Uber Acquires “OTTO”, A Company That Made An Autonomous Truck

Uber acquires Otto, a start-up company that has been working on self-driving trucks. The company's Co-Founder, Anthony Levandowski is a former Google employee, who has been working on autonomous driving Vehicles.

Uber is working towards expanding its self-driving division. The company opened an Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, and has hired 50 Robotics Engineers from the Carnegie Mellon University's own self-driving lab.

Otto's technology will be used to deliver cargo, and it will be designed to work with Uber's urban city delivery service.

Otto stated that its new platform is designed to allow truck drivers to take rest while the truck is still moving, as well as create a freight network to link drivers and shippers in a way that is financially beneficial for everyone.

Uber recently announced a public self-driving pilot program in Pittsburgh. Globally, traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death. This is something that can be solved by the self-driving technology.