Last time I got off an airplane, I lost 15 minutes trying to find my Uber … and drew the ire of my driver who kept calling and saying “I’m right here.”
The problem? Discerning those black Uber cars and their license plates in the middle of the night at a crowded airport.
Thankfully, the ride-share company has a colorful fix. Their first hardware product, Uber Beacon, is a device that emits a color on your driver’s windshield to help you “pair” up during busy times or in congested pick-up areas.
As the rider, you select from a near-infinite selection of colors on your app. That same color (with the Uber logo) will glow on your driver’s windshield. Then, just hold up your phone so the driver can find you.
Beacon is currently available in Miami, Denver, Nashville and, uh, Newcastle (UK). Expect full integration of the device into Uber’s service sometime in 2017.
Not an Uber person? Lyft already has their own dashboard pair-up called Amp.
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