Uber is getting on the driverless car bandwagon, announcing a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University Monday aimed toward providing rides without drivers.
The partnership will see the launch of a research center in Pittsburgh for developing driverless vehicles, as well as funding from the ride-sharing service for faculty chairs and graduate fellowships at Carnegie Mellon, according to the Associated Press.
Pittsburgh is among the 200 cities in which Uber gives rides, with other cities in Pennsylvania allowing the service including Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
The San Francisco-based company has been hinting at using driverless cars for at least the past year, with CEO Travis Kalanick suggesting that using these cars would mean customers wouldn't have to pay as much for rides, CNBC reported.
"This is the way the world is going," Kalanick said at last year's Code Conference.
However, experts say the high cost of producing vehicles and lack of regulation for driverless cars will keep the technology from getting on the road anytime soon.
Uber said it will use the Uber Advanced Technologies Center to develop mapping and safety technologies needed for its mission of providing a reliable service, the AP reported. Carnegie Mellon and Uber say they've chosen a spot near the university's National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood as the location for the lab.
The project has already received praise from Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, who said the lab serves as another example of the city being a center of innovation.
