Uber autonomous cars are still a "scientific experiment", according to a report

Uber's autonomous cars are still not very reliable, apparently.

Business Insider reports that Uber's autonomous driving technology is still far behind its competitors like Waymo. The report, which quotes interviews with employees of the Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), compares the autonomous car project to a "scientific experiment" and states that cars "run reliably only on limited routes and well mapped. Do not make much progress on handling anymore. "

This may seem like a stern evaluation, but as BI points out, Uber has had other priorities than autonomous driving. Since the company resumed testing its autonomous cars in December following a fatal accident in Arizona, Uber is progressing much more slowly. It is possible that the cautious approach is frustrating for some employees, who may wish to see faster improvements in the underlying technology rather than security-related updates.

Another thing that could be source of internal tension: the lack of involvement of Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, whose approach would seemingly too pbadive for some.

At the same time, Business Insider notes that engineers at Uber's ATG division are very well paid, their experienced engineers earning up to $ 400,000 a year. With such remuneration, there is hardly any incentive to complain too much, many employees hoping that Uber's impending IPO could bring them even more, once again. that the company's shares will begin to be publicly traded.

Nevertheless, if Uber's autonomous cars are really so far behind, this should be a cause for concern. Uber is still very far from being a profitable business, which autonomous cars could help to change. (Unlike annoying human drivers, autonomous cars should not be paid for or clbadified as employees.) But even Uber is not entirely sure of the viability of its autonomous cars. As the company noted in its IPO, technology has "inherent risks" and may never be successful.