Lyft Self-Driving Car CES 2019 Preview

During CES 2019 companies really like to push and showcase the latest in technology. While self-driving cars are nothing new, what I've seen thus far really hasn't been applicable in regular situations. That changed with a special drive I went on with the Lyft self-driving car. This wasn't a terribly long trip, but a decent idea of what this was all about.

The event takes place within Las Vegas for some extra context. I went from the Mandalay area where Unveiled was taking place and was taken to the Aria. They're not allowed to have the cars running on private property, so a driver had to handle the vehicle in parking lots. That aside, two "drivers" were also present despite there legally only needing to be one. This setup was supplied through Aptiv, they didn't have a presskit which was odd.

Anyways, they answered questions and generally made sure the vehicle went along fine. The driver kept their hands away from the wheel while on the main road and the vehicle just drove. It came across as precise and efficient, I didn't notice much of a difference. It was fascinating to take a look at the various screens showcasing what the car was seeing and sadly I wasn't allowed to take any photos.

The car registered the scenery, understood the signals and tracked well. It would take a longer trip to really see what this system can do, but I was impressed with it. I certainly see this being something that could take over public transit sooner than later. Of course, we'll probably see this autonomy with Lyft and Uber first though that may take a bit. Whatever the case, it was a neat thing to do. You can read what else I saw while at CES 2019 below in the hub, or in other articles.

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