Uber wants to turn its drivers into a sensor grid for AV companies
5 hours ago
- #autonomous-vehicles
- #ride-sharing
- #data-collection
- Uber plans to equip human drivers' cars with sensors to collect real-world data for autonomous vehicle companies and AI model training, starting with its AV Labs program.
- The company's CTO highlighted that data access is a bottleneck for AV development, and Uber aims to become the data layer for the AV ecosystem, leveraging its global driver network.
- Uber has partnerships with 25 AV companies, is building an "AV cloud" of labeled sensor data for model training, and offers simulations through "shadow mode" on real trips.
- Although Uber claims the goal is to democratize data rather than profit, it has made equity investments in AV players, potentially gaining leverage in the sector.