Taxi app Uber has revealed its intention to build the Uber Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburg, after announcing a strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

In a blog post on Uber’s site, the firm revealed that its primary focus would be in “mapping and vehicle safety and autonomy technology”. The company clearly sees driverless as the next big evolution of its product.

Uber’s plans appear to be in direct competition with Google’s own autonomous vehicle project, which, given Google’s investment in Uber, causes questions to be raised about the future business relationship between the two companies.

Cost of Uber

While speaking at a conference last year, Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick mentioned how it is his goal to bring down the price of transportation and that means removing the driver from the equation.

"The reason Uber could be expensive is because you're not just paying for the car — you're paying for the other dude in the car," he said.

"When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle. So the magic there is, you basically bring the cost below the cost of ownership for everybody, and then car ownership goes away."

Uber and CMU have stated that they will be holding an event in the next few weeks to mark the start of their partnership.