Uber has deployed two autonomous cars to the streets of Toronto for testing, although only with human drivers behind the wheel.
Company spokesperson Susie Heath told CP24 that drivers will be specially-trained operators from Pittsburgh, who are primarily helping with the completion of mapping work in and around the University of Toronto’s campus.
Volvo SUVs will be used, which carry Uber branding and have a spinning sensor attached on the roof of the vehicles for collecting mapping data. The Toronto testing follows Ontario legislation from January 2016 that allows for self-driving vehicle testing on public roads, provided certain precautions are followed, such as having a human in the driver’s seat at all times.
“We’re excited to advance the work of our Advanced Technologies Group’s Toronto lab,” Heath told CP24. “These cars will be driven manually while conducting mapping. We have also obtained a permit from the province for future development testing.”
Uber opened its Toronto driverless technology lab in early May. The lab is currently being headed by University of Toronto professor Raquel Urtasun.
This article was originally published on MobileSyrup