The tech behind Google-Uber legal beef could be ready to boom
.. Waymo alleges that six weeks before resigning, Levandowski copied 14,000 confidential files and trade secrets from his company-issued laptop. Among those files were designs for Google’s custom-designed Lidar system, the technology that gives autonomous vehicles their vision... Waymo learned of the alleged theft when a Lidar component supplier inadvertently attached machine drawings of what was said to be Uber’s Lidar circuit board in an email, a design it said is strikingly similar to Waymo’s own unique design... Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is not a fan, and his aversion to Lidar brings up some questions about how widespread its use will be. He believes radar-based visual systems are better, and is focusing on those for Tesla’s self-driving automobiles. Unlike radar, Lidar cannot penetrate fog, heavy rain, or snow, but radar has its own issues, including difficulty detecting non-moving objects and certain materials such as metallic objects... Rasgon believes that radar in conjunction with cameras may become more widely used than Lidar.“Radar is easier, cheaper, more ubiquitous,” he said in an interview. “Ideally, you would want to use the cheapest solution that you can…The performance is very good in Lidar, but if you can get by with cameras and radar, that is probably the best way to go.”.. Google’s Waymo said in the lawsuit that by designing its Lidar systems itself, it has already driven down the costs; its Lidar systems are now less than 10% of the cost of Lidar systems just a few years ago.
Uber’s Clash With Regulators Moves to Self-Driving Cars
Skirmish sets stage for first major test of nascent autonomous-driving laws
Since last Wednesday, Uber has defiantly offered rides to San Francisco customers in a handful of autonomous vehicles despite opposition from California regulators who demand the company get a state permit or pull the autos off the road.
Uber has long clashed with authorities over decades-old taxi laws, but its latest salvo could ultimately have greater repercussions for the company.
.. Other companies like Alphabet Inc.’s Google have spoken out against the patchwork of state and federal laws, but none have so brazenly defied regulators as Uber has done this past week on San Francisco’s streets.
.. An Uber executive fired back on Friday, saying the company wouldn’t apply for California’s autonomous-driving permit because its robot cars must be manned by humans, rendering them less than fully autonomous.
.. If Uber was trying to make a statement, the gambit worked. The standoff highlights Uber’s conviction that laws should be adapted to fit its business model and not the other way around, say people familiar with the company’s thinking.
.. The stakes are potentially greater for Uber with self-driving vehicles because CEO Travis Kalanick ultimately sees them replacing its 1.5 million drivers to ferry commuters, food and packages. Drivers now keep up to 75% of fares.
Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part One – Understanding Uber’s Bleak Operating Economics
There are no grounds for believing that Uber will ever be profitable, let alone justify its lofty valuation, absent perhaps the widespread implementation of driverless cars.
.. is least likely to be implemented in cities, which present far more daunting design demands that long-distance transport on highways.
.. The taxi ride company provided 290 pages of verbiage, but would not provide its net income or even annual revenues.
.. Uber is currently the most highly valued private company in the world. Its primarily Silicon Valley-based investors have a achieved a venture capital valuation of $69 billion based on direct investment of over $13 billion.
.. Uber has been aggressively pursuing global industry dominance, in the belief that the industry has been radically transformed into a “winner-take-all” market.
.. Unlike most startups, Uber did not enter the industry in pursuit of a significant market share, but was explicitly working to drive incumbents out of business and achieve global industry dominance. Uber’s huge valuation was always predicated on the dramatic growth towards global dominance.
.. Uber passengers were paying only 41% of the actual cost of their trips; Uber was using these massive subsidies to undercut the fares and provide more capacity than the competitors who had to cover 100% of their costs out of passenger fares.
.. in 2000, Amazon had a negative 50% margin, losing $1.4 billion on $2.8 billion in revenue, and the company responded by firing more than 15 percent of its workforce.[4] 2015 was Uber’s fifth year of operations; at that point in its history Facebook was achieving 25% profit margins.
Uber Aims for an Edge in Race for Self-Driving Future
Like Uber, Google is intent on developing self-driving cars for urban taxi use — reasoning that the slow speeds and relatively predictable environment of city streets that can be thoroughly, digitally mapped is the best and safest near-term purpose of autonomous vehicles. But for Uber, such cars are not a side bet but a way to be more fully in control of its business by eliminating the need for drivers who expect to be paid.
“Uber arguably has more at stake in creating self-driving cars than any other automotive entity,” Mr. Brauer said.