Uber will start testing the world’s first autonomous¹ taxi fleet in the next few weeks, putting it ahead of Google and Ford² in the race to bring self-driving car services to consumers.

优步(Uber)将在几周内启动世界首支自动驾驶出租车车队的测试，这使其在把自动驾驶车辆服务带给消费者的竞赛中走在谷歌(Google)和福特(Ford)的前面。

The new fleet is part of a partnership³ between Uber and Volvo that will see the companies jointly⁴ invest $300m to develop a new self-driving vehicle.

这支新车队是优步和沃尔沃(Volvo)的合作的一部分，两家公司将共同投资3亿美元开发一款新的自动驾驶汽车。

Uber customers in Pittsburgh will soon be able to hail the first self-driving test vehicles, which will be Volvo XC90s, from their smartphones. Drivers will remain behind the wheel during the pilot, which will be free for passengers.

匹兹堡的优步客户很快就能通过自己的智能手机，叫到这些首批自动驾驶测试车辆，车型将是沃尔沃XC90。在试行阶段，司机依然会坐在驾驶座，试行期间服务对乘客将是免费的。

At the same time, Uber announced it had bought Otto, a maker⁵ of self-driving technology for trucks, its largest acquisition to date.

同时，优步宣布已收购自动驾驶卡车技术开发公司奥托(Otto)，这是优步迄今最大的一笔收购交易。

Uber has been investing heavily in driverless technologies, which chief executive Travis Kalanickbelieves will be a cornerstone of future city transportation⁶ networks. “Uber’s mission — to provide transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone — is not possible without moving into this kind of technology,” Mr Kalanick told the Financial Times.

优步一直在大力投资无人驾驶技术，其首席执行官特拉维斯•卡兰尼克(Travis Kalanick)认为，这种技术将成为未来城市交通网络的基石。“不上马这种技术，优步就不可能实现自己的使命——在每个地方为每个人提供像自来水一样可靠的交通服务，”卡兰尼克告诉英国《金融时报》。

The tie-up with Volvo underscores how the advent⁷ of self-driving cars is rapidly changing the industry, forcing tech start-ups and traditional carmakers to decide whether to work together or compete. The decision of Uber to pick Volvo as its development partner is a coup⁸ for the Swedish carmaker best known for its focus on safety.

优步和沃尔沃的合作凸显出自动驾驶汽车的到来正如何飞速地改变这个行业，迫使科技创业型企业和传统汽车制造商决定是要合作还是要竞争。优步选择沃尔沃作为发展合作伙伴的决定，让这家以注重安全而著称的瑞典汽车制造商喜出望外。

“We see this as the first step in a long-term industrial partnership,” Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo chief executive, told the Financial Times. He added that smart maps may be another area of future co-operation between the two companies.

“我们把这看成一段长期行业伙伴关系的第一步，”沃尔沃首席执行官霍坎•萨穆埃尔松(Hakan Samuelsson)告诉英国《金融时报》。他补充到，智能地图可能是两家公司未来合作的另一个领域。

The acquisition of Otto will heighten Uber’s driverless competition with Google owner Alphabet, at a time when Google’s own head of driverless technology has recently left. Otto was founded by several prominent ex-Alphabet employees including Anthony Levandowski.

谷歌(Google)自己的无人驾驶技术主管不久前离职，优步在这样一个时候收购奥托(Otto)，会加剧优步在无人驾驶方面与谷歌(Google)的东家Alphabet的竞争。奥托正是由包括安东尼•列万多夫斯基(Anthony Levandowski)在内的几位杰出的Alphabet前员工创立的。

Uber’s effort to develop driverless cars began last year, when it poached dozens of researchers from the robotics department of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and set up its own research centre in the city.

优步开发无人驾驶汽车的努力始于去年。当时，它从位于匹兹堡的卡内基梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University)的机器人系挖走了数十名研究人员，并在该市成立了自己的研究中心。

Otto’s investors⁹ will receive an equity¹⁰ stake in Uber of slightly less than 1 per cent, as well as 20 per cent of profits from Uber’s future trucking business.

奥托的股东们将获得略低于1%的优步股份，以及优步未来卡车业务20%的利润。

The deal also marks Uber’s first foray into long-haul trucking.

该协议也标志着优步首次涉足远途卡车运输业务。

One component¹¹ of Uber’s driverless car research is developing its own maps and mapping software, and the company is prepared to spend half a billion dollars on mapping efforts around the world. Uber already has mapping vehicles gathering¹² images and data on roads in the US and Mexico.

优步无人驾驶汽车研究的一个方面是开发优步自己的地图和地图测绘软件，该公司准备斥资5亿美元用于世界各地的地图测绘。目前，优步已经拥有多辆地图测绘车，在美国和墨西哥的各条道路上收集图像和数据。

The founders¹³ of Otto said in a blog post that they were combining with Uber to “build the backbone¹⁴ of the rapidly-approaching self-driving freight system”. The company has been testing an “interstate autopilot” system that allows drivers to snooze in their cabs.

奥托创始人在一篇博客文章中表示，他们与优步联手是为了“打造即将问世的自动驾驶货运系统的骨架”。该公司近来在测试一种“跨州自动驾驶”系统，有了这个系统，司机在车上打瞌睡也没关系。

Mr Samuelsson said the partnership would reduce its development costs by half, and boost volumes through the sale of cars to Uber.

萨穆埃尔松表示，双方的合作会让开发成本减半，通过让沃尔沃向优步销售汽车，这种合作还将提振沃尔沃的销量。