Uber to deploy 500 data-collection vehicles globally this year
Original: Uber to put 500 data-collection vehicles on the road this year
Why This Matters
Represents Uber's strategic pivot to become data infrastructure provider for autonomous vehicle industry
Uber revealed a prototype Hyundai Ioniq 5 fitted with 14 cameras, 8 lidar sensors, and 9 radars to collect autonomous driving data. The company plans to deploy 500 such vehicles globally in 2026, capable of collecting 2 million miles of data monthly for its 30+ AV partners including Waymo and WeRide.
Uber unveiled its first self-assembled vehicle since selling its AV division to Aurora in 2020 - a sensor-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 for data collection. The vehicle features 14 cameras, 8 solid-state lidar sensors, and 9 radars, retrofitted by partner Roush Performance with data processed through Nvidia's Dual Drive Thor computer. Uber's AV Labs division will use these vehicles to create geographically diverse training datasets for autonomous driving partners. The company already collected data from thousands of camera-equipped vehicles and hundreds of Lucid Air vehicles across dozens of cities. 50 vehicles will be deployed by summer 2026, scaling to 500 globally. This initiative supports Uber's broader autonomous vehicle strategy through its Uber Autonomous Solutions division launched in February.