We’re not exactly going out a limb here when we say Uber has been something of a success these last few years. It is estimated that the company is now valued at $40 billion worldwide. Contain your envy rage there, mate.

Of course part of the reason Uber has been so successful is the fact that you know exactly who is picking you up. No more creepy guy who keeps on glancing in the rear-view mirror and winking. Instead, you can check out each driver’s rating to ensure you only ride with the cream of the crop and get home in one piece.

That could all change, it seems, as Uber is now building a robotics research lab in the USA that aims to replace drivers with self-driving cars. The mind boggles, it really does. This from Techcrunch:

Sources tell us Uber is hiring more than fifty senior scientists from Carnegie Mellon as well as from the National Robotics Engineering Center (sic)…

Uber will be developing the core technology, the vehicles, and associated infrastructure at this Pittsburgh facility, according to sources. They have already hired a number of employees and made moves to outfit them with software, including a multi-hundred-thousand dollar investment in third-party engineering workstations.

Carnegie Mellon is where the Mars Rover was developed so these guys don’t muck about. I’m sure it is still some time before anything like this hits our shores, and I am rather glad about that. Sometimes after a few too many it can be a lonely ride home without a taxi driver’s ear to chew off.

Get R150 off your first Uber ride HERE.

[source:techcrunch]