ADVERTISEMENT Uber is exploring plans to turn its driver network into a large-scale data collection platform for autonomous vehicle (AV) companies, according to comments made by the company’s chief technology officer at a technology event in San Francisco. Speaking at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event, Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said the company eventually wants to equip human-driven vehicles with sensor kits capable of collecting real-world driving data for AV developers and other artificial intelligence systems focused on physical-world environments. Naga said the initiative would build on Uber’s recently launched AV Labs program, which currently operates through a small fleet of sensor-equipped vehicles managed directly by the company rather than through its driver network. “That is the direction we want to go eventually,” Naga said, referring to outfitting drivers’ cars with sensors. He added that regulatory clarity around the use of sensors and data-sharing requirements across different states would be necessary before broader deployment. Also read: Meta developing OpenClaw-style AI agent ‘Hatch’ for consumers: Report According to Naga, access to large-scale driving data has become one of the key constraints for autonomous vehicle development. He said AV companies need extensive datasets covering different traffic patterns, locations, and road scenarios to train their systems effectively. Uber currently partners with 25 autonomous vehicle companies, including Wayve , and is building what Naga described as an “AV cloud” — a repository of labelled sensor data that partner companies can access for training and simulation purposes. The company said AV partners can also use Uber’s systems to run their trained models in “shadow mode,” allowing simulations of how autonomous vehicles would perform during real Uber trips without deploying fully driverless cars on roads. Uber exited its own self-driving car development efforts several years ago, but has since expanded partnerships and investments across the autonomous vehicle ecosystem.