Many of the world’s largest brands have been competing to launch the first driverless car. From the technology giants that are Google, to car manufacturers such as BMW and Audi, everyone seems to be working on autonomous driving in some way shape or form.
Successful ride-hailing application, Uber, are undoubtedly one of the key players in this forever-in-development space, having been working on their technology for some time now. However, recent rumours suggest that Uber are set to sell their technology to car manufacturers, Toyota, another brand putting autonomous driving as a priority.
Focusing primarily on their van division, Toyota look to utilise Uber’s technology for their minivans. Wanting to offer self-drive functionality; a deal is apparently under negotiation.
Whilst nothing has been set in stone, rumours filled the tech world after Shigeki Tomoyama, a Toyota executive Vice President, met with Uber CEO; Dara Khosrowshahi. Meeting in Pittsburgh, the get-together was held at the same location as Uber’s research and development team.
“We regularly exchange information about automated driving with Uber for some time now,” a spokeswoman for Toyota told.
Driving ahead of the competition
In addition to Toyota, Uber are also reported to be in talks with a range of other businesses, wanting to sell their driverless technology to a collection of third-party partners. By doing so, Uber leap in front of the competition; constantly making movements to outshine Google’s Waymo project.
Waymo is a driverless taxi service that Google have been given kudos for across the globe. Having proven the concept in Phoenix, Google now look to develop a driverless truck option. But, who will win the race to roll out complete driverless car technology to the masses? Let us know what you think by leaving your comments below.
