38,000 jobs in the UK and add £42billion to the economy by 2035, according to the DfT.
It's unclear how many customers will opt for a driverless vehicle over a car with a human behind the wheel.
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The experience still appears fairly daunting - even for
It comes as Uber plans to take on the skies over Italy's Amalfi Coast.
The company has announced that high-flying customers will be able to book helicopters in minutes.
Read more on the Irish Sun
From 26 July to 23 August, travellers on Italy's Amalfi Coast can reserve a private Uber Copter to ferry them between Sorrento and Capri.
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Using the Uber app, passengers can book helicopter travel for €250 (around £184) per head to beat summer crowds.
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It comes as Uber plans to take on the skies over Italy's Amalfi Coast
Credit: Getty
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The trial has been made possible following a change in UK regulation that aims to get driverless cars on the road sooner
Credit: Getty
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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
I took a ride in AI-powered robotaxis set to hit UK – they have more gadgets than James Bond but I missed key element
AS my odd-looking taxi pulled up, it was comforting to know that the driver couldn't have downed a skinful the night before. And I was certain this cabbie wouldn't spend the journey telling me why my football team, 6 Robot Jaguar I-PACE has a light on top that displays the name of the person it is picking up Credit: Paul Edwards 6 The Sun's Oliver sitting in a Waymo vehicle waiting for it to take him on his 1.6-mile journey Credit: Paul Edwards 6 Navigating a multi-lane highway with no one at the wheel as traffic whizzes by Credit: Paul Edwards That's because there wasn't a human behind the steering wheel. I was about to take a ride in an AI-powered robotaxi. They are coming to Britain next year after driverless vehicles were given the go-ahead. Ride-hailing app Uber will be allowed to put passengers' lives in the hands of artificial intelligence in London. For someone who has struggled to comprehend tech since the invention of the SodaStream, this ride was a frightening prospect. Well, would you get on an airliner without a pilot? READ MORE ON ROBOTAXIS Gazing out on to the busy freeway in Phoenix, Arizona, with giant SUVs motoring past, I had a similar pang of nerves about riding in the driverless contraption that had come to pick me up. More gadgets than Bond I had read some horror stories about robotaxies going rogue. In 2021, a self-driving car in the sunbelt city became confused by traffic cones then drove away from a technician sent to rescue it. Eventually the Waymo motor had to be disabled so a human driver could get behind the wheel. The passenger filmed the 33-minute debacle and plastered it on YouTube. Most read in Motors Last year a General Motors-owned Cruise robotaxi struck and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet in San Francisco. The woman — who was injured — survived the ordeal. And in 2018 a cyclist was killed by an Uber cyber car with a safety driver in Phoenix. Watch moment passenger left TRAPPED in driverless car 'going round in circles' after robot taxi malfunctions The back-up driver had been looking down to watch The Voice TV show which he was streaming when Elaine Herzberg, 49, crossed a darkened road in front of her. It was the first fatal collision involving a fully autonomous vehicle. Nevertheless, with self-driving cars being touted as the Booking my ride was simple. I downloaded the app of Waymo One — a self-drive firm owned by Google's parent company Alphabet — and punched in my details along with where I wanted to go. With the thermometer hitting 39C in this desert city, I was on the hunt for a nice, cool pint of Guinness and was told Casey Moore's Oyster House was the place to go. At least there would be no argument about designated drivers. Soon I was tracking the Waymo on my phone as it surged to my hotel through the early rush-hour traffic. And then the gleaming white Jaguar I-PACE came into view — with no one at the wheel. On the roof was something that looked like a giant police blue light with my initials displayed on it. Unlocking its door with the app, I sat in the back (no one is allowed in the driver's seat) as the Waymo played calming elevator music. 6 Screen on dashboard to greet passenger and button they must press to get going Credit: Paul Edwards 6 Booking a ride on app, which is also used to unlock the door Credit: Paul Edwards I pressed a screen between the front seats saying 'start ride'. Then, a bit like KITT, the car from Eighties TV series Knight Rider, Waymo began talking. As we pulled smoothly away from the hotel forecourt, the robotaxi told me to buckle up. And then, with the steering wheel spinning as if by some invisible force, we eased into the Phoenix traffic as I let out an involuntary 'whoaa!' On the opposite side of the road cars were whizzing towards us but all-electric Waymo deftly navigated the right path before pulling up at a red light. How did it know it was red? That's one for the brainiacs. Swinging left into East Apache Boulevard, I caught sight of a couple of pedestrians ahead. How would the cyber motor react? My Waymo One slowed and made sure to give them a wide berth. That's because it is bristling with more gadgets than a James Bond car. Its sensors include cameras, radars and something called lidars which use lasers to create a 3D image of the vehicle's surroundings. The in-car computer then makes sense of all the data that Waymo is gathering. And, learning to trust the tech, I was soon beginning to relax. All speed limits were observed and driving rules obeyed. The ride was smooth and felt safe. Perhaps I was better off without a driver after all. Wayve's technology operates more like a human driver would learning to drive in one city and then applying that knowledge to drive in new places. Bill Gates Britain's Department for Transport estimates that 88 per cent of road accidents are caused by human error. Soon we were pulling up outside the pub. Keeping the rear door open a little too long, an actual human called Brian came through on Waymo's intercom to check I was OK. He was certainly more amenable than Johnny, the robot driver of the taxi in 1990 sci-fi flick Total Recall, who My 14-minute journey over 1.6 miles had cost $9.33 (just over £7). And, unlike most things in America, there was no need to add a tip. Waymo One serves 180 square miles of Arizona's capital — that makes Phoenix the largest fully autonomous ride-hail service zone in the world. After a couple of pints, I decided to summon another Waymo. Not arriving at the front of the pub as I had imagined, it headed to- wards a park- ing lot at the back. Would the robotaxi be able to navigate this manoeuvre? In May this year another empty Waymo trying to pick up its ride collided with a telephone pole in a Phoenix alleyway. No one was injured but pictures show a fire crew attending the scene with the robotaxi suffering a crumpled front grill. Hunk of metal Waymo voluntarily recalled its 672-car fleet for a software update in what the company called a 'safety-first approach'. The crash was put down to the robotaxi's software having 'assigned a low damage score' to the pole. It had misjudged the danger because there was no kerb or clear road edge. My Waymo pulled into the parking lot smoothly and confidently. But, unlike many humans, could it parallel park? Indeed it could and reversing is no problem either. And — despite having sampled some local beverages — there was no barked warning: 'Mate, you're not going to be sick in my cab, are you?' Soon this taxi was traversing the two miles to Society restaurant like a London cabbie with The Knowledge. The 11-minute ride cost $13.31 (£10.25). Again, no tip required by the computer chip and its hunk of metal. With millions employed as drivers across the globe, tech titans are investing billions in robo vehicle technology for what they see as a lucrative driverless future. 6 Johnny drives Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1990 sci-fi flick Total Recall Last year Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's Cybercab at the Warner Bros studio lot in Hollywood. The world's richest man insisted that the sleek, golden two-seater car without a steering wheel or pedals will be on sale 'before 2027'. Meanwhile Amazon-owned Zoox's self-driving cars will soon be available to the public in Las Vegas. In Scotland a robobus with a back-up driver plies a route over the Forth Road Bridge. Wuhan in China — where Covid was first detected — has more than 400 self-driving Apollo Go cars taking passengers. Tech giant Baidu delayed increasing the fleet to a thousand after complaints by human taxi drivers. A cab firm in the city accused the robotaxis of 'taking jobs from the grass roots'. It will be far from the last time humans protest about losing their jobs to AI-powered robots. Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world leaders in new technology. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander Over here, the UK start-up Wayve will be teaming up with Uber for its taxi service next spring. If all goes well, the plan is to roll out these services across the country in the second half of 2027 when last year's Automated Vehicles Act comes fully into force. Founded in 2017 by New Zealand-born Alex Kendall, Wayve believes it can produce robocars that are safer and cheaper than anyone else by giving the car 'its own brain.' Its AI-driven software can be used to make any car self-driving using cameras. The live images are used to train itself to drive by visual observation. Microsoft founder Bill Gates went for a ride to get fish and chips in a Wayve-powered motor — with a back-up driver — while in London. The tech giant said: 'Other self-driving technologies work only on specific mapped streets. 'Wayve's technology operates more like a human driver would learning to drive in one city and then applying that knowledge to drive in new places.' In May, Wayve raised $1.05billion (£840million) in funding, with Microsoft and Nvidia, a leading chip-maker, among investors. It is the largest known investment in an AI company in Europe to date. According to the Department for Transport, the UK cybercar industry could be worth £42billion and create 38,000 jobs by 2035. This week, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'The future of transport is arriving. 'Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world leaders in new technology.' Back in Phoenix, I summoned another Waymo for a ride back to my hotel. By now I was relaxed enough to enjoy the experience of being driven through the night-time streets by a machine seemingly with a mind of its own. Yet, as the journey progressed, I realised I was missing something. There was no round-up of the Champions League scores and no chat about the most famous person to ride in the cab. Waymos don't do banter. You still need a human driver for that.
Extra.ie
2 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Twix joins list of ads banned from Irish and UK TV
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) caused quite a stir this week for their move to pull a 70s-themed advertisement for chocolate bar, Twix, due to the alleged promotion of 'unsafe driving.' The advertisement was released in March of this year but has since been banned by the ASA following five complaints that the footage 'condoned unsafe driving.' The commercial sees two cars involved in a car chase with the man in the first car putting the foot down in order to get away from the car chasing him. The advertisement was released in March of this year but has since been banned by the ASA following five complaints that the footage 'condoned unsafe driving.' Pic: Twix The man then takes a sharp turn which leads the vehicle to come off the side of the road and overturn a number of times before ending up overturned on top of an identical car, similar to the two bars in a Twix. The ASA acknowledged that there were 'fantastical elements' in the ad but upheld the complaints and ruled the advertisement could not appear in its current form again. Agencies such as the ASA and the ASAI (Avertising Standards Authority of Ireland) work to regulate TV commercials within their countries. View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@extradotie) Following the latest banned advertisement, take a look at five more advertisements that have been pulled across Irish and/or British TV. In 2023, the ASAI banned a piggybank commercial which had been created for Bank of Ireland due to the idea that the ad 'normalised the illegal and environmentally corrupt practice of backyard burning.' The television ad promoted Bank of Ireland's Big Move initiative to help consumers switch banks with ease, following the withdrawal of two banks from the market. The objected scene showed a man and a woman standing over a burning barrel, with the narrator saying: 'Break-ups are always a bit messy.' The woman, holding a money jar in the shape of a hippo then says: 'They gave me this when we first met' – before throwing the jar into the burning barrel. Despite the bank highlighting that no materials were 'actually fully burnt,' the ASAI complaints committee found that apart from limited circumstances, the backyard burning of waste was illegal and subject to prosecution, therefore the ad was banned. Going back to 2017, the commercials watchdog pulled a cinema advertisement for car brand Nissan due to the depiction of bullying and gender sterotypes. The two and a half minute video sees a young boy, who does errands for an elderly neighbour, beaten up by a group of older boys every time he does the errands for the elderly lady. The bullying continues throughout the years, with the youngster becoming more and more withdrawn as a result. Meanwhile, his little sister decides to join a martial arts class and is eventually able to step into defend her brother. No violence is shown throughout the ad, however, the young boy is seen with cuts and bruises on a number of occassions. Following the finale where the sister defends her brother, the siblings transform into cars. The ad was banned when the ASAI ruled that the message was 'that violence could be used to revolve issues and that it was an appropriate response to bullying.' Pic: Youtube Period product Tampax' Tampax and Tea advertisement was banned in Ireland in 2020 with the ASAI committee ruling that it 'should not run in the same format again,' due to being offensive. With almost 100 complaints made to the watchdog, complainants found the advertisement offensive, crude and vulgar. The advertisement came in the from of a fake talk show with the host asking her guest and audience members if they can feel their tampon before telling them that they shouldn't and explaining it might not be inserted properly. 'Ya gotta get it up there girls!' the host then exclaims. Despite the ASAI noting that the ad had provided 'factual information in a manner that was neither explicit nor graphic,' it was banned from Irish TV. Beer brand Heineken have had Formula 1 star Max Verstappen on board as an ambassador in recent months, with the promotion of their 0.0 beer and campaign: 'The best driver is the one who is not drinking.' While many will be familiar with the TV advertisement, the Dutch company were left with no choice but to remove the advertisement on social media due to failure in meeting advertising standards. The paid social media advert saw the Verstappen holding a bottle of the non-alcoholic alternative and the slogan: 'The best driver is the one who is not drinking.' Unfortunately, the standard alcohol Heineken logo was on the bottom of the photograph, instead of the alcohol free logo with the UK watchdog ruling that there wasn't 'sufficiently prominent statement of the product's abv.' They said: 'The only reference in the ad to abv was the label on the bottle of Heineken 0.0 beer held by Max Verstappen. However, the bottle was relatively small, especially comparing the text on the label to the image of Max Verstappen, who was the focus of the ad. 'We therefore did not consider that was a sufficiently prominent statement of the product's abv.' Ahead of the Six Nations in 2012, the BBC pulled their promotional trailer due to fears of it would be perceived as being anti-English. The minute-long ad sees a number of groups from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy of people beaming as they shout, 'England' in what one might think was the groups cheering the team on. A caption then reads: 'The Six Nations. It's not about who you want to win… It's about who you want to lose.' The video then cuts to a group of English supporters who are divided in who they want to see losing the tournament.
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
The UK has finally struck a deal with the EU on managing its land border with Spain
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