Everything
Picture this. It’s a Friday night and you’ve left after work drinks with too many whisky’s under your belt, looking for a way home. Naturally you pull out your Uber app and request a ride. Small problem: Uber already knows you are drunk.
As Uber vastly expands its clientele, the ride sharing app is innovating its technology to better tailor its services to users, and judging by a patent application that was filed this week the international company is looking to vet potential drunk customers.
According to the patent, the system will rely on algorithms to identify a range of factors including typos, how precisely a user clicks on links and buttons, walking speed, and how long it takes to request a ride, as well as taking time and day into consideration. Additionally, the patent requests that Uber drivers can be swapped out and adjusted according to the technology. Riders in an unusual state may only be matched with drivers with relevant experience or training and may be denied to participate in an Uberpool.
The tech would help Uber “take an action to reduce undesired consequences” relating to intoxicated passengers. “It would be cool if drivers got extra money for picking up drunk passengers. It’s not a big deal, but it definitely gets old after about the 25th time,” Harry Campbell, author of The RideShare Guy blog, told CNN Money.
It may not become a reality anytime soon due to the nature of patent applications but it is a move in the right direction.
