Uber launches robotaxi support project to help AV partners

Uber is moving aggressively into robotaxis, striking deals with new partners and promising big investments to support its future fleets — all it can do except design and build the vehicles themselves. (I tried that once, but to no avail.) Now, the ride-hailing giant is launching a new initiative to support its third-party robot partners called Uber Autonomous Solutions.

Essentially, Uber is taking many of the things it does for its drivers and delivery companies — vehicle financing, fleet management tools, regulatory assistance — and making them available to its third-party partners in the autonomous vehicle space, companies like WIFI, We are riding, only, Guaranteedet al. It’s a recognition that many AV developers aren’t as cash-rich as Waymo, Tesla, and other leading AV developers, and could use some help defraying many of the costs associated with launching a commercial service.

Uber described it in a statement as “a comprehensive set of services and unique capabilities that are already helping partners build and successfully market self-driving vehicles in multiple markets around the world.”

This new venture will be led by Sarfaraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery, and his fast-growing team. It will be organized around three areas: infrastructure, user experience, and fleet management.

Uber’s infrastructure solutions will include training data from the company’s fleet of thousands of test vehicles driving in dozens of cities. These vehicles are not autonomous, but include many of the same sensors that robots use to “see” the world around them. Uber says this data can help its partners improve their self-driving vehicles as they seek to scale their robotaxi business more quickly. They also provide assistance with data mapping,

As for the user experience, Uber offers a range of services, from helping to design in-car software, to advising on launching new products similar to Uber Black or Uber Reserve. As for fleet assistance, Uber says it can provide access to a “comprehensive fleet management and intelligence solution that gives operators real-time visibility into every vehicle.” The company is also developing a new remote assistance platform to provide assistance when a self-driving vehicle encounters a difficult situation and needs a human eye.

Essentially, Uber is asking its AV partners to commit to the important stuff, like developing software to power self-driving, and the company will handle the rest. Since abandoning its own efforts to develop autonomous vehicle technology, Uber has ramped up its efforts to strike deals with a variety of companies, from robotaxi leaders like Waymo to delivery robot operators like Survi and Afried. The company said it wants to use its reach and scale to help self-driving vehicles spread around the world. She doesn’t just want to work with a few AV players, she wants to work with all of them.

To be sure, these services won’t be completely free for Uber partners. “Our primary focus is helping our partners scale effectively rather than maximizing near-term income,” Noah Edwardsen, an Uber spokesman, said in an email. “In many cases, the value or costs associated with the support we provide will be factored into the economics of the partnership itself. In other cases, specific services may be negotiated on a more individual basis.”