Check out the halo on this robotaxi from Uber and Lucid
The sensor array, which include solid-state lidar, seemingly floats above the vehicle’s roof.
The sensor array, which include solid-state lidar, seemingly floats above the vehicle’s roof.
Uber brought its new robotaxis to CES, giving us our best look yet at the luxurious, upgraded Lucid Gravity SUVs before their public launch later this year.
Last year, Lucid, Uber, and Nuroannounced a massive robotaxi deal that would see the deployment of 20,000 autonomous vehicles in the US over the next six years. The fleet will be owned by Uber or a third-party fleet management partner and the first city where service will belaunched will be San Francisco.
At first glance, the floating rooftop sensor array is the thing that stands out the most to me. Uber is calling it a “purpose-built, roof-mounted halo,” which is a fitting description, because it does look a halo floating a couple inches above the actual roof. Contrast that with Waymo, which places their sensor array, which includes lidar and cameras, flush against the roof of their vehicles.
Uber and Lucid also included lighting accents that encircle the halo sensor array to really accentuate it and make it more visible to surrounding vehicles and pedestrians. And there are LED screens on the front and sides to display messages like “Hello” as well as identifying details like the rider’s initials. (Shades ofBeacon, Uber’s first windshield display.)
Inside the vehicle, a passenger display will track the vehicle’s progress throughout the trip, similar to Waymo. Riders can also use the screen to access settings like heated seats, music selection, or remote customer assistance. The Lucid Gravity can seat up to six passengers and will be powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computers.
These vehicles arebeing built at Lucid’s factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, after which they are transported to the automaker’s headquarters in Newark, California. There, a team from Nuro installs the sensors and other hardware for autonomous driving. But this process is unique to the engineering prototype; eventually, the retrofitting will take place on Lucid’s assembly line ahead of deployment.
We’ll have more to say about these vehicles later this week, including interviews with some of the designers, so stay tuned for that!
- Andrew J. Hawkins
More inTransportation
