Uber is making headways with a value-added car service introducing a self-driving car powered by advanced navigating technology.
The launch of its driver-less car prototype had made Uber quite close to making a futuristic car service that could eventually come in handy if there are limited qualified drivers available, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Uber's self-driving test car was recently spotted navigating the streets of Pittsburgh, the publication said.
Uber's prototype car has a protruding navigation equipment on its roof, which Uber spokeswoman Trina Smith told the Pittsburgh Business Times is part of the company's research on mapping, autonomy and safety systems.
Uber's spokeswoman declined to give further details elaborating Uber's research on the self-driving car, the publication said.
This has been the work of "Uber Advanced Technologies Center" manned by robotics specialists from Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Mellon University," according to Fortune.com
The self-driving car technology has been touted to bring cost efficiency to vehicle-service and other taxi-service providers like Uber, Barclays analyst Brian A. Johnson said in a report published by Fortune.
Johnson said in the report that if 25 years from now, cars are fully autonomous and could navigate on its own, the taxi service provider saves about 34 cents a mile without the drivers pay, while the cars would be 58 percent cheaper than traditionally made cars.
Uber's daring move to establish its own self-driving car research would put it neck on neck with one of its primary investors, Google Inc (Nasdaq: GOOG).
Google has been conducting its research on driver-less car technology since 2010, and plans to release its cars by 2020.
