Tech's Fiercest Rivalry: Uber vs. Lyft

As reported by The Wall Street Journal: Forget Apple vs. Google. The fiercest battle in the tech capital may well be between two heavily financed upstarts plotting the demise of the taxi industry—and each other.

Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. operate just blocks from each other in San Francisco, yet their bitter war has spilled into dozens of cities where they are racing to provide the default app for summoning a ride within minutes.

The two rivals are undercutting each other's prices, poaching drivers and co-opting innovations, increasingly blurring the lines between the two services.

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But this is more than two tech darlings duking it out. It's a battle for a key role in the future of urban transportation. Many commuters now rely on Uber and Lyft to get around rather than taking cabs, buses or trains and, in some cases, their own cars.

The loudest opposition to the ride-sharing apps comes from regulators, taxi drivers and local taxi commissions, which have moved to ban the companies from operating, offering proof that a multibillion-dollar transportation industry has entered a phase of rapid transformation.

Meanwhile, the potential market for these companies may stretch beyond rides. Investors who bid up the value of Uber to $18.2 billion in June are betting it can expand into being the backbone of a logistics and delivery network for various services—a kind of FedEx for cities.

For now, the battle is lopsided. Uber, led by sharp-tongued technologist Travis Kalanick, operates in nearly three times as many markets as Lyft, whose co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer have crafted a friendlier image by attaching fuzzy pink mustaches to cars and encouraging passengers to greet each other with fist bumps. Uber also has four times as many employees and five times the amount of funding from investors.

But a market-share lead doesn't assure success. By dreaming up new ways to move passengers from point A to point B, Lyft and other ride-sharing startups have created new arenas of competition.  

The rivalry extends to the recruitment of new drivers, the lifeblood for the services as they attempt to build the biggest networks with the the fastest pickup times. A Lyft spokeswoman said Monday that representatives from Uber have abused its service in the past several months with the goal of poaching drivers and slowing down its network. Passengers who identify themselves as working for Uber frequently order a Lyft and then ride for only a few blocks, sometimes repeating this process dozens of times a day, she said.

Many of these representatives may actually be Uber drivers motivated to get a bounty by referring a new driver. According to an email Uber sent to drivers in May that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the company offers $250 for referring a new driver to its service; $500 for referring a Lyft driver; and $1,000 for signing up a Lyft "mentor," an experienced Lyft contractor who helps train new drivers.

A spokeswoman for Uber denied the company is intentionally ordering Lyft rides to add congestion to its competitor's service, but confirmed the company does offer recruitment incentives. "We recently ran a program where thousands of riders recruited drivers from other platforms, earning hundreds of dollars in Uber credits for each driver who tries Uber," she said.

Another salvo in their battle occurred last week, when both companies unveiled similar carpooling services within hours of each other. The two offerings, Lyft Line and Uber Pool, will both let passengers ride with strangers and split the bill, lowering the cost of regular commutes.

Uber operates in nearly three times more markets than Lyft. Pictured, an UberX driver in Washington, D.C.The Washington Post/Getty Images

Pooling customers may mean fewer rides and less revenue for ridesharing companies at first. But over time, the appeal of cheaper commutes could entice new customers to sign up and boost usage by existing riders, said Mr. Zimmer, Lyft's president.

Lyft has been developing a carpooling model for several years and acquired a team to lead the effort months ago, Mr. Zimmer said, adding, "I think it's flattering when other companies look at how we're innovating and want to do similar things."

An Uber spokeswoman said that company has been working on UberPool for several months and filed patents involving carpooling late last year.

Regarding the competition, the Uber spokeswoman said: "Uber was first to market by years, back in 2010 when nobody believed any of this was possible. We now have competitive clones on each of the five continents where we operate, and that competitive spirit is good for consumers and for the marketplace."

Lisa Gansky, an investor in smaller ride-sharing startup Sidecar, said that new features can gain popularity so quickly that it makes sense for Uber and Lyft to match one another in case something becomes a big hit. Last week, Sidecar also said it has been testing a carpool feature for several months.

Given all the money Uber has raised, it could afford to buy Lyft and end the rivalry. The smaller startup was valued at $700 million in a round of funding in April, and Uber just banked $1.2 billion from investors in June. But Mr. Kalanick has been dismissive of other startups, instead pursuing a strategy of building the most popular features in the marketplace.

The most successful clone in ride-sharing is UberX, which Uber launched in 2012 to pair amateur drivers with passengers. Up until then, Uber was a high-end car service offering Lincoln Town Cars and white-glove treatment. But just months after Lyft launched and began to popularize the concept of ride-sharing, Uber introduced its own service, becoming in the process a more affordable transportation network for a wider variety of customers.

For its part, Lyft has borrowed heavily from Uber. Uber originated a real-time map showing nearby drivers, and the design of Lyft's app is similar. In addition, Lyft's "prime time" prices for peak-demand times are a variation of Uber's surge pricing.

The startups also compete in lockstep on pricing. Both companies have squeezed their profit margins to reduce prices and add more customers. Lyft earlier this year went so far as to forgo its 20% commission on rides.

On Monday, Lyft said it is reintroducing commissions but will base them on how many hours its drivers work per week. A driver who logs 50 hours or more won't have to share any fees with Lyft, for instance. At the other end, one who drives fewer than 15 hours will share the full 20%.

The company also said it will begin keeping 20% of "prime time" pricing, a policy change that could rattle Lyft drivers who are used to keeping all of those extra fees for themselves.

Mohan Lama, a former yellow cab driver in San Francisco who now drives for Uber, believes more drivers will stop using Lyft when the company begins taking commissions again. "The day Lyft will start commissions, their drivers will stop working," he said. "Lyft is in a trap."

Courting drivers has also meant offering them an array of benefits, from insurance to new-car financing. This past March, Lyft and Uber each announced in the same week they would add insurance between rides, rather than just covering the time a passenger is in the car. Those moves helped placate regulators, who have raised questions about the culpability of ridesharing startups when accidents occur as drivers are on their way to pick up passengers.

At times, the fight between Uber and Lyft has gotten nasty. In March 2013, Mr. Kalanick challenged Mr. Zimmer on Twitter about Lyft's offer of an insurance policy. The back-and-forth ended with Mr. Zimmer asking Mr. Kalanick to stop by his office. The Uber CEO responded by tweeting, "you've got a lot of catching up to do... #clone."

The ease with which Uber and Lyft can imitate each other's features highlights the ride-sharing industry's low barriers to entry, said Thilo Koslowski, an analyst for Gartner Inc. Because Uber and Lyft don't own cars or employ chauffeurs, they are essentially matchmakers between drivers and passengers, he said.

But investors who have poured a total of nearly $2 billion into the two companies are betting the apps will have staying power. Millions of people are now used to riding with Uber, and the app is still one of the most popular programs in Apple's App Store.

"Organizing demand is remarkably hard and extremely powerful," said Bill Gurley, a partner at Benchmark and a member of Uber's board. "Being installed on someone's iPhone on the home page is a pretty sticky place to be."

Hackers Demand Automakers Get Serious About Security

As reported by Security Week: A group of security researchers called upon automobile manufacturers to build cyber-security safeguards inside the software systems powering various features in modern cars.  

In an open letter to “Automotive CEOs” posted (PDF) on the I am the Cavalry website, a group of security researchers called on automobile industry executives to implement five security programs to improve car safety and safeguard them from cyberattacks. As car automation systems become more sophisticated, they need to be locked down to prevent tampering or unauthorized access. The Five Star Automotive Cyber Safety Program outlined in the letter asked industry executives for safety by design, third-party collaboration, evidence capture, security updates, and segmentation and isolation.

“The once distinct world of automobiles and cybersecurity have collided,” read the letter. “Now is the time for the automotive industry and the security community to connect and collaborate..”

Vehicles are “computers on wheels,” Josh Corman, CTO of Sonatype and a co-founder of I am the Cavalry, the group who penned the open letter. The group aims to bring security researchers together with representatives from non-security fields, such as home automation and consumer electronics, medical devices, transportation, and critical infrastructure, to improve security.

Computers manage engines, brakes, navigation, air-conditioning, windshield wipers, entertainment systems, and other critical and non-critical components in modern cars. Security experts have warned that unless the systems are built with better security features, cyberattacks against cars could result in a physical injury to the driver and possible passengers. The five star plan can conceivably be used by consumers, ala Consumer Reports style, to understand which automakers are thinking about security, Corman said.

The first “star,” safety by design, simply means automakers should design and build automation features with security in mind. Engineers should be stopping to think about how the systems could be tampered with and then build in blocks to prevent such an attack. Automakers should also implement a secure software development program within their companies to encourage better coding and design.

Third party collaboration asks automakers to establish a formal vulnerability disclosure program, to clearly state what its policies are and who to contact. This doesn't mean bug bounties—where companies would pay for bugs—but rather designing a process that ensures bug reports and other information from third-party researchers reach the right engineers.

“Tesla already gets a star,” Corman said, noting the electronic car maker recently established such a policy.

Evidence capture is the first technical piece in the Five Star program, and asks for forensics capabilities such as events logging in car systems.

“We have black boxes in airplanes,” Corman said, noting it's currently impossible to collect any information on why something failed in car systems. Security updates mean the issues found and reported which have been fixed actually get pushed out to individual cars in a timely and effective manner. And the final star—and the last technical piece—is segmentation and isolation, referring to keeping critical systems separate from the rest of the car's network.

"With segmentation and isolation, we want to make sure you contain failures, so a hack to the entertainment system never disables the brakes," said Corman.

Vehicles, transportation systems, industrial control systems, and medical devices represent some of the hottest areas of cyber research. At Black Hat this year, Charlie Miller, an engineer at Twitter, and Chris Valasek, director of vehicle security research at IOActive, demonstrated how they could remotely control vehicles by compromising non-critical systems. The panel built on last year's research, which showed how they could take over the breaks and the car's steering from the back seat of the car. There were sessions discussing medical device security, and a DEF CON presentation looked at how traffic control systems were not secure.

The security industry reaching out directly to the automobile industry was a good idea, said Andrew Ruffin, a former staffer for Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. Ruffin attended the press conference at DEF CON 22 on Friday. "I'm encouraged by the letter and hope there's a quick response," said Ruffin. "I think this has some legs."

Considering how technology has permeated practically all parts of modern life, the group wants manufacturers to think about security and start implementing security features in their designs and business processes. The goal is to start thinking about security and implementing safeguards before the major cyberattack happens, said Corman. To people who say these things take time and would require a lot of work, Corman had two words: “We know.” The time to start is now, so that in a few years, these efforts would actually show results, he said.

Along with releasing the open letter, the group participated in a closed-door session with automobile and medical device representatives in a private meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday and plan to discuss automotive hacking at DEF CON on Sunday. There is also a change.org petition demanding automakers pay attention car safety and cybersecurity.

“When the technology we depend on affects public safety and human life, it commands our utmost attention and diligence. Our cars command this level of care. Each and every day, we entrust our lives and the lives of those we love to our automobiles,” the letter said.

Signatures and instructions for signing  the petition can be found online. 

Soon You'll Be Able to Text Your Emergency to 911

As reported by PBS: The Federal Communications Commission voted on Friday to require all of the U.S.’s cell phone carriers and popular messaging applications to allow users to text 911 to emergency response units.

Since 2012, customers using any one of the four largest carriers in the country — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile — have been able use text-to-911 service, following a voluntary agreement between the companies and the FCC. However, today’s 3-2 vote will require smaller, regional carriers to follow suit by the end of the year.

“Texting is now as important a function on a mobile device as talking. Some of those text messages are cries for help,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. “Some of those are from people who can’t hear or speak. Call 911 if you can. But if you can’t, what are you going to do?”

The requirement seeks to address the changing ways in which people are communicating, and is not without significant hurdles. According to the FCC, more than 70 percent of attempts to get in contact with emergency services originate from cell phones while only two percent of emergency responders nationwide are currently equipped to accept the messaging.

“In your moment of need, if you try to reach 911, you won’t reach it no matter what application you use,” warned Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, who voted against the regulation. “Nothing in this order will change that fact any time soon.”

Additionally, unlike cell phone calls, it is difficult to determine the exact physical origin of a text message, particularly in residences with multiple floors.

The FCC’s new rule comes at a time when cell phone users are increasingly using third-party messaging apps like Google Voice, iMessage and WhatsApp that provide SMS-like services that are handled via Internet protocol. As of Friday, the FCC will require all third-party applications that interconnect with the traditional SMS infrastructure to comply with its rules, but it expressed its intent to reach out to developers to make text-to-911 universal.

“Our first responsibility is to provide for the safety of Americans,” Wheeler said, following the vote. “This is a step to continue to fulfill that responsibility. And it is not a final step.”

New DARPA Technologies: Beyond GPS

DARPA researchers at the University of Michigan report that they have made significant progress with a timing and inertial measurement unit (TIMU) that contains everything needed to aid navigation when GPS is temporarily unavailable. The single-chip TIMU prototype contains a six-axis IMU (three gyroscopes and three accelerometers) and integrates a highly-accurate master clock into a single miniature system, smaller than the size of a penny. This chip integrates devices (clocks, gyroscopes and accelerometers), materials and designs from DARPA’s Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (Micro-PNT) program.

As reported by Information Week: When it comes to military operations, GPS is not always a reliable technology for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). Yet PNT capabilities are essential to targeting missiles; navigation for land, sea, and air forces; and precision in military operations overall. That's why the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created several programs to develop other approaches that offer more dependable and accurate PNT capabilities when GPS isn't working properly.

"We are putting new physics, new devices, and new algorithms on the job so our people and our systems can break free of their reliance on GPS," DARPA director Arati Prabhakar said in a statement.

The restricted nature of GPS is due to environmental factors such as solar storms, when signals are degraded, and is especially apparent to war-fighters underground and underwater. GPS transmit levels from orbiting satellites are extremely low power and are therefore weakened by the time they reach Earth. The signals can also be obstructed by dense trees or buildings. They also cannot penetrate water, which makes GPS problematic for various military applications.

"More worrisome is that adversaries can jam signals. GPS continues to be vital, but its limitations in some environments could make it an Achilles' heel if war-fighters rely on it as their sole source of PNT information," DARPA says on its program website. In fact, illegal devices that jam GPS signals are becoming increasingly available. Some simple gadgets that plug into 12-volt car receptacle connectors and cost as little as $30 can render GPS systems inoperable for miles, according to GPS systems provider NovAtel.

In its search for new technologies that offer an alternative to GPS, DARPA is particularly interested in systems that provide long-duration precision and accuracy in positioning and timing for global synchronization, secure communications, and cooperative effects. Such technologies include architectures for ad-hoc PNT networks, sensors, and signal processing designed to perform in adverse environments, and new architectures that enable communications, electronic warfare (EW), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems to support PNT systems.

The agency needs affordable, compact, and flexible systems that can be used for a broad range of defense missions. For example, DARPA issued a solicitation in June seeking proposals for PNT systems that can operate independent of GPS, as part of its Spatial, Temporal, and Orientation Information in Contested Environments (STOIC) program.  

Microtechnology for positioning, navigation, and timing (Micro-PNT) enables extreme miniaturization using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. DARPA researchers have built a prototype that contains three gyroscopes, three accelerometers, and a master clock on a chip -- small enough to fit on a penny. These self-calibrating, high-performance microscale sensors are not only affordable, but they also offer size, weight, and power (SWAP) improvements over currently available sensors.

DARPA's Program in Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering (PULSE) is using pulsed laser technology to improve atomic clocks and microwave sources, including their size and precision. For example, PULSE enables more accurate time and frequency synchronization over long distances. According to DARPA, PULSE technology is necessary for super-accurate atomic clocks, such as the world's most accurate optical atomic clocks.

DARPA is developing adaptable navigation systems (ANS), which entail new algorithms and architectures for plug-and-play integration of PNT sensors across multiple platforms. ANS uses cold-atom interferometry, which "measures the relative acceleration and rotation of a cloud of atoms stored within a sensor," according to DARPA's website. The agency's vision is to cut development costs and deployment time from months to days, and use quantum physics to build accurate inertial measurement devices that can operate longer without requiring external data to determine time and position. Additionally, ANS is exploiting non-navigational electromagnetic signals, such as lightning strikes, to provide stronger signals than GPS.

Quantum-assisted sensing and readout (QuASAR) has the ability to take atomic clocks out of labs and make them both robust and portable. This could result in new radar, metrology, and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) applications. DARPA's QuASAR program builds on atomic physics to develop a set of measurement tools that will be applicable across disciplines. The Defense Department specifically would have access to various types of devices that include imaging, inertial navigation, and robust global positioning systems.

DARPA's Spatial, Temporal, and Orientation Information in Contested Environments (STOIC) program focuses on developing systems that provide non-GPS positioning, navigation, and timing with GPS-level timing. STOIC encompasses three primary elements that have the potential to provide PNT independent of GPS: long-range robust reference signals, ultra-stable tactical clocks, and multifunctional systems that deliver PNT information among multiples users. When complete, STOIC will offer better PNT in challenging environments where GPS isn't working properly or is unavailable.

Drone Crashes and Sinks into Popular Yellowstone Hot Spring

As reported by The Verge: A tourist at Yellowstone National Park accidentally crashed a drone into one of the park's most popular hot springs on Saturday: the Grand Prismatic Spring. 

Drones are banned at all US national parks, but the blanket rule hasn't done much to stop visitors who are determined to capture amazing scenic views from the skies. Unfortunately, the Yellowstone incident is a perfect example of what can happen when operators make mistakes, and it won't do anything to help more considerate enthusiasts plead their case with the National Park Service.

Authorities are now trying to decide whether they'll need to recover the camera-equipped drone from the Grand Prismatic Spring. At 370 feet in diameter and well over 100 feet deep, it's the largest hot spring at Yellowstone, and a recovery mission could present potential damage risks of its own. "What we have to determine is whether the presence of this radio-controlled recreational aircraft poses a threat to that unique resource," a spokesperson told Reuters.

Complaints about unmanned aerial vehicles have been on the rise at Yellowstone and other parks, and the ban against drones — announced in June — was clearly intended to quell some of that frustration among tourists. But so far it's done little to help. Speaking to CNN, another spokesperson said, "The technology certainly has been around for a while, but this is the year that the problem has seemed to come to light for us."

Crazy German Leaves The Driver’s Seat In A Self-Driving Infiniti Q50 On The Highway

As reported by MotorAuthority: In a way, we admire the intestinal fortitude of the German in this video. In the interest of science, or at least YouTube views, he sets an Infiniti Q50S in self-driving mode and lets it cruise down the highway. Then he climbs out of the driver’s seat.

In another way, we think this guy is completely crazy and more than a little dangerous to allow the Active Lane Control in the Infiniti to have complete control over the vehicle, and to take himself out of a position where he would be able to quickly and safely regain control if needed.

On balance, this is an impressive video to watch, as the Infiniti does an admirable job of driving itself along a gently curving, well-marked highway in moderate traffic. But it’s also a great example of what not to do if you should find yourself in possession of a semi-autonomous car.

Navdy: Heads-Up Car Display to Work with iPhone or Android Smartphones

As reported by ComputerWorld: Using a phone while driving can be risky business, even if it's connected to an infotainment system, because it can still require a driver to glance away from the road to look at phone's screen. But a new windshield display technology that uses touchless gesture recognition and echo- and noise-canceling voice recognition hopes to address that problem.

The prototype heads-up display (HUD), called Navdy, has been launched as a crowdsourcing project, allowing anyone to pre-order it for $299 -- 40% off the $499 retail price. The company hopes to raise $60,000 for production.

Crowdsourcing backers who pre-order get a discount for spreading the word; everytime someone buys Navdy from a referral, the person who referred it gets a $30 discount. In other words, after 10 referrals the Navdy would be free. Early project backers also get to vote on which smartphone apps and features they'd like Navdy to support when it ships in early 2015.

Navdy is not the first portable HUD. GPS manufacturer Garmin released a portable HUD called the HUD+ earlier this year. The HUD+ retails for $180, but does not include hand gesture controls and apps can add to the cost of the device.

For example, the ability to speak street names can for navigation can cost up to $35. And, Garmin's Viago app can require up to $95 of add-ons to activate all of its features, according to a review in the New York Times.

Car manufacturers, such as Audi, BMW and Cadillac also offer HUD as an option, but those systems can run $3,000 or more.

Navdy works with navigation apps such as Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions, and music apps such as Spotify, Pandora, iTunes Music and Google Play Music. Using voice commands via Apple's Siri or Google Voice, the HUD can also write, read aloud or display notifications from text messages or social media apps, such as Twitter. Navdy is compatible with iPhone (iOS 7 and beyond) and Android (4.3 and beyond) smartphones.

Phone calls, texting or other applications can also be controlled with hand gestures enabled by an infrared camera.  

The Navdy HUD includes an internal accelerometer, e-compass and an ambient light sensor that automatically brightens or dims the display to adjust to the light around it. "Navdy is built from the ground up to be the safest and most intuitive way to make calls, use navigation, listen to music or access notifications without ever looking away from the road," Navdy co-founder and CEO Doug Simpson said in a statement.



The Navdy uses large and easy-to-see proprietary apps such as navigation specifically designed not to inhibit driving. The device simply adheres to the driver side dashboard and projects a 5.1-in transparent screen that appears to float six feet in front of the windshield so a driver can maintain focus on the road.  

Navdy can be moved from vehicle to vehicle and syncs with iPhone or Android smartphones via WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) or Bluetooth 4.0/LE.



Simpson said the idea for the HUD came from rethinking how to make mobile apps more intuitive and easy to control when someone is driving a car or truck. "Drivers are three times more likely to get into an accident when they take their eyes off the road to look down at a touchscreen," Simpson said. "Smartphones were never designed to be used while driving. Touchscreen-based apps force you to take your eyes off the road."
Other NAVDY features include:

• Audio out via Bluetooth or 3.5mm minijack, mini-USB port
• Internal speaker and microphone with noise canceling DSP
• Dual core processor running Android 4.4
• OBD-II power and data connection to car computer, with optional 12 volt power adapter
• Portable, bendable, non-marking, powered friction mount, with magnetic connection to the device

The Navdy is about 5-in. x 5.5-in. x 3.7-in. in size.

The HUD device works by plugging into a vehicle's onboard computer (OBD II) port, which is standard on any car or truck manufactured after 1996. 

In addition to navigation instructions, incoming calls, or being able to use voice commands to text, the HUD can also display a car's speed or if any alerts from the car's onboard computer, such as the "check engine" light, miles-to-empty, fuel economy stats, tire-pressure warning or battery-voltage warning from the car's computer.  

"It's the same technology used by airline pilots to keep their eyes on the runway while landing an airplane," the company said.