Google takes another step towards launching its own self-driving Uber-killer with new patent

Google has a lot of self-driving cars that have driven a lot of kilometers, but so far, no commercial use for them. But that could change if the Silicon Valley giant moves its rumored plans of developing an autonomous ride-sharing network to compete with Uber and Lyft. Recently, Google filed a patent application that could be seen as the first shot across Uber’s bow.


The application, first detected earlier this month by the website Patent Yogi, is for efficiently determining pickup and destination locations for autonomous vehicles. Google says it wants to operate fully self-driving cars where passengers provide some initial input, such as a pickup or destination location, and the vehicle maneuvers itself to that location.

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