The Road to Autonomy: Recent Episodes
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The Road to Autonomy hosted by Grayson Brulte is a podcast featuring unconventional conversations about the future of mobility.
Alan Ohnsman, Senior Editor, Forbes joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Gatik and the road to profitable autonomy.
The conversation begins with Alan and Grayson discussing AB 316 — the future of autonomous trucking in California.
The State wants to support the tech and get it out there, and sees the benefits of that. But at the same time you have active opposition from a very powerful labor group that represents a lot of truckers in the State of California. – Alan Ohnsman
The conversation expands from policy to the future of AI and Gatik, a middle-mile autonomous trucking start-up that is on the road to profitable autonomy.
Gatik is a company that did not raise billions of dollars, and Gatik did not come out of the gate saying were going to use autonomy for everything. We are going to do robotaxi, we are going to do trucking, we are going to do food deliveries, you name it, we are going to do it. They focused on one thing — middle-mile delivery from a distribution center to a large retail store, that’s it. Nothing else. – Alan Ohnsman
Compared to their peers that have raised billions in capital, Gatik has raised a mere modest $120 million. To achieve their goals, the company does not need billions as they are highly disciplined when it comes to operating the business. For every contract that Gatik signs with a customer, each vehicle that goes into service is contractually guaranteed revenue of $200,000 per year.
For every 100 vehicles the company puts into service, the company will generate $20 million in yearly revenue. At this time, Gatik currently has 50 vehicles in service, generating $10 million in yearly revenue. Gatik is forecasting that the company could potentially be profitable within as little as two to three years (2025-2026). As the company ramps up towards profitability, they are going to gradually start expanding to highway driving in addition to city streets.
Their goal is to overtime, they will move into highway trucking. They will move into Class-8 trucking, they will move into other types of delivery services that they are not doing now, and it’s going to be this gradual evolution of the business. All of it is premised on the fact that it has to a revenue generator. – Alan Ohnsman
Looking to the future, Gatik will not explore a potential IPO until the company is profitable on a GAAP basis. Rounding out the conversation, Grayson and Alan discuss the autonomous trucking industry as a whole and the Waymo Via shutdown.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Alan discuss licensing and the future of Zoox.
Recorded on Monday, August 28, 2023
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The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles and logistics. The company has three businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy Podcast and The Road to Autonomy's This Week In The Index; and The Road to Autonomy Research and Consulting Services.
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Vic Shao, President, bp pulse fleet joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss fleet charging as a service.
The conversation begins with Vic discussing bp pulse’s electric vehicle fleet charging strategy, the importance of up-time and reliability. To ensure the up-time for partners such as Hertz, bp has developed a software layer that monitors the health of the charging infrastructure to ensure optimal up-time.
Software is the enablement tool that makes it efficient and reliable. – Vic Shao
The charging stations that bp is installing for Hertz will be open to the public and located at high traffic locations such as city centers and airports. At airport locations, rideshare drivers will be able to access the chargers and charge their vehicles while they wait for passenger pick-ups. By early 2024, 25 locations in several states will be online.
As a traditional oil and gas business, bp pulse is complimenting the core business by expanding into new fuel types.
bp looks at electrification as just another fuel type. It’s a really attractive fuel type for any number of reasons, but it’s another fuel type. In the future bp is also going to go into hydrogen. – Vic Shao
As fleet managers begin the process of transitioning their fleets from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, economics are driving the decision process. The cost to transition large fleets to electric vehicles is expensive as it requires all-new vehicles along with a complex network of charging equipment. bp has a solution that will enable fleets to convert to electric without the upfront charging infrastructure capital expenditure — charging as a service.
One of the big upsides to charging as a service is scalability and upgradability. As NACS (North American Charging Standard) becomes the de facto charging plug standard as the CCS plug is slowly faded out, the charging infrastructure will be upgraded to support the new plug.
A large opportunity for charging as a service are ports that have drayage operations that operate on fixed daily routes. A lot of these drayage operations are operated by smaller carriers who might not necessarily have the financial wherewithal to invest in fleet charging. With charging as a service, these fleets will have the ability to transition to electric trucks without the capital expenditure.
By 2030, bp is on track to have over 100,000 electric vehicle charging stations online.
Wrapping up the conversation, Vic shares his opinion on the future of electric vehicle fleet charging.
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Recorded on Thursday, August 24, 2023
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Peter Ludwig, Co-Founder & CTO, Applied Intuition and Yaser Khalighi, Product, Applied Intuition joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the acquisition of SceneBox and why everything that moves will be autonomous in the future.
The conversation begins with Yaser discussing why he made the decision to sell SceneBox to Applied Intuition in March 2023.
The vision of building SceneBox, my vision was enabling customers in their autonomy journey. The reason that we exited to Applied was exactly to double down on that vision. – Yaser Khaligh
Applied is in the process of integrating SceneBox into their product offering, while retaining the user-friendliness of the SceneBox platform.
The ultimate goal is that it’s a completely seamless experience in what we call the ADP (Applied Development Platform). – Peter Ludwig
The integrated SceneBox / Applied product offering will help autonomous vehicles and autonomous trucks scale safely and quickly. To further enhance the Applied product, Applied acquired Embark Trucks for $71 million in August 2023. Prior to the acquisition, Embark was a long-time Applied customer.
With the acquisition we are discontinuing the autonomy trucking program, we are not entering Level 4 trucking. But we are going to be able to repurpose the tools they had built around the Applied development platform, and in fact bring some of those into our platform were it makes sense. – Peter Ludwig
The data that Applied acquired from Embark will help their customers accelerate the deveopmet of their autonomous driving stack for Class-8 trucks. When it comes to training a virtual driver, unique data sets are needed to train the driver. Data gathered for Class-8 trucks can not necessarily be translated over to a developing a virtual driver for robotaxi operations.
Taking a step out of the virtual world, Applied is has a partnership with NI (National Instruments) for hardware-in-the-loop validation. This partnership will allow their customers to scale quickly and safely and puts Applied ahead if and when certifications for autonomous driving systems become required by regulatory bodies.
Wrapping up the conversation, Peter and Yaser share their opinions on the future of autonomy.
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Recorded on Tuesday, August 15, 2023
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Brett Suma, CEO, Loadsmith joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the development of the Loadsmith Freight Network and how the network will create economic stimulus in local communities.
The conversation begins with Brett discussing the development of the Loadsmith Freight Network.
You can look at the LFN and compare it somewhat to a railroad and their ability to capture capacity. – Brett Suma
The Loadsmith Freight Network will consist of both professional drivers and autonomous trucks. Autonomous trucks on the LFN will mostly operate on the 350 to 900 mile runs, while the professional drivers will focus on the shorter first and last mile routes.
For the Loadsmith Freight Network to operate at peak performance, the company developed a digital software layer that enables “Precision Trucking”. The cost savings derived from Precision Trucking will be reinvested in first and last mile operations in terms of higher pay for professional drivers and amenities.
With higher pay for first and last mile drivers, local communities will begin to experience a form of economic stimulus through higher spending. Spending will help drive economic growth in those communities and help to off-set increased the cost of goods and services due to inflation.
The lanes where autonomous trucks are first introduced will be based on freight flow, regulatory environment, technical feasibility and the economics of the lane.
Everything we know about current pricing is going to change when autonomous starts hitting the street. – Brett Suma
Not all lanes are created equal from an economic standpoint. The Dallas to Houston lane is oversaturated and it will be a race to the bottom in terms of pricing when autonomous trucks are rolling on that lane 24/7. That is not where Loadsmith is going as they focused on unit economics.
Through their development partnership with Kodiak, Loadsmith is collectively studying the unit economics of lanes. It’s this economic discipline that is going to enable their partnership to scale.
The respect that Brett and the Loadsmith team has for professional drivers comes from the simple fact that they are listening.
We’re doing this, because we are listening to workers. – Brett Suma
Professional drivers are telling them that they want to be home every night and have consistency in their paycheck.
Wrapping up the conversation, Brett shares his thoughts on the future of trucking.
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Recorded on Friday, August 4, 2023
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Chuck Price, President, AI Kinetics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the shutdown of Waymo Via and what it means for the development of the universal driver.
The conversation begins with Chuck sharing his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous trucking industry.
We are going through change. What we’re seeing is the early phase of this development which was largely science doing science, now moving to doing engineering and commercialization. Some of the companies that have been involved in this thought ahead for that and are prepared and others are struggling or have struggled.
What we are seeing is a consolidation and some changes in strategy that I think are normal and healthy for an industry as complex as this. – Chuck Price
The consolidation currently occurring in the autonomous trucking industry is healthy — the market is functioning properly. On Wednesday, July 26th, Alphabet announced Waymo will be shutting down their autonomous trucking division — Waymo Via. While this may have come as a surprise to many, there were rumors in the market and public statements by Alphabet on earnings calls that laid the foundation for this announcement.
Waymo did the right thing for a lot of reasons. – Chuck Price
By shutting down Waymo Via, Waymo is now going to focus exclusively on their robotaxi business — Waymo One. As Mr. Price stated, this is indeed the right thing for Waymo to do as they are in a head-to-head competition with Cruise. Cruise is a formidable opponent with the resources to compete. Not to mention, Cruise is currently expanding at a much more rapid pace than Waymo. Cruise is in the driver’s seat, while Waymo follows behind.
From a technical perspective, was this an admission by Waymo that the Universal Driver did not work as they expected? Or is this more inancial discipline coming from Waymo as the division will have a new de facto CEO on September 1st — Ruth Porat, President & Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet. In her new role Ms. Porat will be responsible for investments in Alphabet’s “Other Bets”.
To further streamline the business and appease Wall Street, could Ms. Porat look to license the Waymo driver to global OEMs? Or raise additional capital outside by collateralizing Waymo’s IP? Aurora Innovation with 1,450 patents related to autonomy recently raised $820 million in new capital.
I am confident that the formal IP developed by Aurora gave them a huge advantage when they went to raise money, and without that they probably would not have been able to raise. – Chuck Price
Even though Aurora recently raised $820 million in new capital, the company has a cash burn rate of $45.3 million a month. It’s expensive to operate, Aurora. With Waymo signaling that the Universal Driver did not work, Aurora continues ahead with developing their version of the Universal Driver.
Would Aurora be wise to shut down their passenger car business and focus solely on autonomous trucking? This decision would allow Aurora to streamline their business and lower their cash burn rate — the economics point the way forward. But the question remains, what path will Aurora choose as the company matures and grows?
I haven’t seen a Universal Virtual Driver yet, but I have seen focused drivers come to fruition. We’ve seen cars that are now self-driving without safety drivers. We’ve seen trucks that are self-driving without safety drivers. Both have been achieved. The science is done for those specific use cases. – Chuck Price
To scale an autonomous trucking startup, the startup has to have a production relationship with a truck OEM. To achieve this relationship, the autonomous trucking startup will have to commit $50 to $100 million to the relationship.
Wrapping up the conversation, Chuck shares his thoughts on how he sees the autonomous trucking industry evolving over the next five years.
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Recorded on Tuesday, August 1, 2023
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Todd Lewis, Vice President, Prologis Ventures, Prologis joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Prologis is preparing for the future of logistics with autonomous trucks.
The conversation begins with Todd discussing how Prologis is approaching the future of autonomy as autonomous trucks will be operating at their customers facilities.
Our role across many of our customers footprints is how can we be an accelerant for adoption, for things that can be transformative to their bottom line, to their top line, to their day-to-day growth. Because we want to have customers that can thrive using our existing footprint today. – Todd Lewis
To prepare their facilities for autonomous trucking, Prologis is putting plans in place today to update the infrastructure and add services such as fiber to support autonomous operations. As Prologis plans for autonomy, the company is taking a measured approach to leasing by hedging their capital risk for infrastructure development and capital investment.
To limit their capital risk, Prologis develops their infrastructure to be future-proofed. Whether it’s the switch to electric vehicles and laying the conduit needed for energy to designing the yards for autonomous trucks, Prologis is developing for the future.
From an underwriting perspective, the company has a robust due diligence process that looks at the long-term viability of the potential company leasing the real estate. Including if they have a corporate parent with superior credit and a healthy balance sheet who could co-sign the lease.
We choose partners that have the highest likeliness of success. We try to stay true to picking partners and customers who have operations and new business practices that have, what we would consider staying power. – Todd Lewis
To prepare for all the changes currently happening in the market, Prologis created a mobility division to focus on accelerating EV adoption and preparing for autonomy. Focused both on automation outside and inside the facility as by 2027, it is projected that 26% of all warehouses will have some level of automation.
I believe that you have to enable automation in order for it to be properly utilized. It’s the nuances that matter. – Todd Lewis
Outside of the facility, the yard of the future is going to change as there will be autonomous truck launch and landing pads. The changes from an infrastructure standpoint will be minor, but from a human interaction standpoint, major. As both autonomous trucks and human driven trucks will operate at the same facility.
The interaction with the human element is something that over time will have to be fleshed out a bit, in order for those systems to work properly. – Todd Lewis
Wrapping up the conversation, shares his thoughts on the future of logistics.
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Recorded on Monday, July 10, 2023
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Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, Texas Oil & Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the global record demand for oil and the Texas economy.
The conversation begins with Dean discussing the current state of the oil markets.
In a nutshell they are deceptively tighter than relativity modest prices, of plus or minus $70 a barrel recently would indicate. – Dean Foreman
Even though we are currently in a tight oil market, global oil demand is projected to increase to 102.7 million barrels per day in 2024 — a record high. If the economy stays on track and continues to hum along and not fall into a recession, the oil supply pressures could continue to mount.
Historically in a rising rate environment, the demand for oil and commodities in general has decreased. This time however, we are seeing the demand for oil continuing to be strong. The increased demand for oil is primarily coming from emerging markets.
We’re seeing emerging markets drive the majority of economic growth this year, projected again over the next two years and hand-in-hand with that has come the energy demand to go with it. – Dean Foreman
If the demand for oil continues as projected, The United States can bring more supply online. In the United States, Texas currently produces 5.4 million barrels per day of oil. With global demand for oil increasing, Texas’ economy has led the nation in economic growth for the last two quarters.
Texas economy is growing at an average annual pace of 7.6%, more than 2.5 times the U.S. average. From January 2023 to April 2023, Texas generated $73.2 billion of state export revenues.
When Texas does well, the U.S. does well. – Dean Foreman
With 43.6% of the oil in the United States being produced in Texas, the industry puts safe guards in place to protect against the potential impacts of hurricanes to ensure that oil can continue to flow.
Wrapping up the conversation, Dean shares his outlook for the global oil economy and what he expects to see occur over the next quarter.
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Recorded on Friday, July 7, 2023
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Stefan Heck, Founder & CEO, NAUTO joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how NAUTO’s predictive-AI software is helping to reduce distracted driving.
The conversation begins with Stefan discussing what he saw in the market when he founded the company in 2015 and what he learned from collision data.
There is nothing as dangerous as distracted driving. – Stefan Heck
According to NAUTO’s propriety data, on average, a commercial driver is distracted 7 times per driving hour, equating to roughly every 9 minutes. To help mitigate the distracted driving risk and reduce potential crashes, the NAUTO system monitors drivers behaviors and offers audio cues to gain the drivers attention.
With-in the first week of using NAUTO, about 80% of all the distractions and nearly 100% of the severe long distractions are eliminated. – Stefan Heck
The system acts as a virtual coach that keeps drivers engaged while driving, giving them feedback in real-time on their driving behavior. The feedback comes in the form of a virtual coach that inspires change. When a driver realizes that their behavior as dangerous, they are more likely to change that behavior. In the data NAUTO has seen 80% to 90% of the drivers drop their risk behavior based on feedback from the virtual coach.
This virtual coach, predictive-AI system is able to identify potential dangerous scenarios because it has been trained on 3 billion miles with over 200,000 high-risk driving events.
The accuracy of all of these interventions is really important. There’s nothing as upsetting as telling you, hey there is a bicycle here and there is no bicycle. Or you are tailgating and there is nobody in front of you. So, we spent years making sure that all of detectors, all of our interventions are super accurate. – Stefan Heck
If the system is not accurate, drivers will begin to distrust the system and figure out a way to turn it off. This behavior is common amongst individuals who own vehicles with lane-keep assist. They simply turn it off because it’s inaccurate and annoying.
A system that is accurate is a system that works and does it job to help avoid dangers driving scenarios. NAUTO’s system caught the attention of Stellantis, as the company invested with a plan to offer the system in their commercial fleet vehicles.
At first the system will use the NAUTO hardware and in the future, the software system will run natively on the vehicles by leveraging the on-board sensors without the NAUTO hardware. In addition to Stellantis, NAUTO has a partnership with Brightdrop where fleets can order can order the system pre-installed directly from the factory today.
As robo-taxis scale around the world, the NAUTO system could be used for occupant detection and safety routing applications. As autonomy grows, NAUTO’s market grows.
Wrapping up the conversation, Stefan shares his opinion on the future of AI as it relates to mobility.
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Recorded on Wednesday, July 5, 2023
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Trevor Crain, Mobility Research and Education Program Manager, Argonne National Laboratory joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss building America’s electric vehicle workforce.
The conversation begins with Trevor sharing his thoughts on developing the workforce of the future as society shifts to electrified forms of mobility and how this skill set can transition to other industries.
Our team here at Argonne looks at how do we build revolutionary and innovative programs that help all of our workforce program participants be able to address all these different technologies. – Trevor Crain
As the workforce is developed to work on electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to support EVs, Argonne is working to ensure that students have the skill sets needed to succeed even when the technology or standards change.
One of the ways that Argonne is helping students develop the skill set of the future is through the EcoCar Challenge. The EcoCar Challenge is a multi-year program where 15 North American universities teams come together to develop next generation electric vehicle technologies and automation are energy efficient. These teams are getting real-world, hands on experiences.
We are taking things out of the research realm and into the actual application realm onboard our real test vehicles. – Trevor Crain
Bernstein Research is projecting that battery electric vehicles will reach 40% marketshare globally by 2030. If this forecast comes to realization, the workforce development and the skills needed to service these vehicles will has to be accelerated and developed today.
One way to potentially accelerate the work force development for EVs is through apprenticeships where students do not take on debt. This is just one of the many options that could be implemented to ensure that the workforce of the future is ready today.
Expanding the conversation, Trevor discusses the skill set that students learn as part of the EcoCar Challenge. As part of the challenge, students are encouraged to think from a customer centric approach. Would a consumer want this feature? Would a consumer pay for this feature? Does this feature increase the range of the vehicle?
Wrapping up the conversation, Trevor shares his thoughts on electric vehicles.
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Recorded on Tuesday, June 20, 2023
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Lee White, Founder & President, LM White Consulting joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss scaling autonomous trucking operations.
The conversation begins with Lee explaining why after a 38-year career at UPS he decided to joined the autonomous trucking industry. In 2018, Lee took his first ride in an SAE Level 4 autonomous truck and it changed the way he looked at trucking forever.
I remember standing outside that truck and looking back at it and saying; you know I am never going to be able to look at trucking the same way. – Lee White
Lee’s insight into how large truck fleets operate is absolutely crucial to scaling revenue generating autonomous trucking operations. As the traditional trucking companies operate on extremely slim margins with tight timeframes for deliveries. For example, J.B. Hunt currently operates at a 6.4% margin, while Werner operates at a 4.8% margin. These margins leave little room for error.
Enter, autonomous trucks. Autonomous trucks will enable traditional trucking companies to expand margins and utilize them on routes that benefit their operations the most. While professional drivers handle the other routes.
Autonomous trucks and professional truck drivers will not compete for jobs. Instead, they will compliment each other, shore up the supply chain and enable trucking companies to optimize their operations.
I don’t ever see an environment where you don’t have drivers. – Lee White
The optimization will come from integrating autonomous trucks, intermodal, dedicated and over-the-road operations. Autonomous trucks at first will be deployed on high-density lanes with repeatable routes.
In order for autonomous trucks to scale, there has to be infrastructure — truck terminals. These terminals will most likely be shared, yet there are no standards as it relates to how the infrastructure has to be built to accommodate autonomous trucks to launch and land.
Furthering the conversation Grayson and Lee discuss how the autonomous vehicle market compares to the autonomous trucking market from a revenue and total addressable market (TAM) standpoint.
Wrapping up the conversation, they discuss if Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Daimler become the Waymo and Cruise of autonomous trucking.
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Recorded on Friday, May 19, 2023
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Charles Eagan, Chief Technology Officer, BlackBerry joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss cyber security for autonomous and electric vehicles.
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Dr. Matt Markel, President, Spartan Radar joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how software is enabling the next generation of radar.
The conversation begins with Matt discussing the current state of the radar.
I think it’s a really interesting time for radar. – Dr. Matt Markel
When deploying radar on commercial vehicles, the radar has to be optimized and designed for the use-cases that the commercial vehicle will be undertaking on a regular basis. Today, commercial vehicles are using radar to increase safety and in the future it will be used to enable autonomy.
Increasing efficiency by using autonomy is a force multiplier. – Dr. Matt Markel
Autonomy is not a one-size fits all solution. Autonomy will be achieved in a variety of ways with different tech stacks. One of the hottest debates today is the LiDAR vs radar. Breaking the debate down, Matt shares his thoughts and insights, and explains the environmental limitations to each solution.
Can autonomous vehicles operate at SAE Level 4 with only camera and radar?
Yes, but the real question is what are those conditions? What are those Operational Design Domains? What are those ODDs that this combination can operate in? – Dr. Matt Markel
A camera, radar system that could operate at SAE Level 4 on highways and SAE Level 3 on suburban roads could help to usher in the personally owned autonomous vehicle market. When it comes to robo-taxis operating in dense urban environments, a full stack including LiDAR, camera and radar is the ideal solution due to the complexity of the ODD.
One of the key ingredients in the autonomous driving stack is software. Spartan very similarly to Waymo is using software to enhance the performance of radar. One of the key differences between Waymo and Spartan’s approach to radar is that Spartan is making their software available to everyone.
We do believe that there is a lot of performance being left on the table with automotive radar today. We can help Tier 1’s unlock that with our software products. – Dr. Matt Markel
Spartan’s approach is being validated with an investment from Microsoft and a partnership with Tier-1 automotive parts supplier — Valeo.
Because we are adding software capabilities to these systems, it provides flexibility for the Tier-1. It makes them relevant to multiple OEMS, multiple applications, multiple RFQs without a change in the hardware. – Dr. Matt Markel
Wrapping up the conversation, Matt shares his thoughts on how he sees the radar market evolving over the next decade.
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Recorded on Tuesday, June 6, 2023
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Ed Walker, Vice President, Shared Economy & Mobility, Hub International joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how technology is reshaping the insurance industry.
The conversation begins with Ed discussing the current state of insurance markets for the gig economy.
The current environment is a really broad spectrum of winners and losers. – Ed Walker
The current environment is having an impact on the consumer as the average auto insurance liability rate has increased of 10% over the last year. This increase is on top of the industry average of 10% all claims filled in 2022 were fraudulent across all the insurance markets.
There are more people on the roads without insurance then there has ever been right now in the United States. Underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage which is not provided in every State has become what used to be a consideration on a renewal to an absolute requirement in my opinion. – Ed Walker
While in Ed’s opinion this an absolute requirement, we are starting to see the trend of bring your own insurance for gig economy workers and individuals who subscribe to a vehicle subscription service. In some cases, these individuals are not properly insured which could potentially have negative ramifications on them personally.
When you have a bring your own insurance model, what you have is a subscription model where the car is not owned by the customer. However that customer is going to a personal limes agent or a program in order to get the vehicle insured. – Ed Walker
The insurance they purchase might not be perfect, but in their minds it’s still insurance and it allows them to drive the vehicle. For those individuals who drive as for a service such as Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats and DoorDash a large portion of their take-home pay goes to insurance premiums.
The insurance is costing your operation anywhere between 10 to 40 cents per mile depending on [The] State and the carrier. – Ed Walker
With gig economy drivers getting squeezed with rising costs due to inflation and tight insurance markets, the question becomes how long is this model sustainable in it’s current form. The economics of the model today are opening the door to a future where ride-sharing services will be primarily operated with autonomous vehicles.
I see autonomous vehicles as our ultimate light at the end of the tunnel if these situations do not improve. – Ed Walker
The autonomous vehicle and autonomous truck markets are rapidly evolving as companies scale operations across the United States. As these companies scale their operations, the insurance market underwriting operations will continue to evolve.
The more we do it, the better, smarter we get at it. The more carriers can make money at it, the more carriers show up, the more competitive the market gets. – Ed Walker
Wrapping up the conversation, Ed shares his thoughts on the future of insurance.
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Recorded on Thursday, April 27, 2023
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Rich Steiner, Head of Policy & Communications, Gatik joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss how Gatik is ushering in the era of autonomous commerce through policy innovations and partnerships.
The conversation begins with Rich discussing how Gatik approached the mid-term election from a policy perspective.
Gatik’s priorities at the Federal level will remain the same. There is a huge amount of work to be done at the Federal level to continue promoting our agenda and that of the broader AV trucking industry and the benefits that we can provide from an economic, safety, and societal perspective. – Rich Steiner
On the State level, Gatik was able to successfully demonstrate the benefits of autonomous vehicles in support of SB313 in the Kansas State Legislature. When Governor Kelly signed the bill on May 13, 2002, autonomous vehicles were able to legally operate on public roads in the State. A successful triumph for the entire autonomous vehicle industry.
While the bill in Kansas was a triumph, there is an inconsistent policy approach to autonomous vehicles, as autonomous vehicles cannot legally operate in all 50 States. With Gatik currently operating in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas, Grayson asks Rich if a national autonomous vehicle framework is needed at this time to help Gatik scale its operations.
It’s a hugely important piece of the strategy. – Rich Steiner
While a national autonomous vehicle framework is important, there has not been an overwhelming bipartisan support for a framework to date. The question is, how can we overcome this impasse to ensure that The United States continues to lead on the development and the deployment of autonomous vehicles? It could happen at the ballot box as consumers begin to reap the benefits of lower costs of goods and increased safety on the roadways and vote for politicians that want a national framework that benefits society.
Autonomy will benefit all aspects of society and autonomy will not just be constrained to the United States as Gatik has expanded to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where they have a partnership with Loblaw. Canada was chosen as the first international expansion for Gatik because of the tech ecosystem and talent pool in the province of Ontario.
The common denominator between Gatik’s operations in the United States and Canada are their world-class partnerships with big-box retailers. In the Canada there is Loblaw and in the United States there is Walmart. Both Loblaw and Walmart have experienced the supply chain crunch and the demand by customers to pick up their goods with-in an hour of ordering them online, creating stress on their current inventory systems. Gatik offered the right solution at the right time.
We presented a solution to the retail industry, e-commerce space at a time when they needed that solution and that’s why some of our partnerships came together so quickly. – Rich Steiner
It’s a solution that is in use today in Arkansas as Gatik operates a fully autonomous 7.1 mile route from a Walmart dark store to a Walmart retail store on a daily basis.
It’s a seamless integrated efficient solution. – Rich Steiner
Wrapping up the conversation, Rich shares his thoughts on the future of autonomy.
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Recorded on Tuesday, October 25, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt Stover, Director of Charging & Energy Services, North America, Ford Motor Company joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss Ford’s strategy for public electric vehicle charging.
The conversation begins with Matt discussing the current state of public electric vehicle charging.
When we look at public charging right now, the industry is in its infancy. It’s been around for about 10 years, but the network growth I should say it’s a toddler going to early teen ages. – Matt Stover
On a global basis less then 7% of vehicles on the road are electric vehicles, so we are still very early in the journey to an all-electric future. With the potential for electric vehicle adoption to grow, the charging infrastructure needs to grow to support the demand for EVs. As new charging infrastructure, it’s vitally important that the charges are up and operating in a fashion similar to a gas-station, to ensure consumer satisfaction with the EV experience.
When you look at charging we’re early in the development of the infrastructure, the way that the infrastructure develops is going to be different than what we think about with gas right now. Right now with gas we have a typical venue for filling up your vehicle at a gas station.
They all kind of look alike, there in similar types of places. Charging is going to be different from that. You are going to have charging on gasoline forecourts for sure. You are going to have charging in parking lots at your local retailer and you are going to have chargers at work. – Matt Stover
When the EV charging infrastructure is up, running and reliable, range anxiety will begin to dissipate.
Once a customer starts to understand that there is infrastructure out in the market and in their daily life, they can get over the idea of the fear of range anxiety. Because the technology that we are putting into these vehicles is giving them that confidence that the vehicles can go a long distance on a particular charge. – Matt Stover
One of key locations to deploying EV charging infrastructure are retail locations as consumers spend on average 30 to 60 minutes inside of a big-box retailer. During their time shopping, consumers will be able to charge their vehicles in a frictionless manner.
The thing that we will be really surprised by is where you end up seeing chargers and how you engage with those chargers from a transaction standpoint. – Matt Stover
As builders develop new master-planned communities and multi-family residences, EV charging infrastructure will be built into the development from the initial planning stages. An example of a new community that was built from the ground-up for electric vehicles is Babcock Ranch in Punta Gorda, FL. While Babcock Ranch was built for EVs, a majority of pre-existing residential infrastructure currently does not support EV charging.
With a growing demand for electric vehicles and one-third of American’s currently living in a rental home in the United States, having access to EV charging at home will become a consumer differentiator. In the future renters could opt for a residence that has EV charging.
When you buy a house, having a charger in the house will be seen as an asset. And when you go rent a property and if there is charging that is there for you, you will perceive that as an asset, therefore pay more for that asset. – Matt Stover
Since a majority of renters currently do not have access to EV charging at their residence, they have to rely on public charging infrastructure which tends to be unreliable. To address this issue, Ford has introduced the Ford Charge Angels program. Charge Angles actively monitor charger performance, communications, and billing protocols to ensure that chargers in the Ford BlueOval Charging Network are operating properly.
There needs to be an improvement in the reliability of the charging infrastructure. – Matt Stover
The Ford BlueOval Charging Network is a network of networks.
What we have done is worked with our partners to create access for our Ford customers to the most AC and DC public chargers in North America. – Matt Stover
In the network there are currently 75,000 EV chargers that allow EV drivers to charge without having to download multiple apps and create new accounts as it all runs through the FordPass app.
Wrapping up the conversation, Matt shares his thoughts on the future of EV charging.
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Recorded on Tuesday, October 18, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Henry Sanderson, Author, Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the geopolitics of the electric vehicle supply chain and his book.
The conversation begins with Henry discussing why he wrote the book.
I really wanted to capture the idea that the energy transition, the move to clean energy wasn’t as simple as putting up some solar panels or wind turbines or swapping your just swapping car for electric. It actually involves a creation of whole new supply chains and opening people’s eyes to what this means. – Henry Sanderson
The electric vehicle supply chain is fragile and comprised of geopolitics. When global carmakers first started to prepare for their supply chains for electric vehicles, they were caught flat footed when they entered the world of commodity trading.
In the book, Henry documents a meeting between executives at VW and a group of global cobalt traders where VW demanded a discount because they are VW. There was no discount, no cobalt sold and VW learned a hard lesson, they could no longer dictate pricing.
They thought of batteries and other things as commodities that they as big car makers could just buy and the suppliers would come running to be part of the VW supply chain. – Henry Sanderson
With the growth of electric vehicles, new suppliers are coming online to meet the global demand. Sony which first commercialized the lithium-ion battery in 1991 could be entering the EV battery space as they look to commercialize their VISION-S EV. In South Korea, LG Chem and SK Innovation continue to invest in producing electric vehicle batteries. Then there is China which for all practical purposes controls the global EV supply chain.
It’s all part of making the world safe for China’s rise and knitting countries together into a sort of China, new China world order. – Henry Sanderson
In 2013, President Xi of China gave a series of strategic speeches as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that were made in locations that possess the rich minerals needed for electric vehicles. As part of those speeches, China announced strategic investments in those countries. While the investments were not specifically targeted at electric vehicles, they indeed had a strategic purpose.
If China takes aggressive action towards Taiwan, the likelihood of the country becoming isolated from global trade is highly likely. Grayson and Henry discuss what the impact would be on China economically and the clean energy supply chain.
It’s amazing when you get into the nuts and bolts of it how integrated China is into the global economy and especially in clean energy where you got 80% of the solar supply chain, 90% of rare earth magnets, 80% of lithium-ion batteries, processing of almost all of these minerals in China. – Henry Sanderson
When it comes to the EV supply chain, China is operating a strategic advantage. In the private sector, Glencore is operating at a strategic advantage because of their cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Glencore has a strategic advantage, the company is not without its own controversies.
The DRC is one of those countries that I think wants to benefit from the energy transition, and when you think of developing countries being victims of climate change, we need to help them, we need to step in. – Henry Sanderson
In Indonesia runoff from the nickel mines are polluting the ocean and damaging the country’s coral reefs. As negative environmental impacts come to light along along with human rights abuses, consumers will start to demand transparency in the supply chain.
In this whole transition the opportunity for innovation is huge and it’s not beyond our wits as man to solve some of these issues. You are exactly right, consumer pressure as we have seen in cobalt can actually really play a big part. – Henry Sanderson
While consumers demand transparency, Governments around the world are working on ways to diversify away from China for the EV supply chain. This change is being driven partly by the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the country is looking to possibly bring the Cornwall lithium mines online one again. The global trend of diversify away from China will only continue as the electric vehicle industry continues to grow and prosper.
Wrapping up the conversation, Henry shares his opinion on how he sees the global electric vehicle supply chain evolving in the coming years.
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Recorded on Monday, October 17, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Henry Sanderson, Author, Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the geopolitics of the electric vehicle supply chain and his book.
The conversation begins with Henry discussing why he wrote the book.
I really wanted to capture the idea that the energy transition, the move to clean energy wasn’t as simple as putting up some solar panels or wind turbines or swapping your just swapping car for electric. It actually involves a creation of whole new supply chains and opening people’s eyes to what this means. – Henry Sanderson
The electric vehicle supply chain is fragile and comprised of geopolitics. When global carmakers first started to prepare for their supply chains for electric vehicles, they were caught flat footed when they entered the world of commodity trading.
In the book, Henry documents a meeting between executives at VW and a group of global cobalt traders where VW demanded a discount because they are VW. There was no discount, no cobalt sold and VW learned a hard lesson, they could no longer dictate pricing.
They thought of batteries and other things as commodities that they as big car makers could just buy and the suppliers would come running to be part of the VW supply chain. – Henry Sanderson
With the growth of electric vehicles, new suppliers are coming online to meet the global demand. Sony which first commercialized the lithium-ion battery in 1991 could be entering the EV battery space as they look to commercialize their VISION-S EV. In South Korea, LG Chem and SK Innovation continue to invest in producing electric vehicle batteries. Then there is China which for all practical purposes controls the global EV supply chain.
It’s all part of making the world safe for China’s rise and knitting countries together into a sort of China, new China world order. – Henry Sanderson
In 2013, President Xi of China gave a series of strategic speeches as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that were made in locations that possess the rich minerals needed for electric vehicles. As part of those speeches, China announced strategic investments in those countries. While the investments were not specifically targeted at electric vehicles, they indeed had a strategic purpose.
If China takes aggressive action towards Taiwan, the likelihood of the country becoming isolated from global trade is highly likely. Grayson and Henry discuss what the impact would be on China economically and the clean energy supply chain.
It’s amazing when you get into the nuts and bolts of it how integrated China is into the global economy and especially in clean energy where you got 80% of the solar supply chain, 90% of rare earth magnets, 80% of lithium-ion batteries, processing of almost all of these minerals in China. – Henry Sanderson
When it comes to the EV supply chain, China is operating a strategic advantage. In the private sector, Glencore is operating at a strategic advantage because of their cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Glencore has a strategic advantage, the company is not without its own controversies.
The DRC is one of those countries that I think wants to benefit from the energy transition, and when you think of developing countries being victims of climate change, we need to help them, we need to step in. – Henry Sanderson
In Indonesia runoff from the nickel mines are polluting the ocean and damaging the country’s coral reefs. As negative environmental impacts come to light along along with human rights abuses, consumers will start to demand transparency in the supply chain.
In this whole transition the opportunity for innovation is huge and it’s not beyond our wits as man to solve some of these issues. You are exactly right, consumer pressure as we have seen in cobalt can actually really play a big part. – Henry Sanderson
While consumers demand transparency, Governments around the world are working on ways to diversify away from China for the EV supply chain. This change is being driven partly by the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the country is looking to possibly bring the Cornwall lithium mines online one again. The global trend of diversify away from China will only continue as the electric vehicle industry continues to grow and prosper.
Wrapping up the conversation, Henry shares his opinion on how he sees the global electric vehicle supply chain evolving in the coming years.
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Recorded on Monday, October 17, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
David Hanngren, Investment Director, Volvo Group Venture Capital joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss how the Volvo Group is transforming from a hardware business to an as a service business, and the role that the venture capital group is playing in Volvo’s transformation.
The conversation begins with David discussing how all of the Volvo Group’s businesses with a $31 billion dollar market cap compliment each other ranging from heavy-duty trucks to construction equipment to buses to heavy-duty engines and marine industrial engines.
We are earning a lot of money which we invest in new technologies. – David Hanngren
All of the business are business-to-business (B2B) that operate under a CAST (Common Architecture Share Technology) model. Components and technologies amongst the various businesses are shared which allows the Volvo Group to optimize the business as they shift to electrification.
Heavy-Duty trucks account for 60% of Volvo Group’s revenue. As the Volvo Group prepares to move from a 100 year old hardware business to an as a services business, the company sees heavy-duty truck business continuing to grow and gaining market share.
We are moving from hardware to services. – David Hanngren
With the shift to services and electrification, Volvo has created two new divisions: Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Volvo Energy. The as a services model will carry over to autonomous trucks.
We do not plan to sell an autonomous truck, we will provide a transport service. Both on-road or off-road. – David Hanngren
The autonomous transport service will be offered for the following applications: mining/quarries, ports/logistics and on-the-road hub-to-hub autonomous trucking. This new service model will allow the company to continue to grow their revenue while they continue to invest in new technologies.
As Volvo Group develops an autonomous transport solution for North America, the company entered into a partnership with Aurora in 2021 to accelerate the plans.
It’s not a traditional situation where an OEM is supplying a truck and Aurora is developing the software, we do this together. We have hundreds of engineers working on the virtual driver and we do it together with Aurora. We want to develop a self-driving transportation service together with them. In the end when it’s ready, Volvo will then offer a transport service to our customers. Together we will make it happen. – David Hanngren
While Volvo Group is developing an autonomous transport solution with Aurora, it is not an exclusive partnership. More partnerships could be coming as Volvo transforms into services oriented company. The venture capital group will play a key role in this transformation.
We want to be one of the ways to transform Volvo from a product centric company to a service oriented company. We see ourselves as an important piece of the puzzle. – David Hanngren
Volvo is going to scale their autonomous transport solution by leveraging all of their brands; Volvo, Mack and Renault Trucks in North America, Europe and Asia. Over the last 12 months, 249,000 Class 8 truck orders have been placed and some dealers are sold out for all of 2023. The demand for freight is up, the demand for Class 8 trucks is up. This environment is creating the perfect backdrop for Volvo to launch their autonomous transport solution.
Staying true to their new as a service model, Volvo is currently testing selling Class 8 trucks as equipment as a service. As Volvo introduces more electric heavy-duty electric trucks, these trucks will primarily be sold as a equipment as a service.
In Europe, Volvo has a 42% market share for electric heavy-duty electric trucks. Volvo expects this market share to grow as Amazon will be taking possession of 20 Volvo heavy-duty electric trucks in Germany by the end of the year. The trucks that Amazon will be using in Germany are projected to drive over 621,000 miles a year.
With 36% of Germany’s domestic transport emissions originating from heavy goods vehicles and other commercial vehicles, Volvo’s electric heavy-duty truck business is poised to flourish as the world begins to decarbonize.
In 2030, half of all the products that we sell will be zero emissions. So either electric or fuel-cell technology. In 2040, which is less than 20 years away all of the new sales should be zero emissions. Then we hope by 2050 that the entire running fleet will be zero emissions. – David Hanngren
Wrapping up the conversation, David discusses the strategic advantages of working with Volvo Group Venture Capital.
We care a lot about the well being of the start-up. Our focus is not on how Volvo can just profit, our focus is on how can we help the start-up. – David Hanngren
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Recorded on Tuesday, October 11, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mazen Danaf, Senior Economist, Uber Freight joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of surface freight transportation market and Uber Freight’s approach to autonomous trucking starting with a hub-to-hub strategy.
The conversation begins with Mazen discussing how he sees the $1.06 trillion dollar surface freight transportation market evolving over the coming years.
We will continue to have more automation over the coming years. – Mazen Danaf
While more automation will becoming to the market, sustainability and transparency are also coming to the market as well. Over the past 24 months the spot rates for shipping have been extremely volatile and the contracts have become inefficient.
We need more tools that can adapt to this level of volatility, and we think that tools like Market Access, which is a class model is one of the best tools out there. Shippers know what the current rates are in the market and then they are paying for that based on a cost-plus model. – Mazen Danaf
Uber Freight which participates in this market generated $2.134 billion in revenue in 2021, and the company is on pace to generate $7.84 billion in 2022. This growth is being driven by technology, expansion into new verticals and market tailwinds.
We are using technology to drive costs lower for everyone. For carriers and for shippers. – Mazen Danaf
With the trend of reshoring manufacturing back to the United States, Grayson poses the question to Mazen, will there be enough freight capacity to move goods.
It’s a cycle. I would say freight capacity is aways chasing demand and the equilibrium level is so elusive that we can’t get to it, so sometimes we undershoot and sometimes we overshoot. – Mazen Danaf
At this point, there is enough capacity to handle the trend, but a potential recession in the United States could change the scenario. This is a scenario that Mazen is modeling for to determine what impact on the freight market will be if consumer spending on goods slows down.
If a recession happens, we are expecting a single digit reduction in freight volumes. – Mazen Danaf
In a recessionary scenario, spending on durable goods will decrease and unemployment will rise. With a truck driver shortage estimated to be 84,000 truck drivers this year and a potential recession, the cost to ship freight could potentially increase due to a lack of capacity. The trend of the driver shortage is forecasted to grow to 160,000 drivers by 2030.
A large amount of truck drivers who are currently driving trucks today are starting to prefer to drive local routes instead of long-haul over-the-road routes, which is further putting strain on the freight market. These market conditions are creating the perfect opportunity for autonomous trucking to fill the void and shore up the demand in the market for long-haul trucking.
Serving the middle-mile is the perfect opportunity for autonomous trucking. – Mazen Danaf
This is the opportunity that Uber Freight is focused on which Mazen and his co-authors highlighted in their The Future of Self-Driving Technology in Trucking, A road map for evolving freight transportation with autonomous trucks paper. The hub-to-hub model will have economic benefits for customers of the Uber Freight platform in terms of cost savings.
By leveraging their vast amounts of data, Uber Freight is able to work with their autonomous trucking partners to determine the most ideal locations for the transfer hubs. At first these hubs will be located near major freeways, which will increase the utilization and uptime of the trucks.
At the transfer hub, the autonomous trucks will drop the load and the final mile delivery will be done by a professional truck driver, creating efficiencies. With the hub-to-hub model, there is no limit to the amount of freight that can pass through this model, the only restraint is the amount of freight available in the market.
The hub-to-hub model is merely just the starting point to how Uber Freight sees the autonomous trucking model evolving.
We do not think this is the final model. We think of this as a stepping stone and we believe that one day we will be able to achieve end-to-end operations where autonomous trucks will be able to drive from the source facility to the end facility. – Mazen Danaf
Wrapping up the conversation, Mazen shares his thoughts on the future of Uber Freight.
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Recorded on Monday, October 10, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mazen Danaf, Senior Economist, Uber Freight joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of surface freight transportation market and Uber Freight’s approach to autonomous trucking starting with a hub-to-hub strategy.
The conversation begins with Mazen discussing how he sees the $1.06 trillion dollar surface freight transportation market evolving over the coming years.
We will continue to have more automation over the coming years. – Mazen Danaf
While more automation will becoming to the market, sustainability and transparency are also coming to the market as well. Over the past 24 months the spot rates for shipping have been extremely volatile and the contracts have become inefficient.
We need more tools that can adapt to this level of volatility, and we think that tools like Market Access, which is a class model is one of the best tools out there. Shippers know what the current rates are in the market and then they are paying for that based on a cost-plus model. – Mazen Danaf
Uber Freight which participates in this market generated $2.134 billion in revenue in 2021, and the company is on pace to generate $7.84 billion in 2022. This growth is being driven by technology, expansion into new verticals and market tailwinds.
We are using technology to drive costs lower for everyone. For carriers and for shippers. – Mazen Danaf
With the trend of reshoring manufacturing back to the United States, Grayson poses the question to Mazen, will there be enough freight capacity to move goods.
It’s a cycle. I would say freight capacity is aways chasing demand and the equilibrium level is so elusive that we can’t get to it, so sometimes we undershoot and sometimes we overshoot. – Mazen Danaf
At this point, there is enough capacity to handle the trend, but a potential recession in the United States could change the scenario. This is a scenario that Mazen is modeling for to determine what impact on the freight market will be if consumer spending on goods slows down.
If a recession happens, we are expecting a single digit reduction in freight volumes. – Mazen Danaf
In a recessionary scenario, spending on durable goods will decrease and unemployment will rise. With a truck driver shortage estimated to be 84,000 truck drivers this year and a potential recession, the cost to ship freight could potentially increase due to a lack of capacity. The trend of the driver shortage is forecasted to grow to 160,000 drivers by 2030.
A large amount of truck drivers who are currently driving trucks today are starting to prefer to drive local routes instead of long-haul over-the-road routes, which is further putting strain on the freight market. These market conditions are creating the perfect opportunity for autonomous trucking to fill the void and shore up the demand in the market for long-haul trucking.
Serving the middle-mile is the perfect opportunity for autonomous trucking. – Mazen Danaf
This is the opportunity that Uber Freight is focused on which Mazen and his co-authors highlighted in their The Future of Self-Driving Technology in Trucking, A road map for evolving freight transportation with autonomous trucks paper. The hub-to-hub model will have economic benefits for customers of the Uber Freight platform in terms of cost savings.
By leveraging their vast amounts of data, Uber Freight is able to work with their autonomous trucking partners to determine the most ideal locations for the transfer hubs. At first these hubs will be located near major freeways, which will increase the utilization and uptime of the trucks.
At the transfer hub, the autonomous trucks will drop the load and the final mile delivery will be done by a professional truck driver, creating efficiencies. With the hub-to-hub model, there is no limit to the amount of freight that can pass through this model, the only restraint is the amount of freight available in the market.
The hub-to-hub model is merely just the starting point to how Uber Freight sees the autonomous trucking model evolving.
We do not think this is the final model. We think of this as a stepping stone and we believe that one day we will be able to achieve end-to-end operations where autonomous trucks will be able to drive from the source facility to the end facility. – Mazen Danaf
Wrapping up the conversation, Mazen shares his thoughts on the future of Uber Freight.
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Recorded on Monday, October 10, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Francesca Favarò, Safety Best Practices Lead, Waymo joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss Waymo’s layered approach to safety.
The conversation begins with Francesca discussing how Waymo approaches safety for autonomous vehicles.
Waymo has an approach that we call a layer approach to safety. – Francesca Favarò
Waymo’s layered approach to safety is a combination of the architecture layer (hardware), behavior layer (software) and the operations layer. This approach allows Waymo to take a holistic approach to safety that is both robust and redundant.
The Waymo Driver as a technology actually allows consistent learning across an entire fleet. The operations layer is where everything starts coming together and we ensure that going from the Waymo Driver to the Waymo service we are in fact deploying a safe product in a scalable fleet. – Francesca Favarò
The layered safety framework started with the realization that no single metric could define safety.
The safety framework is the combination of methodologies that basically allows you to make the determination of safety with regards to architecture, behavior and operations. – Francesca Favarò
As Waymo expands into new cities, the safety framework is applied to each and every ODD (Operational Design Domain) where Waymo operates. The company is looking into historical driving data, vulnerable road users data and distracted driving patterns that lead to crashes. Another issue that Waymo studies and plans for from a safety standpoint is fatigued driving.
Fatigue can impair judgments, prevent an appropriate mental state and lead to distracted driving. NHTSA estimates that fatigued driving accounts for 20% of highway driving crashes and Harvard Medical School estimates that 24-hours awake which can occur during a sleepless night is akin to a blood alcohol level of 0.1.
With fatigue playing an outside role in safety, Waymo developed the Fatigue Risk Management Framework to address the issue of fatigue and how to prevent it when testing autonomous vehicles with autonomous specialists. Francesca goes onto explain in-depth how Waymo is mitigating fatigue risk while the autonomous vehicles are being tested with autonomous specialists.
In the local communities where Waymo is testing autonomous vehicles, the Fatigue Risk Management Framework with law enforcement, local officials and first responders so they can truly understand the role that autonomous specialists play while monitoring the autonomous vehicles.
This approach ties directly into Waymo’s culture of safety and transparency.
Safety does not happen overnight. You have to be intentional in creating the appropriate safety culture. – Francesca Favarò
Waymo is focused on developing an SAE Level 4 system as the continuous monitoring of the automated driving system can be subject to complacency coupled with an altered state of attention that can hinder the safety of the overall operation.
Wrapping up the conversation, Francesca shares her insights on how she sees the Waymo Driver evolving over the coming years.
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Recorded on Friday, October 7, 2022
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Francesca Favarò, Safety Best Practices Lead, Waymo joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss Waymo’s layered approach to safety.
The conversation begins with Francesca discussing how Waymo approaches safety for autonomous vehicles.
Waymo has an approach that we call a layer approach to safety. – Francesca Favarò
Waymo’s layered approach to safety is a combination of the architecture layer (hardware), behavior layer (software) and the operations layer. This approach allows Waymo to take a holistic approach to safety that is both robust and redundant.
The Waymo Driver as a technology actually allows consistent learning across an entire fleet. The operations layer is where everything starts coming together and we ensure that going from the Waymo Driver to the Waymo service we are in fact deploying a safe product in a scalable fleet. – Francesca Favarò
The layered safety framework started with the realization that no single metric could define safety.
The safety framework is the combination of methodologies that basically allows you to make the determination of safety with regards to architecture, behavior and operations. – Francesca Favarò
As Waymo expands into new cities, the safety framework is applied to each and every ODD (Operational Design Domain) where Waymo operates. The company is looking into historical driving data, vulnerable road users data and distracted driving patterns that lead to crashes. Another issue that Waymo studies and plans for from a safety standpoint is fatigued driving.
Fatigue can impair judgments, prevent an appropriate mental state and lead to distracted driving. NHTSA estimates that fatigued driving accounts for 20% of highway driving crashes and Harvard Medical School estimates that 24-hours awake which can occur during a sleepless night is akin to a blood alcohol level of 0.1.
With fatigue playing an outside role in safety, Waymo developed the Fatigue Risk Management Framework to address the issue of fatigue and how to prevent it when testing autonomous vehicles with autonomous specialists. Francesca goes onto explain in-depth how Waymo is mitigating fatigue risk while the autonomous vehicles are being tested with autonomous specialists.
In the local communities where Waymo is testing autonomous vehicles, the Fatigue Risk Management Framework with law enforcement, local officials and first responders so they can truly understand the role that autonomous specialists play while monitoring the autonomous vehicles.
This approach ties directly into Waymo’s culture of safety and transparency.
Safety does not happen overnight. You have to be intentional in creating the appropriate safety culture. – Francesca Favarò
Waymo is focused on developing an SAE Level 4 system as the continuous monitoring of the automated driving system can be subject to complacency coupled with an altered state of attention that can hinder the safety of the overall operation.
Wrapping up the conversation, Francesca shares her insights on how she sees the Waymo Driver evolving over the coming years.
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Recorded on Friday, October 7, 2022
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Pat Dillon, Chief Financial Officer, Flock Freight joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current economic outlook and Flock’s carpooling for freight model that unlocks value for shippers and carriers.
The conversation begins with Pat sharing his insight on how as CFO, he is preparing Flock Freight for a potential recession in the United States which is currently being forecasted at 50% according to the Bloomberg United States Recession Probability Forecast.
We are certainly cognizant of the broader macro environment and how that impacts our business. It certainly means that as consumer behavior changes or industrial production, the demand for freight transportation has an impact on that, so that certainly translates into our business. – Pat Dillon
While Flock Freight is still a growth company, the company is taking prudent measures to be prepared for the scenario that the United States economy falls into a recession. One of the company’s economic advantages is that they operate an asset-light shared truckload platform that enables cost savings for their customers.
Shared truckload would mean that we can take a 20 ft shipment from Customer A and a 25 ft shipment from Customer B and pool those together into a single truckload, so it never has to go on a hub and go through a warehouse. And you are getting point-to-point transportation. It’s essentially carpooling for freight. – Pat Dillon
Shipping using shared truckloads can reduce carbon emissions up to 40% due to higher utilization through fewer driven miles. As an important metric as this is, truck tonnage in the United States increased 7.4% in August 2022, year-over-year. The growth can be partially attributed to the catch-up effect as the global supply chain has begun to normalize.
While the global supply chain has normalized today, the freight market will continue to fluctuate with the driver shortage and a potential slowdown in consumer spending. Creating opportunities for Flock that CNBC has taken notice as the company has climbed from #42 on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list in 2021 to #14 in 2022.
With a potential recession on the horizon, Pat discusses what impact consolidation in the truck freight market will have on Flock Freight.
Unlike a lot of other markets that might already be pretty consolidated, were further consolidation has signifiant pressure on margins, this is not that type of market. It’s hyper fragmented and we do not see it having much of a day-to-day impact from that perspective on Flock Freight. – Pat Dillon
From a technology perspective, autonomous trucks are preparing to scale and the timing could not be better as there is a growing demand for freight and a growing driver shortage.
Like a lot of things, there are big problems throughout the truck freight world and big problems are big opportunities. That’s how you create new capacity when you are constrained on the number of drivers. – Pat Dillon
Autonomous trucks will compliment Flock Freight as they be able to provide autonomous shared truckload capacity. As new technologies come online such as hydrogen fuel-cell and electric heavy-duty trucks, Flock will look at ways to potential integrate those technologies into their platform.
Wrapping up the conversation, Pat shares his thoughts on the future of freight.
If you are a player in freight you will need to be able to have a more diversified approach in terms of the offerings you give to your customers. – Pat Dillon
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Recorded on Friday, September 30, 2022
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Alan Ohnsman, Senior Editor, Forbes joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss the complex supply chains for electric vehicles and the growing shortage of raw materials and refining capacity for those materials.
The conversation begins with Alan discussing the shortage of raw materials and the lack of refining capacity to enable an all-electric future.
The push to shift to EVs happened faster than any of the major OEMs anticipated. – Alan Ohnsman
The major car manufacturers with the exception of Tesla and Chinese OEMs were caught flat footed with the pace of transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Over the past year, the price of lithium has increased 122% YTD, forcing EV manufacturers to increase the price of EVs by an average of 54.3% due to the increasing costs of raw materials. How did this happen? The major car manufacturers were simply just not prepared for the consumer demand for EVs.
What you are seeing with the run-up in prices especially for lithium would be exactly that. There was not a lot of advanced planning and now suddenly whether it’s General Motors or Ford, or VW and everyone else saying we need lots of this stuff, we need it now. Well it’s supply and demand. The price is going to react to that when demand suddenly spikes. – Alan Ohnsman
With the average price of a new electric vehicle in the United States being $66k, does this create an opportunity for the used hybrid market to grow? Could this create an opportunity for Toyota to sell new hybrid models as well? Possibly. Alan breaks down what he calls the Tesla Effect and its effect on the market.
While Tesla is having an effect on the market and driving the average price of a new EV higher, there is also the supply chain issue that is causing elevated prices. Furthermore there is a reported shortage of over 384 graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt mines and an undisclosed shortage of refining capacity for raw materials globally according to Benchmark Minerals.
If you look at the scale of demand and where it’s going to be throughout the 2020’s and into the 2030’s, we are not ready. We need far more sources of supply. – Alan Ohnsman
One new potential source of supply that could be coming online in the near feature is The Salton Sea lithium deposit in California. For an article that Alan authored for Forbes, titled; California’s Lithium Rush For EV Batteries Hinges On Taming Toxic, Volcanic Brine he visited The Salton Sea to learn about the opportunity first-hand. Governor Newson has called The Salton Sea the “Saudi Arabia of Lithium”. Could this indeed be true? Alan shares his first-hand account of what he learned from visiting the region and meeting the lithium producers.
This has never really been done before. Getting Lithium from brine is not a new thing. Getting lithium from this particular type of brine is completely new. It has a lot of challenges. It’s going to be fascinating to see. If it works, it’s so beneficial for everyone, because it would be a more environmentally friendly sustainable way to do this since you are just tapping into a stream that already exists. – Alan Ohnsman
While this method is still unproven, the State of California has moved forward and proposed a flat-rate lithium tax which would impose a tax of $400 per tonne for the first 20,000 tonnes of lithium produced annually, $600 per tonne for the next 10,000 tonnes, and $800 per tonne with output of 30,000 tonnes or more. Is this a classic case of putting the cart before the horse? Could this create an opportunity for Nevada to step in and offer economic incentive packages for mining companies to relocate to Nevada and explore their lithium deposits? The market will be defined by economics and business viability. Grayson and Alan discuss what the economic impact of the proposed tax will have on the Salton Sea region.
If they perfect the technology, the tax is probably not that big of a deal as time goes on. But in those critical early years, it is a problem and it will add to the expense of what is already a fairly complicated thing. – Alan Ohnsman
Prior to becoming a destination for lithium extraction, The Salton Sea was the Speedboat Capital of the World in the 1920’s and 30’s. It was a destination for Hollywood to escape the hustle and bustle of LA. The sea became toxic over years due to the runoff from agriculture chemicals and a lack of fresh water from the Colorado River.
Today, The Salton Sea is no longer a tourist destination. It’s a toxic area that is causing health problems for the individuals who live in the region. It’s a ghost town. The lithium extraction companies are hoping that they can revive the ghost town and turn into an old fashion mining town that is buzzing with industrial activity.
We’ll see whether it takes shape. They got to prove that they can really get this lithium out of there and do it in an affordable way. – Alan Ohnsman
While investors can point to the Inflation Reduction Act as a catalyst for demand for lithium from The Salton Sea. The effect of the act might not has large of an impact as they were hoping for as Bloomberg Intelligence reports that the IRA will have a negligible effect on EV sales, accounting for less than 1% of an assumed 15 million US automobiles sold annually through 2028, topping out at 1.3% in 2031.
The United States is simply not prepared today for the transition to electric vehicles. The U.S. is highly dependent on China as the country refines 85% of the world’s raw materials. Leading to geopolitical risks and the potential for EV supply chains to suddenly come to a standstill. China championed their domestic battery market from the beginning. With China being the world’s largest automobile market, Alan talks about how the global OEMs missed this trend and failed to put a domestic strategy in place to ensure a stable supply chain for their electric vehicles.
Fast forward to today and VW has committed to spend $20.4 billion to build six new gigafactories in Europe for a capacity of 240 GWh/year. Building the gigafactories is the easy part. Souring the raw materials is the hard part.
Setting up a new EV plant, building a new battery plant, that’s the easy thing. That is what they know how to do. Sourcing of raw materials, cobalt from the Congo and lithium from Chile and nickel from hopefully Canada, or Indonesia or somewhere else, that is a whole different thing. – Alan Ohnsman
This is where Tesla continues to lead. Tesla is continuously one step ahead of its competitors as it relates to securing raw materials and managing it’s EV supply chain. Now the company is looking to further secure its raw material supply chain by developing their own lithium hydroxide refining facility in Texas.
Wrapping up the conversation, Alan shares his thoughts on what has to be done to ensure a sustainable electric vehicle supply chain.
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Recorded on Thursday September 22, 2022
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Aaron Nathan, Founder, CEO and CTO, Point One Navigation joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss safety and scaling autonomous vehicles with precise location services.
The conversation begins with Grayson and Aaron discussing how we can make cars safer today, due to a rising trend of speeding on roads that is leading to an increase in crashes and fatalities. One potential way to dent this trend is to solve for the issue is for companies to actively embrace and implement active safety solutions that can predict and act before an incident takes place.
Ultimately making systems that can detect something that is going to happen and then actually do something to avoid those type of tragic incidents. That is really where I think this industry is going to have a big impact in the near term. – Aaron Nathan
With rising crashes across the world, could the general public become more open to trying and eventually embracing autonomous vehicles as part of their daily lives? AVs do not get distracted, text or speed. They simply follow the rules of the road and take you to and from your destination safely. Safety will be one defining factor that ultimately leads to a future with autonomous vehicles.
The other factor that will ultimately drive consumers towards autonomous vehicles is convenience. We are starting to see the early phases of this trend with the introduction of Apple‘s Crash Detection that is featured on the iPhone 14, Apple Watch 8 and Ultra. As much as this is a safety feature, it’s a convenience.
Feeling that your device is really helping you be safe, that technology that kind of feeling is something that we are going to see, not just from companies like Apple, but also car companies that are building these technologies. – Aaron Nathan
Could Apple’s introduction of Crash Detection be the first step towards the much speculated Apple Car? Possibly. Grayson and Aaron discuss why an Apple Car would be an another platform for Apple to grow their services businesses through the introduction of augmented reality experiences in-vehicle complimented with a commerce layer. To achieve this vision, Apple has to develop an autonomous vehicle stack.
While Point One Navigation is not developing an autonomous vehicle stack, they are however enabling AVs to know where they are all of the time and updating other vehicles in the fleet in real-time on road trends with their precise location.
We are the common language that the cars can use to talk to about where they saw something. – Aaron Nathan
Real-time data can be used to update an autonomous vehicle on traffic patterns and advise the passenger on the best time to leave the destination when they summon an autonomous vehicle. Point One’s technology can also apply to traditional vehicles as well. This is convenience and this is the future of mobility.
Tying the digital and physical worlds together, that is a building block that we are enabling. – Aaron Nathan
It’s not just traffic data, it’s the real-time precise location of the vehicle that makes Point One’s technology so important to the future of autonomy.
Wrapping up the conversation, Aaron shares his thoughts on the future of precise location services.
Location is one of the most important and invisible sensors in all of robotics, not just self-driving vehicles. – Aaron Nathan
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Recorded on Thursday September 15, 2022
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Andrew Culhane, Chief Strategy Officer, Torc Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy Podcast to discuss scaling autonomy profitability along with Torc’s strategic relationship with Daimler.
The conversation begins with Andrew reflecting on the last 14 years of Torc, as he first joined the company in 2008 as a Sales Engineer. Up until Daimler acquired a majority stake in 2019, the company never took any outside funding and was profitable each and every year.
Torc was bootstrapped from day one. We had no outside capital into Torc until the Daimler deal. – Andrew Culhane
This is a success story. This is Torc. The can do attitude of running a growing profitable business has proven to be extremely successful for the company. While it’s successful today, it was a journey that was full of hard decisions and moments of uncertainty. It’s these moments of uncertainty that laid the groundwork for Torc pivoting to autonomous trucking as Andrew explains in detail. These decisions led to what the company is today, a company with a Daimler partnership that is solely focused on autonomous trucking.
We had learned a lot of lessons over all of those years and really understanding what it was going to take, and made that move to trucking before anybody else. – Andrew Culhane
The decision to pivot from passenger vehicles, mining and military to focus solely on autonomous trucking was not an an easy decision. While the decision was not an easy one, it allowed the company to focus their entire effort on autonomous trucking. As part of their focus on autonomous trucking, the company is focused on a hub-to-hub model. This model was chosen based on experience and listening to the needs of their customers.
It has been three years since Daimler took a majority stake in Torc and there has been a great deal of collaboration during this time.
It’s been a really interesting partnership and collaboration. – Andrew Culhane
This approach follows Torc’s track record of not overhyping and not making promises that they cannot keep. Torc has never publicly set a date to remove the driver and operate driver-out operations as they have always kept true to who they are. With this in mind, Grayson and Andrew discuss the boom and bust hype cycles of autonomy.
While Torc is not making timeline promises, the company is clearly laying the groundwork towards commercialization as the company recently appointed Peter Vaughn Schmidt (Head of Daimler Truck Autonomous Technology Group) as CEO.
Wrapping up the conversation, Andrew discusses what drove Torc’s financial discipline from day one.
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Recorded on Tuesday September 13, 2022
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Scott Painter, Founder & CEO, Autonomy joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Autonomy’s approach to electric vehicle subscriptions.
The conversation begins with Scott discussing why he founded Autonomy.
I think that great entrepreneurs, great companies have to solve a real problem. – Scott Painter
One of the key hurdles to the adoption of electric vehicles is affordability and that is the problem that Autonomy is solving with their subscription model. For those individuals who are uncertain about electric vehicles and/or concerned about range, Autonomy offers a low commitment way to discover and experience an electric vehicle without a long-term commitment.
Because Autonomy owns the fleet and gathers data in real-time about the vehicles, the company is able to offer time based episodic insurance for subscribers. With this model, subscribers only pay for insurance when they are driving the vehicle, leading to a lower operating cost than a traditional lease.
Overall, an Autonomy subscription is about 15% less than a traditional lease. When compared to a Tesla lease, an individual needs to have a minimum 720 FICO score in order to qualify for a lease. With an Autonomy subscription, an individual can secure a subscription with a minimum 640 FICO score.
What we are really focused on is giving people the ability to get flexible access to mobility without necessarily having to go into debt. – Scott Painter
The other key differences are that an Autonomy subscription is minimum of three months as compared to traditional Tesla lease that is 36 months. A Tesla lease will report as debt on consumers credit reports, while an Autonomy subscription will not report as debt.
The fact that a subscription, an Autonomy subscription in particular does not show up on your credit report as debt is a very big deal. Which also allows us to open up another really key value proposition, which is you can pay for it with a credit card. You can not pay a traditional car lease or a car loan with a credit card, because it is illegal to pay debt with debt. – Scott Painter
With rising consumer credit card debt, Grayson and Scott discuss how Autonomy approaches underwriting and how the company is constantly evaluating potential subscribers from a credit risk standpoint. In addition to the consumers’s credit report, Autonomy also looks at potential subscribers insurability.
The goal here is to have dramatically better outcomes than a traditional auto lender or auto lessor. We just do not want to have bad debt on the books. We want to see good quality revenue coming in. – Scott Painter
To scale up the business, Autonomy has placed an order for nearly 23,000 electric vehicles from 17 different automakers for a capital expenditure of $1.2 billion order. This order represents 1.2% of the projected U.S. electric vehicle production through the end of 2022.
Wrapping up the conversation, Scott discusses how he plans to expand the business in the coming years.
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Recorded on Thursday, September 8, 2022
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Avery Ash, Head of Global Public Policy and Product Strategy, INRIX joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how data can help cities and DOTs (Department of Transportations) better understand congestion and how to properly plan for it.
The conversation begins with Avery discussing how INRIX gathers anonymous data from 500 million vehicles, mobile devices, mobile apps, parking lot operators, mobile carriers and smart meters all in real-time.
Expanding their data gathering capabilities, INRIX recently announced a partnership with GM where data from 15 million vehicles will be used in a collaborative manner to create Safety View. This product leverage the promise of connected vehicles to improve safety planning in local communities.
As local communities plan for safe road ways, data will play a vital role in determining the best way to improve safety. In Washington, D.C. for example, 20% of drivers travel at least 10 mph above the speed limit in school zones. Knowing this data, schools will be better prepared to implement safety solutions such solutions as speed bumps, crossing guards, lowering speed limits in surrounding neighborhoods and working with local law enforcement to increase the police presence.
You can not expect one silver bullet solution that is going to solve this problem. – Avery Ash
Once the new safety measures are put in place, schools can measure the impact of the changes thanks to the data. Data is also having an impact on how cities tackle the issue of congestion. Each year, INRIX publishes their Annual Global Traffic Scorecard and this year the company reported that the average American driver lost 36 hours in 2021 due to congestion. With all of this data being gathered, how can cities effectively use the data to reduce traffic? That is the million dollar question.
In London which is the world’s most congested city, where drivers lost 148 hours to congestion in 2021, the city has not figured out how to effectively reduce traffic even as the city has a daily £15 congestion tax.
New York City is currently debating on whether to follow London’s lead and introduce a congestion tax. But NYC has a crime problem that three quarters of New Yorkers have called a very serious problem. Crime is driving New Yorkers tourists alike to single occupancy vehicles out of an abundance of caution. When planning for congestion, it’s important to take into account a variety of data points and not just rely on one source of data.
It’s really important to enter into these sorts of policy changes with eyes wide open and with a willingness and frankly a plan for how you are going to measure the impact. – Avery Ash
Could autonomous vehicle drop-off and pick-up zones be a potential solution in the future as AVs scale and are deployed in cities around the world? Grayson and Avery discuss drop-off and pick-up zones as a potential solution for congestion in cities.
Wrapping up the conversation, Avery shares his opinion on the best way cities can prepare for the large scale deployment of autonomous vehicles.
The first step is to get a really clear understanding of how your roadways are currently being used and what behavior looks like across your road networks, across all road users. – Avery Ash
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Recorded on Tuesday, August 30, 2022
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Tara Andringa, Executive Director of Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss developing and maintaining public trust in autonomous vehicles and trucks.
The conversation begins with Tara discussing how PAVE is working on developing public trust of autonomous vehicles.
I really like to think of it as a conversation with the public. Every single person is a stakeholder in transportation, and so what we want to do is let everyone have a voice in thinking about what the future of our transportation system looks like. – Tara Andringa
One of the biggest hurdles to over come on the road to developing public trust in autonomous vehicles is misleading headlines that erode public trust in the technology.
This is one of our biggest challenges right now. – Tara Andringa
These headlines are eroding public trust as they are confusing ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) with autonomous vehicles, which is causing confusion with the public. Some individuals are over-trusting that the ADAS system will operate like an autonomous vehicle, meaning that they will not have to pay attention when the vehicle is driving, potentially leading to tragic situations.
One reason these headlines are being printed is the amount of traffic that they generate for news outlets. While the traffic leads to higher ad revenue, the headlines could potentially lead to unfortunate events and an overall erosion of public trust in autonomy.
It’s much easier for them to write self-driving car then it is to say a car that under limited circumstances with an attentive human behind the wheel can handle some driving tasks. That just does not roll off the tongue. It gets simplified to really dangerous results. – Tara Andringa
It is very important to point out that you cannot buy an autonomous vehicle today and that all autonomous vehicles are currently operated as part of a fleet. To try and clear the confusion, PAVE partnered with AAA, J.D. Power, The National Safety Council, SAE International and Consumer Reports on the CLEARING THE CONFUSION: Common Naming for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems document.
There are two different naming issues and I really want to distinguish between them. One is that we need clear language for what is available today and the other issue is that we need clear language to distinguish today’s technology from future technology. – Tara Andringa
With over 40 different names for Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), consumers are unsure of what the technology can do, potentially causing confusion. The is why the common naming document is so important. Perhaps the common naming document can be transferred into emojis that everyone around the world no matter what language they speak can understand what it means.
There are examples from history that can help pave the road with trust. One example is The Vagabonds, a group composed of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs who made yearly camping trips in Ford vehicles between 1916 and 1924 with the goal of developing trust in the automobile. A more modern example is what Voyage did in The Villages to develop trust of autonomous vehicles with the residents of the community.
When you really give people exposure to the technology, they start thinking about it in a much more real way. – Tara Andringa
Building upon history, a diverse group of members from leading startups, to established automakers to insurance companies to non-profits, to software providers came together to form PAVE with the goal of developing public trust in autonomous vehicles and trucks.
Wrapping up the conversation, Tara shares insights on how communities and Governments are preparing for the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles.
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Recorded on Tuesday, August 23, 2022
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Hayk Martiros, VP of Autonomy, Skydio joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss developing a vision-based autonomous drone complete with obstacle avoidance and why this system enables pilots to trust the autonomy.
The conversation begins with Hayk discussing what makes Skydio different from other drone companies.
The whole premise of Skydio is to build a vision-based autonomous drone. A drone that uses cameras to see and understand the world around it, and then navigate in that world so that the user does not have to be an expert pilot. They do not have to worry about avoiding objects or knowing exactly how to have your fingers on the sticks ready to go, but rather you are just interacting with this robot that you feel that you can trust. – Hayk Martiros
Skydio drones operate a vision-based autonomous system with cameras instead of radar and LiDAR because cameras are the only way to make an autonomous drone that just works. Cameras also enable the drone to have a longer battery life as they are lighter and less power intensive when compared to radar and LiDAR.
Designing everything, form and function together to absolutely optimize for weight is kind of everything with a flying machine. – Hayk Martiros
While the drones are designed for weight, the vision-based autonomous system has an obstacle avoidance system that operates smoothly while in-flight. The system develops trust with the pilot and enables them to fly without having to worry about the drone crashing into a visible object.
We invested a huge amount of effort into this. We were the first company and team to use deep learning for robot obstacle avoidance in a real product. – Hayk Martiros
Autonomy combined with an obstacle avoidance system is one of the key ways that trust with drones will be developed in the future. This will lead to trust being built with regulators such as the FAA when companies request permission to fly beyond the visual line of sight. Skydio customer Dominion Energy was recently granted FAA approval to fly beyond the line of sight in seven U.S. States to inspect power generation facilities.
Our approach has been let’s try to prove our case and prove the trust worthiness of our autonomy through data and work with the FAA to make progress. – Hayk Martiros
When flying beyond the line of sight, Skydio has a return to home feature where the drone will autonomously fly back to the launch point or a pre-specified point if the battery runs low or connectivity is lost for example. The drone autonomously makes this decision based on data from the on-board health monitoring system.
Autonomy combined with the ease of use makes Skydio special. – Hayk Martiros
Evolving from a software company to a vertically integrated hardware and software company has allowed Skydio to design an autonomous drone that just works. The autonomy system was first developed in 2014 when the company was focused solely on software. Since then the technology has continuously advanced as more and more edge cases are added into the autonomy stack leading to the system becoming more robust and more autonomous.
Wrapping up the conversation, Hayk shares his thoughts on the future of autonomous drones.
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Recorded on Tuesday, August 16, 2022
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Damien Scott, Director of EV Product Strategy, BrightDrop joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss energy and the role that managing energy usage in real-time will play in a future with electrified transportation.
The conversation begins with Damien discussing growing up in Botswana, flying around the country with his father who was a medical doctor and why his parents made the decision to homeschool him and his sisters.
One of the amazing things about living on a remote game farm in Botswana is you have to become incredibly practical fixing vehicles, borehole pumps, electricity frequently goes down, and so there is a lot of direct exposure to the fundamental things that we use in our life. – Damien Scott
Having been exposed to medicine and aviation at an early age, Damien made the decision to go into technology after being inspired by science fiction. He wanted to work on technology that would bring about some of the more positive visions of the future that involved energy and transportation.
While living on the farm, Damien’s father installed their first solar powered borehole pump, which reduced the families dependence on diesel. This was the first time that Damien was exposed to solar and the true benefits of the technology. Having experienced solar energy in a remote part of the world first-hand, Damien discusses the opportunities that he sees for solar energy.
The market for renewable energy such as solar continues to grow and is projected to make up 27% of the world’s energy by 2050, coal still accounts for 27% of the world’s primary energy, roughly the same level as 50 years ago. In 50 years from now, how will the world’s mix of energy sources change?
This is the big question. I think it boils down to a set of actions that technology companies will take, the policy makers will take. It’s not determined what this mix is going to look like, it is really ours as a species to make these decisions. – Damien Scott
Energy demand is growing globally and The US Energy Information Administration is projecting that the global energy demand will grow by 47% by 2050. To be prepared to handle this increase in demand, we have to start paying attention to energy demand and its impact on the energy grid.
One of the first things to look at is, can we optimize what we have already and take the assets that we have — the electricity grid we have today and the one that we expect to evolve in the short to medium term and just use it more efficiently. – Damien Scott
What happens when you electrify large fleets of commercial vehicles? What will their impact be on the energy grid? How do you manage the energy usage. This is the problem that Marain set out to fix and they are now doing it as part of BrightDrop.
In order to create the future that we want, we have to simulate it. It’s really expensive to make the wrong decisions in our infrastructure buildout with the electricity grid. – Damien Scott
This approach will ensure that commercial EV fleet owners are properly prepared and not caught flat footed as they scale up their global electric vehicle fleets. As we are still early in the adoption of electric vehicles, the future is yet to be written in terms of how fleet operators will manage their fleets.
Wrapping up the conversation, Damien shares his thoughts on the future of global energy consumption.
The next decade leading up to 2030 is going to be the most important for energy and transportation across all areas, technology, business models, policy. – Damien Scott
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Recorded on Tuesday August 9, 2022
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David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg and Author of Charging Ahead, General Motors, Mary Bara, and the Reinvention of an American Icon joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss market consolidation in the electric and autonomous vehicle markets along with his new book.
The conversation begins with David sharing his thoughts on market consolidation in the autonomous vehicle market and who he thinks could potentially be acquired.
Not all of these companies have to sell right now, but if capital markets stay as tight as they are, I think you are going to see a lot of action there. – David Welch
On the electric vehicle side of the equation, EV start-ups are having a hard time raising cash and when they successful raise capital, the capital is expensive. Some of the EV companies are spreading themselves too thin by focusing on multiple markets instead of having a a singular focus on developing a great electric vehicle.
A subset of the electric vehicle market that is becoming over saturated is the last-mile electric van delivery market as GM scales BrightDrop and Ford scales their E-Transit van.
Anyone trying to get into this business, including Rivian, they are going to have a tough time because Ford and GM not only have vans that are already being built, they have the industrial prowess and the factories to make a big go of it. – David Welch
Outside of the electrification of vans, GM has made several savvy moves by acquiring Cruise and Marain among other all the while preparing for the future of mobility which will be on-demand, electric and autonomous. From an economics standpoint, GM is funding Cruise to the tune of $1 billion a year and Ford and VW are investing significant funds into Argo each and every year.
The big question is, how long will GM continue to fund Cruise and how long will Ford/VW continue to fund Argo? David shares his thoughts on what the future could hold for Cruise and Argo and when GM and Ford will further tap outside investors and/or spin out the divisions once they start generating significant revenue.
Waymo similar to Cruise is generating revenue from their robo-taxi business in addition to their Waymo Via trucking logistics business. Grayson asks David: what will it take and when does he think Alphabet will have their Amazon AWS moment and breakout Waymo earnings for the first time?
I do not know if it’s monetary or has a number on it, I think it’s more a strategic thing. – David Welch
While this will be a strategic decision, the bigger question at present time, do the autonomous vehicle companies have the right executive leadership to commercialize, scale and eventually run a profitable business? Grayson and David discuss the current state of management talent and why Cruise’s competitive commercial advantage could be the executives who joined from Delta and Southwest.
Commercializing an AV company to running a profitable AV company requires a different set of management skills. While management will play a key role, a larger question is; will the robo-taxi business ever be profitable in it’s current state?
This is not a high-margin business. It’s just one that they can do and has the potential to get very big in terms of revenue. – David Welch
Looking at different commercial models, do we get to the point where one of the large AV developers pivots from operating a robo-taxi business to operating a licensing business? Possibly.
I think there is a business there. – David Welch
Based on the way Waymo is currently structured and being owned by a large technology company instead of an auto manufacturer, it’s a possibility. Grayson offers that the service could be called Waymo Drive and offered as a monthly add-on option for JLR vehicles. The core software would run on Google Cloud, leading to increased revenue in a division that is under Wall Street pressure to gain more marketshare.
Or there is Walmart which is currently battling high-inflation make a move to acquire an autonomous trucking company with the long-term goal of lowering operating expenses? Grayson and David discuss as Walmart kicked the tires on acquiring Zoox prior to Amazon buying the company. Would Walmart consider acquiring Gatik?
I do not think they are going to want to necessarily own these assets if they do not have to, they just need the benefits of it. – David Welch
Staying on the topic of Wall Street, could SoftBank which is the second largest shareholder of Aurora with an 11.8% stake, force the company to split in two by merging the trucking side of the business with Uber Freight of which they are a 3.18% owner (of Uber) and possibly selling the car side of the business to Toyota which owns 6.72% of Aurora? Grayson and David discuss if this is possible and would it create long-term shareholder value?
Or could a U.S. Class 1 Railroad make a move and look to acquire an autonomous trucking to expand their railroad operations by connecting the trains to autonomous trucks? The big question again is, does a U.S. Class 1 Railroad they have to own the company?
The only reason railroad or anybody buys this is if It looks like they can no longer get access to the technology they need to work this into some sort of intermodal system. – David Welch
Wrapping up the conversation, David discusses his new book Charging Ahead, General Motors, Mary Bara, and the Reinvention of an American Icon.
Recorded on Thursday, August 11, 2022
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Bibhrajit Halder, Founder & CEO, SafeAI joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss autonomous mining and construction operations.
The conversation begins with Bibhrajit discussing why in 2017 when the market was full of hype and investment dollars for passenger autonomous vehicles, that he bucked the trend and made the strategic decision to focus on the heavy equipment industry.
Bibhrajit’s strategic decision is paying dividends today as the global mining industry is a $2 trillion dollar market with accelerating growth thanks in part to the growth of the electric vehicle market. The heavy equipment industry is a key supplier to this market, setting SafeAI up with the perfect scenario for growth, all the while helping to improve safety and increase operational efficiency through autonomy.
This industry is also not the most safest industry. This industry also wants to run more efficiently. – Bibhrajit Halder
The largest deployment of heavy equipment autonomous vehicles is located in Australia where there are over 1,000 actively heavy equipment autonomous vehicles in operation today.
The thousand autonomous trucks that have been running for seven or eight years, and they have moved about 4 to 5 billion tons of material over 24/7 operations without a single fatal accident. – Bibhrajit Halder
Mines in Australia are capitalizing on the efficiencies unlocked by autonomy and the positive benefits that this technology has on society. In Western Australia, SafeAI has a partnership with MACA to retrofit 100 heavy equipment trucks for autonomy. While Australia is a booming market for heavy equipment autonomous vehicles, the markets of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Japan are emerging markets with growth potential.
With autonomy scaling in the mining industry, Grayson compares the mining industry to the agricultural industry and asks Bibhrajit if he sees a global miner making autonomy acquisitions similar to the way John Deere has done to grow their business.
If you look at in general, any industry this kind of fundamental technology, there will be consolidation. No doubt about it. There will be consolidation and that consolidation happens naturally as different players come up and show their strengths and weaknesses. – Bibhrajit Halder
While consolidation will happen at some point in the global mining industry, Bibhrajit is laser focused on serving his customers for the long-term. That is both in the mining industry and the construction industry where SafeAI is actively expanding their business through a partnership with the Obayashi Corporation in Japan.
This is the first step of our way to expand autonomous construction in Japan, and we are working hand-in-hand with Obayashi. – Bibhrajit Halder
Wrapping up the conversation, Bibhrajit explains how autonomy compliments the mining and construction industries.
Recorded on Tuesday, August 2, 2022
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John Rossant, Founder & CEO, CoMotion and Advisory Board Member, NEOM joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the changing landscape of cities.
The conversation begins with John discussing the vision for the futuristic region of NEOM which is roughly the size of Massachusetts located in the Northwest of Saudi Arabia. 95% of the NEOM region will be preserved in it’s natural state and there will be no highways or carbon emissions. Sustainability is at the core of NEOM.
NEOM is a very big bet on hydrogen. The core energy of NEOM is hydrogen. – John Rossant
The heart of NEOM should be THE LINE development which is a 75-mile long and 1,600 foot skyscraper which is connected by a high-speed train.
The world does needs a radical experiment like this. We can not continue urbanizing as we have been, we are ruining the planet. If we can think of a way to do this in a sustainable way using renewable energy, that could be pretty interesting. – John Rossant
In the United States, the City of Miami is growing and changing as new individuals move into the region from around the world. However the issue facing Miami today is the city’s all-in approach to cryptocurrency without diversification. Could the lack of the City’s diversification lead to another classic Miami boom and bust cycle? Grayson and John discuss the current state of Miami’s economy, while offering their unique opinions on the future of Miami.
Miami, it’s a much much much bigger story than just crypto. – John Rossant
One of the stories emerging in Miami is the focus on decarbonizing ocean transport. Over in NEOM, there is a a mixed-use urban development called OXAGON located in the Red Sea which when completed will be the largest floating structure in the world.
In time, I think the Red Sea will become the new Mediterranean in terms of kind of yachting in paradise, boating, etc. – John Rossant
The story emerging in Dubai is Cruise preparing to deploy the fully autonomous Cruise Origin in 2023 on public roads. With the advancement of NEOM and the emerging Cruise deployment in Dubai, the Middle East is beginning to emerge as a growing market for autonomy. While the Middle East is a growing market for autonomy, New York City is a shrinking market for mass-transit.
Mass-transit and public transportation have to be made fun and seamless. – John Rossant
This is where multi-modal and on-demand mobility is thriving as consumers want what they want, when they want it without friction.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and John discuss why the future of mobility is choice.
Recorded on Tuesday, July 26, 2022
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Sonca Nguyen, Product Manager, Waymo joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Waymo’s rider-only experience.
The conversation begins with Sonca comparing and contrasting her first Waymo rider-only ride in Chandler, Arizona in 2019 to her first rider-only experience in San Francisco in 2022. From 2019 to 2022, the Waymo driver has matured and is now capable of handling even more demanding situations. The maturing of the driver was cultivated with the introduction of the 5th-generation Waymo Driver.
The maturing of the Waymo driver really allowed us to expand our Waymo One service. – Sonca Nguyen
The technical advancements and the maturing of the autonomous driving system has allowed Waymo to expand to downtown Phoenix and the Sky Harbor International Airport. With the resort town of Scottsdale being located 8.4 miles from the Sky Harbor Airport and 11 million tourists visiting Scottsdale each year, Grayson asks Sonca if there are plans to eventually offer a Waymo Sky Harbor to Scottsdale service.
Waymo is fully committed to expanding our service there. – Sonca Nguyen
The vehicles operating at Sky Harbor will be the Jaguar I-PACEs which have 25.3 cubic feet of cargo space. This space can hold 5 roller carry-on bags and will be available for travelers to store their bags on the journey to their destination, as the Waymo compute stack has gotten significantly smaller and more efficient over the years.
Could Waymo’s airport expansion come to other cities such as San Francisco? It’s a possibility, but nothing is confirmed yet. However today in San Francisco, Waymo is operating a trusted-tester program for members of the public and is operating rider-only for employees.
During this time Waymo has a learned how to improve the product, scale operations and operate a service with passengers. As the service opens up to members of the public, Waymo will continue to gather feedback which will further help to improve the product.
As the service opens to the public in San Francisco, Sonca walks listeners through what the Waymo rider-only experience will be like in San Fransisco. One of the interesting things that Waymo has learned from passengers in San Francisco is that they prefer to be picked up in parking lots as opposed to the street.
Wrapping up the conversation, Sonca shares her thoughts on how she sees autonomous driving technology evolving over the next decade.
Recorded on Friday, July 1, 2022
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Manju Hegde, CEO, Uhnder, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why 4D Digital Imaging Radar will enhance ADAS safety.
The conversation begins with Manju discussing why he gave a talk at the Univeristy of Michigan College of Engineering called; “When We Should Trust Self-Driving Cars” on July 28, 2016. The talk revolved around the topic of trust and the critical role it will play in the adoption of autonomous vehicles.
Trust is important. Trust is in fact, critical. – Manju Hegde
Without trust, there will not be autonomous vehicles. Consumers have to trust that the autonomous vehicle will get them to and from their destination, safely and on-time.
Trust is a thing that you have to earn slowly. It cannot be accelerated. – Manju Hegde
To build and maintain trust in autonomous vehicles, the proper exceptions have to be set. To properly set exceptions with the market and investors, Uhnder has focused on the ADAS market because as Manju says; “as a start-up revenue rules”. This philosophy was adapted and implemented because Uhnder is a semiconductor company which by definition is capital intensive.
Radar which first got its start in World War II has traditionally been a capital intensive business, but it has been a business that has saved millions of lives around the world. Building upon the first radar systems which were produced in 1935 by Sir Robert Watson-Watt, Grayson asks Manju how radar has evolved since World War II.
It’s the progress in electronics, because remember in the Second World War, the integrated circuit was not there yet. So that was a huge advance. Then the progress in communications, that’s more recent. I would say that from 1940’s to say the 1990’s, it was a tremendous increase in electronics. – Manju Hegde
Today, a majority of vehicles on the road have radar. Radar on vehicles increases safety due to their ability to detect objects on the road. The next evolution of radar is 4D Digital Imaging Radar. 4D Digital Imaging Radar has advantages over analog radar such as increased resolution.
The first vehicle that the Uhnder 4D Digital Imaging Radar will be available on will be the Fisker Ocean. Manju goes onto share the following about Henrik Fisker:
He is kind of the like the Frank Lloyd Wright of automotive design. – Manju Hegde
As the market for 4D Digital Imaging Radar evolves, Manju shares his thoughts on how he sees the market maturing.
Wrapping up the conversation, Manju highlights the benefits of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems).
We should have better ADAS right now. – Manju Hegde
Recorded on Friday, June 17, 2022
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Peter Virk, Vice President, IVY Product & Ecosystem, Blackberry joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how the connected car ecosystem is reducing friction and enabling new experiences for both drivers and passengers.
The conversation begins with Peter discussing how his passion for cars first began and the summer holidays he spent repairing vehicles with his Uncle who worked at Ford.
The passion first began with the toy cars that my parents bought me. That is where the obsession started. – Peter Virk
From playing with toy cars as a child to repairing vehicles in the summer with his Uncle, Peter followed his passion and joined the Rover Group for a 25 year run. With 25 years of experience building and developing new technologies for Range Rovers, Grayson asks Peter how he thinks about the future of mobility.
The future, if we were to really push the boundaries is, it should be, you should not have to think about it. You shouldn’t have to plan. My life, my schedule, will be planned. It’s got to know I have to get on the Eurostar tomorrow, and a vehicle will just turn up for me. – Peter Virk
The future of mobility is a frictionless experience that is always on-demand and always available. It’s a future that involves a lot less planning and a lot more enjoyment of moving from point A to point B. Connecting the dots and enabling this frictionless future is where the Blackberry IVY platform comes into the picture.
The way that you reduce friction is, you make things happen. You make it easy. – Peter Virk
As we look into the future, the car of tomorrow will be connected and act as an IoT device which will unlock new features and experiences.
The car of tomorrow with IVY will adapt. It will adapt to you. It will know your preferences. It will change. We’ve got software over-the-air around us now. So there will be new features. There will be ecosystem partners that we can allow to come in and work. These are not new innovations, these are expectations from consumers. – Peter Virk
These features will be platform agnostic and part of the connected car ecosystem. This ecosystem will be maintained and highly scalable. Consumers will demand that the ecosystem is always up to date and new features are added on a regular basis as they are accustomed to this from their smartphone and connected devices at home.
It’s a term that I have used for many years, the always on, always connected, maybe even always listening and always available. These are foundational pieces that we expect, because that is what we got used to in our lives. Our smartphone may look like the screen is off, but it is actually on. It’s available, it’s listening, it’s giving me alerts when I need them. Why wouldn’t I not expect the same from my vehicle? – Peter Virk
The consumer expectation is coming to the vehicle and Blackberry IVY is the platform that will enable consumer expectations to be met in the vehicle. Blackberry’s heritage of encryption and security are translated into the IVY platform. It’s a pillar of strength for IVY.
As consumers shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, the health of the battery is starting to become a hot topic. How will the health of the battery be monitored and how will the data be shared and with whom? IVY can solve this problem as it’s a scaleable platform built on encryption and security that developers can develop apps for the ecosystem. A software defined platform is the future.
Wrapping up the conversation, Peter and Grayson discuss how automation can improve the user experience in the vehicle.
Recorded on Tuesday, June 14, 2022
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Greg Hrebek, President, Railspire joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss autonomous trains and their impact on the economy.
The conversation begins with Grayson and Greg discussing the first partially automated train which debuted on London’s Victoria Line in 1967 and how train automation has evolved over the last 55 years.
Looking to the future of autonomous trains, Greg shares the following insight:
Where autonomy comes in is when you start treating autonomy as a tool, rather than the goal. If you have autonomy, you can then start doing more complex interactive interactions, we call that orchestration. – Greg Hrebek
Orchestration will lead to the growth of intermodal as shippers look to develop infrastructure as-a-service model when large logistics companies begin to leverage autonomous trucks and autonomous rail due to efficiencies.
Today there are a lot of inefficiencies in the rail industry that can be solved with autonomy. Today, when a train comes into a yard with a crew, there is the chance that the crew could have to stay on the locomotive for 4 to five hours due to yard traffic. With autonomy, the wait is eliminated as the crew can disembark, while the locomotive waits and eventually drives itself into yard.
It increases the efficiency of the network in the sense that you are not waiting on that crew to timeout. – Greg Hrebek
In the rail industry there is a current lack of workers as railroads are struggling to hire. Jim Foote, CEO of CSX stated the following publicly at a 2022 AllianceBernstein Holdings conference: “CSX is turning away freight from customers, ceding cargo business to truckers as the railroad struggles to hire workers.”
Technology is now a conversation of growth, not about labor savings. – Greg Hrebek
As autonomy is introduced into the rail industry, it will help railroads grow and expand, which will have a positive impact on the economy. The technology will create new jobs various facets around the industry including maintenance as autonomous trains drive the track the same exact way each and every single journey.
When you remove variants and variability out of something, things tend to break the same way over and over again. – Greg Hrebek
Taking a global approach, Greg shares his thoughts on autonomous train technology being exported to the world and where the technology will first be implemented. Grayson then asks Greg what role he wants Railspire to play as autonomous train technology scales.
We want to be the folks that one enable yard operation, yard throughput. We really want to fundamentally get folks thinking around that orchestration layer. What is the next step beyond autonomy? Autonomy now we know how to do it. I call it an exercise in engineering, there is still a lot to figure out, there is a lot of logistics, but we see that we have proven it out.
What is next? Once we have autonomous trains, what are the things we need to focus on? What are the things we have not thought about? Our goal is to help highlight those things. – Greg Hrebek
Wrapping up the conversation, Greg shares is thoughts on how the freight rail market will change when autonomous locomotives scale.
Recorded on Tuesday, June 7, 2022
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Ted Tewksbury, CEO, Velodyne Lidar joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Velodyne’s path to profitable LiDAR.
The conversation begins with Ted discussing why he joined Velodyne now.
I joined the company for three very simple reasons, first of all, I believe passionately that LiDAR is going to be an enormous market and it’s going to transform virtually every industry as we know it. Second, I believe that Velodyne has the right technologies at the right time to really capitalize on that opportunity. And, thirdly I knew that I had the right set of skills and expertise and grey hair to really help parlay the company’s technologies strengths into revenue growth, profitability and shareholder value. – Ted Tewksbury
In 2021, Velodyne put in place a strong foundation for growth, including new executives and an upgraded Board of Directors. Now that the foundation has been laid, the company’s top priority for 2022 is to accelerate the company’s path to profitability.
We are doing that by rationalizing our cost structure, while at the same time driving deployments of LiDAR at scale into a wide range of industries. – Ted Tewksbury
Taking a look at the current state of markets, Velodyne is prioritizing the industrial robotics and the intelligent infrastructure markets as the company focuses on generating profitable revenue today. Overlapping this market is the rapid growth of e-commerce fulfillment centers which inherently relay on industrial robots to move goods from the shelfs to the shipping line.
It’s not just about sensors. At the end of the day, our customers are solving a business level problem, so we offer the full stack solution, software plus sensors. – Ted Tewksbury
Under Ted’s leadership as CEO, the company is taking steps to lower the cost of LiDAR to sub $500 by offshoring manufacturing to Thailand. When the sub $500 LiDAR sensor is achieved, growth will be accelerated, especially in the automotive market.
The biggest single challenge that faces not only Velodyne, but the entire LiDAR industry is cost. Because the competition is very inexpensive. The competition is radar and camera. – Ted Tewksbury
In order to achieve cost reduction, the company has implemented a platform based design (MLA – Micro Lidar Array) strategy. With the company’s manufacturing occurring in Thailand and the current delay of 111 days for foods shipped from Asian Ports to the United States, Grayson asks Ted how he is managing the business for supply chain delays.
We’re taking very proactive steps to alleviate bottlenecks. We are not just sitting idly by and waiting for the macro crisis to subside. First of all, we have lined up multiple sources for critical components, which gives us more flexibility. Second, we have redesigned some of our sensors to use more readily available components.
Third, we’re judiciously building inventory on long lead-time components. Under those circumstances, that’s risky, and so we are requiring non-cancelable, non-returnable purchase orders from our customers. – Ted Tewksbury
Behind this strategy is Ted’s goal of Velodyne becoming the world’s first profitable LiDAR company. To achieve this goal, risk has to be managed and this is where the non-cancelable, non-returnable purchase orders strategy into comes into play. Velodyne is showing shrewd business acumen.
Wrapping up the conversation, Ted shares his outlook on the economy.
Recorded on Monday, June 6, 2022.
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Harry Campbell, The Rideshare Guy joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of the rideshare industry from the drivers’ perspective.
The conversation begins with Harry sharing his thoughts on the current state of the rideshare business.
One thing that has defined the rideshare is the shortage of drivers. The shortage on the supply side, and this extends to the macro environment too. Many industries across the board have kind of reported for various reasons that they cannot hire enough workers, and Uber and Lyft have been no stranger to that. – Harry Campbell
A shortage of drivers is leading to steadily increasing rates for passenger rides. With inflation currently at 8.3% and the average gallon of gas being $4.60 in the United States, the question now becomes is it even profitable for rideshare drivers to drive for Uber and Lyft in this economic environment?
For sure, it’s definitely profitable. – Harry Campbell
Harry goes onto to break down the economic data that encompasses a rideshare ride for the listeners from both his personal experience and data released by Uber. To achieve profitability, it all comes down to the rideshare drivers’ strategy.
With a potential recession on the horizon, Grayson asks Harry if rideshare drivers are currently preparing for an economic downturn and the impact it could have on their earnings.
Unfortunately, not. – Harry Campbell
Unfortunately this common throughout the rideshare industry as one of the most popular Uber features for Uber Drivers is Instant Pay. The popularity of the Instant Pay feature is inherently part of a larger overall socioeconomic trend. Planning for a rainy day or building savings is not top of mind for a majority of drivers as they are focused on day-to-day finances. This trend carries over to insurance requirements as certain rideshare drivers do not carry the proper insurance.
If you are interested in learning more about all the facets of the Rideshare business, Harry authored the The Rideshare Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Driving for Uber, Lyft, and Other Ridesharing Companies book which breaks down the rideshare business in great detail.
The business of ridesharing is not currently profitable for operators such as Uber and Lyft. Grayson poses the question to Harry: “Can Uber and Lyft ever become profitable based on the current ways the businesses are structured?” Grayson then asks Harry whether Uber Eats is weighing down the company’s opportunity to achieve profitability.
On a unit economics basis, Uber Eats is dragging down Uber the ride side of the business. – Harry Campbell
With Uber constantly doubling down on their Eats business, does DoorDash with $4.2 billion of cash on their balance sheet and a market cap of $27 billion make a run and try to acquire Lyft which has a market cap of $6.1 billion to try and compete with Uber? Grayson and Harry discuss the potential for an M&A transaction.
I wouldn’t be shocked if something like that happened in the future. – Harry Campbell
If this transaction were to happen, how would Uber react? Would this further Uber’s super app push? Harry shares his thoughts on how Uber could potentially counter the move.
Could Uber look to sell Uber Freight which currently operates at a 1% margin to shore up their balance sheet and focus on their core business of rides and delivery?
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Harry discuss the future of the rideshare business and what happens when autonomous vehicles scale globally.
Recorded on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
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Sam Abidi, Chief Commercial Officer, Embark Trucks joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Embark’s asset-light approach to autonomous trucking.
The conversation begins with Sam discussing how Embark as a pre-revenue company is approaching commercialization.
We expect to scale operations by way of our carriers who will haul goods for the shippers that we work with, and we expect to work with Tier 1’s and OEMs to deliver that. – Sam Abidi
To deliver on this model, Embark has a partnership with Knight-Swift where Knight-Swift will own and operate the autonomous trucks running Embark’s Universal Interface.
We set out on a rather large effort to develop a standardized set of sensors and compute with flexible mounts and communication interfaces, so that our AV system could go from one OEM to another. – Sam Abidi
Each truck running the Embark Universal Interface will have a very similar user interface and experience across multiple OEMs which makes the system scalable. Embark’s system will allow carriers to add more capacity due to hours of service regulations which increases the amount of time it takes for a load to reach its final destination.
With the U.S. inflation rate currently at 8.3%, a 40-year high and a driver shortage which is only growing, Grayson and Sam discuss why autonomous trucking is not being embraced as a tool to help reduce inflation by stabilizing the supply chain.
It’s a complicated story, you got to have a second order understanding of how supply chains work, you got to understand hours of service, you got to understand relay networks and hub networks, to really recognize how autonomy unlocks e-commerce and two-day delivery, and everyone’s desire for cheap goods. – Sam Abidi
When autonomous trucking is fully embraced by regulators, politicians and the public, the U.S. economy will benefit from job creation and lower inflation. For autonomous trucking to truly scale, partnerships are key.
Embark has a partnership with Alterra for autonomous trucking terminals. At those depots, Ryder will be providing on-site services that are required to properly operate an autonomous trucking operation. From an infrastructure standpoint there are minor upgrades that have to be made to begin autonomous trucking operations, which will allow Embark to scale their terminal networks with partners.
With the average price of diesel in the U.S. being $5.52 a gallon, Embark is beginning to look at alternative forms of fuel.
We look forward to a platform that can run on electric or hydrogen for the distances that make sense for autonomy. – Sam Abidi
Wrapping up the conversation, Sam shares his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous trucking industry.
Recorded on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
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Scott Case, Co-Founder & CEO of Recurrent joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss using data to understand the true health of electric vehicle batteries.
The conversation begins with Grayson asking Scott about the BloombergNEF 2040 electric vehicle forecast.
I think every forecast made by everyone is wrong and too low. – Scott Case
With over 9,000 vehicles currently on the Recurrent platform and the market for electric vehicle sales projected to grow globally 17.25% annually into 2040, Recurrent is preparing for the rapid growth of their platform.
The Recurrent platform is gathering insights on how electric vehicle batteries perform in different climates, whether it’s a cold or hot weather region.
Exposure to extreme heat over time will break down the battery, it will wear it out more quickly. – Scott Case
On the other hand, exposure to extreme cold will not wear about the battery more quickly. With the wear on the battery, electric vehicles sold and driven in these environments could have a positive or negative impact on the resell value of the vehicle depending on the conditions.
Grayson asks Scott from an economic standpoint if the health of the battery will be the determining factor when it comes to the price of an electric vehicle.
It’s not yet, but it is going to be. – Scott Case
This raises the question of what happens when electric vehicles come out of rental car fleets and are sold as used vehicles. How will they be properly priced? Will the pricing be based on the odometer reading or the health of the battery? Grayson and Scott discuss the possible ways the vehicles could be priced and whether a battery swap will be needed prior to selling the used electric vehicle.
With the majority of Recurrent’s data coming from individual EV owners and the United States currently dealing with record high gas prices of $4.58 a gallon, Grayson asks Scott if he is seeing consumers switching from gas cars to electric cars due the high gas prices.
High gas prices haven’t factored into that at all. Not yet, they are going to. – Scott Case
Making reference to data to validate his point, Scott points to data from the Argonne National Laboratory.
With J.P. Morgan projecting the national average price to hit $6 per gallon by the end of the summer, the transition to electric vehicles could accelerate. However, there could be an issue charging those newly bought electric vehicles as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the regulatory body that oversees grid stability is publicly stating that power supplies in the much of the United States and Canada will be stretched. If the grid issues persist, the adoption of EVs could be slowed.
Wrapping up the conversation, Scott discusses how he sees the used EV market growing and evolving over the next decade.
Recorded on Friday, May 20, 2022.
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Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how the Oxbotica platform is enabling universal autonomy.
The conversation begins with Gavin discussing why he came on as CEO of Oxbotica in December 2021.
I feel that the autonomy space still is in the very very early stages of being quite a transformative technology, and almost a generational shift in how people and goods will move forever. It’s attractive to me to be so early in such a movement. It’s attractive to me, because I think that the impact that this sort of technology can have on the world will be profound. – Gavin Jackson
With Gavin’s background at Amazon and Microsoft, he is positioning the company to become a platform.
As a universal platform we are able to compose solutions for different verticals, different vehicle types and different domains. With the very same Oxbotica driver platform, you are able to drive big heavy 600 ton trucks in a mine, or 40 ton trucks on a hub-to-hub on a highway or urban densely populated old fashioned victorian London street for goods delivery or indeed for passengers. – Gavin Jackson
The platform approach allows Oxbotica to develop solutions that are both convenient for riders and friendly to the environment through the reduction in carbon emissions. Being based in the UK, Gavin shares his thoughts on the UK market as it relates to autonomous vehicles.
All of the infrastructure that exists in the UK is there for excellence. – Gavin Jackson
As Oxbotica scales, the company has global ambitions. In Germany at BP’s Lingen refinery, Oxbotica trialed an autonomous vehicle at the refinery as part of BP’s technical due diligence prior investing in the company. Deploying an autonomous vehicle at a refinery requires trust and transparency. This is exactly what Oxbotica did and they thrived at it, as it lead to an investment by BP which was a clear validation of their approach.
With the proven success of operating at a BP refinery, the company is looking to expand their business in the Oil & Gas market as they prepare to scale their industrial autonomy platform.
We think that autonomy is going to change the game. – Gavin Jackson
Oxbotica’s industrial autonomy platform is also being deployed in the mining industry through a partnership with Wenco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery. By using autonomous vehicles in mines, global miners are able to reduce carbon emissions due to the lack of idling and in some cases, the electrification of heavy-duty mining vehicles.
From autonomous shuttles to autonomous cars to heavy duty mining trucks, Oxbotica is taking a platform approach to autonomy.
The diversity of vehicle type is really attractive to us, because it really ignites what we are here to do, which is universal autonomy. One unified platform to drive all of these vehicles. – Gavin Jackson
Wrapping up the conversation, Gavin shares his vision for the future of Oxbotica.
Recorded on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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Wouter Witvoet, CEO, EVT Group, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss electrifying the iconic MOKE and reinvigorating a brand that was built around lifestyles and experiences.
The conversation begins with Wouter discussing how as the largest shareholder of MOKE International, he is planning on reinvigorating the iconic MOKE brand.
What we are effectively doing at EV Technology Group with the MOKE brand is that we take a lot of this excitement that exists around this brand, a lot of the following that is there and just creating an electric version of this that is effectively suitable for today’s age which is very much an electric age. – Wouter Witvoet
As car brands around the world begin the process of electrifying their iconic vehicles, some brands are taking this as an opportunity to redesign the vehicle, instead of focusing on the heritage of the brand. MOKE International has made the decision to lean into the future by electrifying, all the while respecting the heritage and the design of the iconic vehicle.
When a brand electrifies a vehicle:
It always has to start where the brand left off. – Wouter Witvoet
By taking this approach, the MOKE brand is building upon its heritage and the famous photos of Bridget Bardot driving the vehicle around Saint-Tropez. As the 2022 Season begins in Saint-Tropez, EVT will be integrating the MOKE experience into the overall Saint-Tropez experience through partnerships with villa rental operators and concierge services.
In Saint-Tropez, you are coming here for an experience. You are not coming here because you need to be in Saint-Tropez. In the same logic you drive a MOKE because you want to drive a MOKE, not because it is necessarily the best car to go from A to B. It’s about an experience. – Wouter Witvoet
The new electric MOKE will be introduced as a subscription plan for €650 a month Saint-Tropez Season Pass and three year subscription service options. Looking to the future and enhancing the subscription service, there is a possibly that EVT will introduce a MOKE subscription plan that travels with you around the world.
It’s about just having access to an EV wherever you go. – Wouter Witvoet
Expanding the brand from a vehicle to a lifestyle, EVT will be introducing Casa MOKE this summer in Saint-Tropez. If Casa MOKE proves to be successful, the concept will be exported to iconic locations around the world and localized to the environment.
If you have a MOKE, then something must be good in your life. – Wouter Witvoet
As EVT looks to expand the MOKE brand into new markets, the brand will introduce region specific MOKE experiences.
Our thesis is that if you are talking about a luxury brand, you are talking about experiences. You need to launch a car on the market with a certain activity that is locally for that market. – Wouter Witvoet
Wrapping up the conversation, Wouter discusses EVT’s strategy as the company expands their brand portfolio.
Recorded on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
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Vivian Sun, Chief Commercial Officer, Waabi, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Waabi World and a simulation-first approach to autonomous trucking.
The conversation begins with Vivian sharing her thoughts on when consolidation comes to the autonomous trucking industry. While consolidation is on the horizon, Waabi (which was founded in June 2021) is taking a different path to developing and scaling autonomous trucks.
Autonomy is a marathon. – Vivian Sun
Their approach to autonomy using a simulation-first approach is one that could completely change the end-to-end development process of autonomous trucks. As Waabi prepares to scale, Vivian shares some of the lessons that she learned earlier in her career and how Waabi can avoid those situations.
It is really important that we have a scalable, adaptable technology. – Vivian Sun
A simulation-first approach to autonomy is allowing Waabi to operate a leaner corporate structure with less overhead as they develop the technology. From an economic standpoint, with the Federal Reserve raising rates as well as the European Central Bank, operating an autonomous trucking with a lean overhead will become a completive advantage as credit markets tighten.
There are huge advantages of a more cost efficient way of developing self-driving technology. – Vivian Sun
The key technology enabling this approach to autonomy is Waabi World, a high fidelity driving simulator. Inside of Waabi World, weather elements such as rain, fog, wind, ice and snow can be simulated to create real-world driving scenarios.
These scenarios, combined with real-world traffic data, will help to develop a confident and safe Waabi Driver. While the Waabi Driver is being developed in simulation, professional truck drivers are playing a key role in the system — the Waabi Driver is learning from million plus miler drivers.
We want to create a new paradigm to solve autonomy. – Vivian Sun
Wrapping up the conversation, Vivian discusses Waabi’s partnership strategy and the company’s plans for commercialization.
Recorded on Tuesday, April 19, 2021.
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Craig Harper, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President, J.B. Hunt Transport Service joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss decarbonizing the supply chain.
The conversation begins with Craig discussing the reason why he stepped into the role of Chief Sustainability Officer in late 2020. When he began to develop J.B. Hunt’s sustainability plan he started by understanding how J.B. Hunt is perceived in the marketplace and by rating agencies.
It’s been a good progress, steps to go through looking at those different rating agencies seeing how they each interpret different segments of the business and where we need to improve. – Craig Harper
On Monday, April 4, 2022 J.B. Hunt launched their CLEAN Transport Program to help customers reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chain.
Intermodal is a great offering that we have, provides significant benefit to our customer, to citizens across the globe with a 60% reduction on the amount of carbon that it takes to move the same load from point-to-point all the way by truck versus what it takes to move intermodal.
But even when you get that 60% reduction, you still have some residual carbon. And it’s like what are we going to do with this? This is where carbon offsets come in, and what that does it allows a customer to purchase offsets that fund an activity that reduces carbon and make their transport carbon neutral. – Craig Harper
While we wait for electric trucks to scale, intermodal offers an opportunity for shippers to reduce their carbon emissions by 60% today.
As an organization we said publicly we feel like there is somewhere between 7 to 11 million more loads that could be converted to intermodal. – Craig Harper
Another way to reduce carbon emissions is renewable diesel. In 2020, 51% of all of the fuel J.B. Hunt purchased was a bio-blended diesel product. Today, the company’s total weighted average of fuel from renewable sources is 8%.
More and more renewable diesel is coming online each and every day, that is going to be great for the industry. – Craig Harper
J.B. Hunt has a culture of innovation. From embracing renewable diesel to entering into a market study with Waymo to pilot autonomous trucks, J.B. Hunt continues to look forward towards the future. Prior to entering into a market study agreement, Craig visited the Waymo team in Chandler, AZ and took a ride in Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicle. The trip was a culmination of a trusted relationship.
As it relates the deployment of autonomous trucks, Craig shared the following insight:
We believe that the technology will indeed pull certain types of freight on certain lanes and we are excited to play a part in it. – Craig Harper
Even as autonomous trucks scale, skilled professional drivers will continue to play a significant role in the future of the trucking industry.
Wrapping up the conversation, Craig and Grayson discussed the infrastructure that is needed to scale electric heavy-duty trucks.
Recorded on Monday, April 4, 2021.
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Rachad Youssef, Chief Product Officer, BrightDrop joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss decarbonizing last mile delivery.
The conversation begins with Rachad discussing why January 2021 was the right time to launch BrightDrop.
January 2021 was a great opportunity to announce what BrightDrop was going to do, because it was a real date in terms of our ability to deliver. – Rachad Youssef
With delivery traffic projected to grow 78% by 2030 and the global commitment to decarbonization, BrightDrop created the right product at the right time. One year after announcing the BrightDrop vans, their customers vans are out in the field currently delivering goods to homes and business in the LA region.
The first vans were delivered to FedEx in December 2021, less than one year after launching the company.
It took 14 months to put a vehicle on the road. During that time you have to incorporate a tremendous amount of learnings from studies in the field as well as the ability to find a vehicle platform that can accommodate those needs, and truly tailor it for the use case. – Rachad Youssef
BrightDrop vans are utilizing GM’s Ultium battery platform providing range of 250 miles on a single charge. As the Ultium battery platform becomes more dense, those new longer range batteries will find their way into the vans.
The ability for us to incorporate new chemistries and new technologies with regards to the battery itself is a commitment from BrightDrop from Day 1. – Rachad Youssef
BrightDrop is focused on fully integrating software and hardware together to deliver an experience for the delivery driver that is easier than today’s traditional vans. An example of this commitment is the Trace vehicle concept which is integrated into the van’s design. The Trace vehicle allows delivery drivers to move goods quicker and easier.
It’s really about ease of doing business. It’s really about showing our customers that we get it and that we are with them through their deployments. – Rachad Youssef
One of those customers is Walmart. Walmart is using both the Zevo 400 and Zevo 600 vans as part of their decarbonization strategy for delivery. The decarbonization of last mile delivery using electric vans is only going to accelerate as more companies adopt and implement an ESG strategy.
Wrapping up the conversation, Rachad discusses how his time at Zoox influenced how he approaches design.
Good design for me in this space comes with purpose. In other words, you are really looking for elegant ways to bring simplicity to complex situations. – Rachad Youssef
Recorded on Tuesday, April 12, 2021.
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Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, American Petroleum Institute (API) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of the oil and gas markets.
The conversation begins with Dean discussing the the unprecedented move by the Biden Administration to release 1 million barrels of oil per day for 180 days from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the global demand for oil.
The U.S. Energy Administration estimated coming into this year, in December that we were at a global deficit of more than 3 million barrels per day. That’s with global demand outstripping or exceeding the supply or production level globally for oil. – Dean Foreman
Further putting this into perspective, in February 2022, the U.S. petroleum demand was 21.6 million barrels per day. The highest level of demand since August 2005. A portion of the demand is being driven by freight shipping partly as a result of the increase in online shopping. Another factor driving petroleum demand is COVID-19 tests as they are made from plastic. The molecules for the tests made of plastic start as oil and natural gas.
In February 2022 more then 7 million barrels of oil out of the 21.6 million barrels of U.S. petroleum demand, about a 3rd were used to create petrochemical from a refining process that directly correlates with the global increase in demand for COVID-19 tests, which are made of plastic.
Out of the 21.6 million barrels of U.S. petroleum demand, 4.3 million barrels a day were distillates (diesel). Between plastics and the increase in online shopping, almost 50% of U.S. petroleum demand (February 2022) was driven by consumer behavior.
With petroleum demand increasing, the Keystone XL pipeline could help fill the demand. Dean shares what economic impact it would have on the market if the pipeline came online and heavy crude starting flowing from Western Canada to the United States.
Expanding upon this conversation, Grayson and Dean discuss the current state of the U.S. economy and what the potential economic outlook looks like as the Federal Reserve begins to taper.
As the economy goes, so does demand. – Dean Foreman
Diving back into the oil markets, Grayson highlights the price of U.S. New York Harbor Jet Fuel which has risen 83% in the last 30 days to $744.32 a barrel (as of April 5, 2022). The price increase is a local issue, due to the lack of regional refining and the fact that jet fuel in the New York region has to be imported.
From a global perspective, the global demand for oil was 100 million barrels per day in Q1 2022. The demand for oil is outpacing market supply by 3.2 million barrels per day.
Demand is continuing to outstrip supply. – Dean Foreman
Global Oil & Gas drilling activity is down 38% compared with February 2019. With a slowdown in drilling and a growing global demand for oil, Dean discusses the market from an economic standpoint.
From a global perspective you got to have 4 to 6 million barrels per day of new oil just to sustain the production level this year. – Dean Foreman
The growth is only going to continue as according to the International Energy Agency, 46% of the world’s energy will be produced by oil and natural gas.
Wrapping up the conversation, Dean shares his thoughts on the future of energy.
Recorded on Friday, April 8, 2021.
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Mike Plasencia, Group Director, RyderVentures & New Product Strategy at Ryder System, Inc. joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how Ryder creates value through services for customers and partners.
The conversation begins with Mike discussing how Ryder became the central nervous system for autonomous trucking. Ryder noticed the trend of autonomy early and embraced the trend by investing and preparing the company for the future. The company has an 89 year history dating back to 1933 of being forward-thinking and innovative in ways it approaches business opportunities.
As technology has continued to bring efficiency to the market, it has also brought challenges. That’s the name of our game and so over the next 50 years as technology continues to develop and business models change, we want to be that partner that customers can outsource to. We may look very different in the next 50 years, but ultimately our core task of solving difficult problems for our customers is still going to be our mantra. – Mike Plasencia
As Ryder builds out their autonomous trucking portfolio, the company has partnered with Embark, TuSimple, Waymo and Gatik to assist them with scaling their autonomous operations. Mike goes onto discusses why Ryder is focused on partnering with autonomous trucking companies and not building out their own solution.
You will never see us building the truck, you will never see us coding the driver. – Mike Plasencia
While Ryder might not build the truck or code the driver, they will however invest in the technology. As part of Gatik’s Series B round, RyderVentures invested in the company. It’s not just autonomy that RyderVentures is investing in, the fund is looking into investing opportunity in asset sharing, ecommerce, warehouse automation, big data and next generation vehicles.
We try to be on the forefront of every new technology related to vehicles for our customers. – Mike Plasencia
Ryder’s core advantage is that the company can provide services that unlock value for their customers and partners. Ryder’s partnership with Waymo is focused on being the company’s maintenance partner.
[Waymo] can focus on being what they are really good at as a technology company, and we can focus on what we are really good at, maintaining vehicles. – Mike Plasencia
Ryder is clearly focused on the providing value to the autonomous trucking ecosystem as on the company’s Q3 2021 earnings call, Mr. Robert Sanchez, Chairman & CEO of Ryder highlighted the company’s strategic alliances with several autonomous trucking companies.
As the logistics industry grows with the introduction of new technologies, Grayson asks Mike how he sees the future of logistics evolving as more autonomous trucks come online.
Optimization starts to take a big front-row seat. – Mike Plasencia
Wrapping up the conversation, Mike discusses the data-driven study that Ryder commissioned in partnership with Georgia Tech and what they learned.
Recorded on Tuesday, March 29, 2021.
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Brett Fabbri, Head of Law Enforcement Policy and Highway Safety, Kodiak Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how law enforcement interacts with autonomous trucks.
The conversation begins with Brett discussing his 30-year career in law enforcement and how a ride-along with his cousin led to a career in law enforcement.
At that time I was hooked. This is great. This is a very rewarding career. – Brett Fabbri
Law enforcement plays a key role in the local community from interacting with business owners and residents of the community to keeping the community safe while simultaneously building trust with the community.
Community engagement is the entire key to everything that law enforcement does. We are kind of guardians of the community. – Brett Fabbri
The California Highway Patrol covers 186,000 miles. With the coverage map being so vast, engaging with the local community could be challenging, but that is not the case for the CHP. Brett explains how the California Highway Patrol interacts with the local community through area offices that function similar to local police stations.
During his time at the California Highway Patrol, Brett served as the Special Services Commander for Northern California where he oversaw the commercial enforcement unit and the motor carrier safety unit for all of Northern California. It was in this role, that Brett was first introduced to autonomous vehicles.
From the California Highway Patrol to autonomous trucks, Grayson asks Brett what he saw in the market when he decided to retire from law enforcement and join Kodiak Robotics. Brett saw the opportunity to build upon law enforcement’s mission of saving lives.
In the end, this has the potential to save lives. In my law enforcement career that is where it all starts – saving lives and now it continues on with Kodiak. – Brett Fabbri
As Kodiak prepares to scale, the company has to build trust and credibility in the industry, the local communities and the law enforcement community where Kodiak operates. Maintaining trust is key and Brett explains how Kodiak maintain that trust using his 30-year experience in community building.
Everyday in local communities there are thousands of trucks being inspected for safety with 20% of those trucks failing inspection, creating a potential hazard on the nation’s roadways. This is a hazard that autonomous trucks will be able to solve.
We are taking all the emotion out of driving. – Brett Fabbri
With autonomous trucks on the verge of scaling nationwide, Grayson asks Brett what his peers in law enforcement think about autonomous trucks.
They have a lot of good questions. They want to know about traffic stops, collisions and how inspections processes are going to work. – Brett Fabbri
With lots of questions, it is important to have an open line of communication with law enforcement to ensure there are no surprises and those officers know which companies are operating autonomous trucks in their jurisdiction.
Officers need to know how to pull over an autonomous truck with no safety driver on-board. This process has to be documented by the autonomous trucking company and shared with local law enforcement where the trucks are operating.
Then there is the question of what happens if the autonomous truck is involved in a crash.
If one of our vehicles is involved in an accident, that Kodiak truck will notify the operations center that will notify law enforcement that there has been a collision. That Kodiak truck will be programed to move to the right shoulder or to a safe location, unless it becomes disabled because of the collision. – Brett Fabbri
The amount of data the trucks gather from LiDAR, cameras and sensors will assist law enforcement when they investigate the incident. This is one of the positives that will come out of a potential crash.
To achieve all of these positives, a Law Enforcement Interaction Plan has to be developed, implemented and shared with law enforcement.
We are working with law enforcement as we develop the plan, because we want to make it a collaborative effort and we want it to be successful. We want it to be comprehensive. – Brett Fabbri
Wrapping up the conversation, Brett discusses what has to be done from a law enforcement perspective as Kodiak scales to multiple states.
Recorded on Tuesday, March 22, 2021.
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Charlie Jatt, Head of Commercialization for Trucking, Waymo, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss commercializing and scaling Waymo Via.
The conversation begins with Charlie discussing why Waymo entered the autonomous trucking industry.
The philosophy and the theory of our technology was we’re building a driver and that driver can be used for lots of different applications, different types of vehicles. The mission of the company was always to build that technology in a way that could be applied to many different exciting use cases.
It has always been on our roadmap to explore diverse applications and trucking and logistics is a huge one of those. In 2017, when we then put our first autonomous truck on the road it was the right time for us to put that theory to test. – Charlie Jatt
As Waymo scales up autonomous trucking operations on public roads, Charlie talks about how Waymo builds public trust with the local community, law enforcement, and first responders. Waymo is also building trust with the professional truck driver community by engaging with them and learning from their millions of miles of on-road experience.
Drivers play a very critical role for us and it is going to be a partnership between autonomous technology and professional truck drivers for many years to come. – Charlie Jatt
Shifting the conversation to commercialization and economics, Grayson and Charlie discuss autonomous trucking and its potential impact to help reduce inflation which is currently at a 40-year high.
There is a huge opportunity for autonomous trucking to increase efficiencies in the supply chain, reduce blockages in the supply chain, reduce costs and prices in the supply chain. – Charlie Jatt
With the driver shortage, growth of e-commerce, and a strained global supply chain, the opportunity for autonomous trucking is only growing. With this growing opportunity, Grayson asks Charlie what role market conditions play as Waymo moves further towards commercialization.
They don’t necessarily play a big role in our strategic decision-making process because the time scale that we’re talking about bringing the Waymo Via technology to market, kind of sits above some of those year-over-year changes in market conditions. – Charlie Jatt
While market conditions can be volatile, trends tend to gain traction and grow over years. One of those trends is ESG. ESG seemingly comes up in every conversation as companies are fully committed to the trend. One of those companies is J.B. Hunt, which has gone from pilot to a long-term commercial agreement with Waymo.
Charlie pulls back the curtain and tells the story of how the partnership with J.B. Hunt evolved from a pilot to Waymo’s first fully autonomous customer through an alliance that consists of four main components.
As Waymo Via scales, the company will not become a trucking company and operate its own fleet. Waymo will be commercialized as a Driver-as-a-Service model partly through partnerships with Daimler Trucks and Ryder.
Wrapping up the conversation, Charlie shares his views on how he sees the autonomous trucking industry evolving over the next 10 years.
Recorded on Tuesday, March 15, 2021.
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Gil West, Chief Operating Officer, Cruise joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss commercializing Cruise and why it’s their Wright Brothers moment.
The conversation begins with Gil discussing Cruise’s road to commercialization.
At a high level, we are making the pivot from an R&D company to commercial operations. – Gil West
With a background as the former COO of Delta Airlines, Gil knows how to scale complex commercial operations while ensuring world-class customer service for customers.
If you are able to run great operations, it is a real springboard for the customer experience. – Gil West
Great customer service becomes fuel for a business and this is the path that Cruise is on as the company shifts its focus to commercializing its service. This is exactly what Delta did when the company purchased an oil refinery, introduced employee profit-sharing, stock options, and merged with Northwest Airlines.
Over time you just have to drive the results to back up your vision and that was the approach. – Gil West
Comparing and contrasting the airline business to the autonomous vehicle business, Gil and Grayson break down the airline industry and what the autonomous vehicle industry can learn from 100+ years of operations experience.
The Cruise Origin vehicle will operate in a similar to Boeing or Airbus planes on fixed maintenance and upgrade schedules. Each Origin’s lifespan will be a million miles and after its service, the Origin will be recycled.
It was only 93 years ago that Delta operated its first commercial flight. 93 years later, Cruise autonomous vehicles are now driving around the streets of San Fransico with no driver behind the wheel. Technology has come a long way during this time and has forever changed the world.
Gil reflects on history and offers the following powerful statement:
This is our Wright Brothers moment. – Gil West
As autonomous vehicles operations scale, the economic benefits will have a profound effect on the global economy.
I am old enough to remember the advent of personal computers. It was kind of the same thing there as people would look at it and go what does this mean, what does it mean to me, even my job. And then you realize, It’s a tool and it just drives additional productivity and I think that’s ultimately how autonomous will emerge. It just creates time advantages and productivity advantages that give us all another leg up in society. – Gil West
When Cruise expands to new cities and scales, the company has to ensure the reliability of its service. Cruise is able to do this because of the amount of data the vehicles gather. The data gathered is used to develop extremely accurate predictive maintenance models by using machine learning.
As reliable as the airlines were, we have a chance actually to be even more reliable because of the data that we have and our ability to use it. – Gil West
Wrapping up the conversation, Gil discusses growing up in his father’s auto parts store and what he learned during that time. Bringing the conversation full circle, Gil shares insights into what is next for Cruise.
Recorded on Thursday, March 10, 2021.
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Greg Rodriguez, Mobility Policy Principal, Stantec joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss autonomous vehicle policy, federal infrastructure funding, and how both policy and funding impact the deployment of autonomous vehicles and trucks.
The conversation begins with Greg sharing his thoughts on the current state of autonomous vehicle policy at the federal level.
It changes yearly, if not daily. One word to describe it all right now, lacking. – Greg Rodriguez
With the start, stop nature of how autonomous vehicle legislation has progressed on Capital Hill, Greg and Grayson discuss the challenges the AV industry faces from a federal policy perspective and why trust is the key to developing a national autonomous vehicle framework.
With the uncertainty of federal autonomous vehicle legislation in the United States, other countries are using this as an opportunity to leapfrog the U.S. to take the lead on AV policy. During China’s 2022 National People Congress, Chen Hong, Chairman of SAIC Motor (China’s largest automaker) put forward a proposal to clarify the legal status of autonomous driving systems with the aim of speeding up the commercialization of smart vehicles.
Will this motion motivate Congress to move on a national autonomous vehicle framework? At this time, it looks very unlikely due to the geopolitical issues the world is facing and the looming mid-term elections. More likely we will continue to see States introduce AV legislation over the course of the next three to four years.
States such as Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, and Texas have all enacted AV legislation. The legislation is having a positive impact on the States from an economic perspective as companies have opened offices and set up operations. Texas in particular has emerged as the home of autonomous trucking as companies flock to the State due to the freight capacity and the friendly AV regulatory environment.
Staying on the theme of autonomous trucking, Grayson and Greg discuss the role that dedicated autonomous truck toll roads that connect ports to intermodal hubs could play in the future of freight logistics.
It’s thinking about the impacts that currently exist in the way we do things and how can we minimize those impacts. It’s thinking about how we can create more efficiencies to move goods. – Greg Rodriguez
To achieve these efficiencies, we have to think big and do big. This is exactly what Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is doing. Mr. Lieber is showing leadership by being honest about the current state of public transportation in New York City and preparing for a future where millions of riders just don’t return.
When you think big, new opportunities arise to do big. Grayson and Greg discuss new ways that MTA can offer transportation services by implementing point-to-point on-demand mobility services.
The more mobility options that we can provide people access to, the more likelihood people will realize, oh wow I do not need to own my car anymore. – Greg Rodriguez
Mobility options offer choice. Choice gives consumers the ability to choose which mobility service works best for them and their families. At the end of the day, consumers will end up determining the future of mobility as it will be driven by consumer spending.
Wrapping up the conversation, Greg shares his vision for the future of mobility.
Recorded on Monday, March 7, 2021.
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Reilly Brennan, General Partner, Trucks VC joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss investing in the future.
The conversation begins with Reilly and Grayson discussing what is going to happen when consolidation begins in the autonomous vehicle industry.
This is a period of consolidation because you have essentially a lot of the robo-taxi ideas turned into commercial applications, probably around logistics and parcels. – Reilly Brennan
Then there are the startups such as Bear Flag Robotics (acquired by John Deere – August 2021) and Gatik that have been focused on specific applications since day one. Shifting the conversation to industrial use cases, Grayson asks Reilly what his thoughts are on the industrial market as it relates to autonomy.
One of those specific industrial markets is mining. With global mining companies hitting record profits and Rio Tinto recently announcing a $7.7 billion half-year dividend, Grayson asks Reilly if a global mining company could potentially acquire an autonomy startup.
No doubt. Electrification and AV to those specific players is as much on their mind as the way you would think about DHL, UPS, Amazon, etc adding autonomy and electrification to theirs. It’s just a component of how they make money or will make more money in the future. – Reilly Brennan
There is a growing segment of the startup market has is beginning to focus on the opportunities in the industrial market. One aspect of the startup industrial market that is booming is the autonomous trucking industry.
The autonomous trucking industry is generating revenue and shoring up the supply chain through automation, as consumers battle ever-increasing inflation. Reilly rightly points out that this industry is heavily dependent on partnerships to scale and return capital to shareholders and investors.
One of the key partnerships in the future will be railroads. Grayson makes a prediction that in the next 18 to 24 months, a railroad will buy an autonomous trucking company.
Another segment of the industrial market is maritime. Looking at investment opportunities in the space, Reilly is currently studying hydrography and shipping routes. There is an emerging opportunity to map waterways which will increase shipping efficiencies.
The depths within ports can change so much that it impacts how much payload you can take. – Reilly Brennan
As maritime shipping routes get optimized, it’s time to allow autonomous trucks to enter and operate at ports.
The partnership dynamics of autonomous trucking is arguably one of the most important parts of the business. In fact, we have seen some of the logistics companies take investments from entities that own or have access to those ports for that specific reason.
It’s a fundamental question that there is not any one company, even Waymo that can lay claim to a leadership position for those specific pickup points. That is a big opportunity and in fact, it’s probably more important than saying you are running 10,000 trips a day on this route in Texas.
If someone came to us and said if I secured the access to these specific vital ports in the United States, I think that is actually saying something a great deal.
– Reilly Brennan
Staying on the topic of Waymo, Grayson asks Reilly if Waymo will eventually split into two separate companies: Waymo Via focused on autonomous trucking and Waymo One focused on autonomous vehicles.
It has always been a question in my mind whether we were at the point in this area of autonomy where you could have a multi-silhouette autonomy company. – Reilly Brennan
Is Waymo the only company that could pull off a multi-silhouette approach to autonomy, because of Alphabet’s continued long-term financing commitment? It looks that way as Aurora has seemingly shifted a majority of its focus to autonomous trucking.
For companies that don’t have a Google as a supporter and an investor, I think you probably have to pick one thing you are world-class in. – Reilly Brennan
Without an Alphabet-like financing partner, does Aurora get to a crossroads where they decide to sell off their autonomous vehicle division and focus solely on trucking? It’s a possibility as the autonomous vehicle market is beginning to consolidate around Argo AI, Cruise, and Waymo.
Then there is May Mobility which is focused on structured routes. Pick-up and drop-offs from airports are a huge opportunity that the autonomous vehicle industry is currently not exploiting. The true opportunity for airports and AVs is in resort towns with limited traffic and high-amounts of passenger traffic during predefined periods of time throughout the year.
Looking at the overall investment landscape, Reilly shares a story and his insights into how the team at Trucks VC uncovers potential investment opportunities.
When we look at companies, we tend to not really look for ideas, we kind of just wait for great founders to reveal something to us and then we get onboard. – Reilly Brennan
Wrapping up the conversation, Reilly and Grayson discuss the circular economy and the future of electric vehicles.
Recorded on Tuesday, March 1, 2021.
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Alan Ohnsman, Senior Editor, Forbes joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the electrification of industrial logistics.
The conversation begins with Alan and Grayson discussing who is going to win as multiple industries shift to electrification.
Most of the attention has gone to say Tesla and the passenger car market. But what’s happening on the heavy-duty industrial vehicle side, I think is probably more exciting because they can actually move a lot faster. It’s hard to get consumers to change buying habits. – Alan Ohnsman
While a lot of attention in and around electrification is currently being paid to passenger and heavy-duty industrial vehicles, freight rail is beginning to emerge as an interesting opportunity for electrification.
A freight train is a power plant on wheels. – Alan Ohnsman
As freight trains begin to become electrified, an opportunity arises to connect freight rail to electric heavy-duty trucks, creating intermodal 2.0. One of the keys to making this happen is positive train control which has created a more intelligent rail network.
You both have the opportunity to move way more freight more efficiently than ever before, and if you can electrify it, so much the better. If you could then tie your railheads and depots into autonomous trucking networks, you got something really interesting going on.
So there is so much potential to increase efficiency, while also cutting carbon emissions from rail and freight movement across the United States over the next five to ten years. It’s really remarkable. – Alan Ohnsman
With the shift to global electrification, a majority of the infrastructure for heavy-duty industrial applications still has to be developed. Additionally, there are still uncertainties around the global supply chain for precious metals that are needed to make batteries. Is there enough supply?
Based on current technologies, there is probably not enough supply out there. There just isn’t. – Alan Ohnsman
Does a potential global shortage of precious metals, create a market opening for hydrogen to gain market share and acceptance with industrial applications? Grayson and Alan discuss the potential opportunities for hydrogen and why an industrial company could embrace hydrogen as an alternative to gas.
But at its current stage, hydrogen is not clean. The same could be said for the mining of lithium as Serbia’s government recently revoked a lithium mining permit due to the potential environmental costs of the project.
In California, there are also environmental concerns around mining for lithium in the Salton Sea. With a projected capability of mining 600,000 metric tons of lithium a year from the Salton Sea, will this become a political issue? Potentially as there is a great economic incentive and potential national security issue developing around lithium.
With potentially limited precious metals and a focus on carbon impact, there is an opportunity to introduce and create a circular economy. Volvo is taking the first steps with their soon-to-be-introduced Polestar Zero.
Wrapping up the conversation, Alan discusses what happens if hydrogen could be made from renewable sources of energy and the impact that would have on industrial logistics.
Recorded on Tuesday, February 8, 2021.
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Cheng Lu, President & CEO, TuSimple joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Driver Out and Intermodal 2.0.
The conversation begins with Cheng reflecting on the last twelve months. From a traditional IPO to Driver Out, TuSimple has made incredible strides as the business and technology scale.
Driver Out is one of our big milestones we had for 2021. It’s clearly a critical path to commercialization. -Cheng Lu
As TuSimple prepares to commercialize its Driver Out autonomous freight operations, the company announced on February 2, 2022, that it had successfully completed over 550 miles of Driver Out on open public roads in real-world conditions. Cheng goes on to explain how the company is planning to scale the program.
Over the next two years we are scaling the ODD (Operational Design Domain), so day time, new routes. – Cheng Lu
The annual inflation rate for overall trucking costs is 17%. For the long-haul trucking sector, the annual inflation rate is 25%. With TuSimple successfully launching Driver Out, Grayson asks Cheng how TuSimple’s autonomous trucks can help to lower their customer’s inflation costs.
Our mission is to lower the cost of freight transportation. – Cheng Lu
With Driver Out in the process of scaling, TuSimple and Union Pacific announced a partnership in which TuSimple will help Union Pacific extend their operations. The partnership will allow Union Pacific to expand their network by using autonomous trucks where rail infrastructure is not available.
If you could mix autonomy into their supply chain and to their network, it could add a lot more flexibility to their network. It can also help them expand their reach of their network, that today their train tracks do not get to. It’s very expensive now to build any new railroad tracks and so if you can leverage autonomy for that, it’s significant. – Cheng Lu
This is another example of Union Pacific embracing emerging trends that will have an overall positive benefit on their business. Union Pacific had a similar move in 1936 when the company developed Sun Valley and connected the resort to Los Angeles via rail. The all-encompassing travel experience package was invented.
Could the Union Pacific / TuSimple partnership usher in the future of freight shipping? Cheng and the team at TuSimple view it as intermodal 2.0 where autonomous trucks, rail, and human-driven trucks will all complement each other to shore up the supply chain.
Autonomous trucking could be intermodal 2.0. – Cheng Lu
Wrapping up the conversation, Cheng discusses the economic benefits of Driver Out and scaling the TuSimple business.
Recorded on Monday, February 7, 2021.
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Ariel Wolf, General Counsel, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss misconceptions in the marketplace as it relates to AV technology.
The conversation begins with Ariel discussing the rebranding of the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.
[The brand] showcases the evolution of both the AV industry and the organization’s role with policymakers and the public. – Ariel Wolf
As AV technology advances, building and maintaining public trust is critical to the adoption of autonomous vehicles. In addition to public trust, there is a need for a National Autonomous Vehicle Framework that promotes the safe and swift deployment of autonomous vehicles in the United States.
In the market, there are misconceptions around what an autonomous vehicle is as some consumers are mistaken that ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) equipped vehicles are indeed autonomous vehicles.
One of the key challenges is the confusion in the public between the features and benefits of driver-assist technology and autonomous vehicle technology. – Ariel Wolf
The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association has called on Congress, policymakers, journalists, and the industry to clearly distinguish between ADAS and autonomous vehicles. When the terms are intermingled, it leads to confusion in the market and erodes public trust.
When you look at the perception of AV technology, it’s influenced unfortunately by unrelated ADAS technology and that leads to a diminishment of consumer trust that is really unjustified. – Ariel Wolf
On February 2, 2022, Ariel testified during The Road Ahead for Automated Vehicles hearing, part of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in Congress. During his testimony, he highlighted the important safety benefits of autonomous vehicles.
Deploying AV technology to make the roads safer should be part of a holistic solution. – Ariel Wolf
AV technology will not just make the roads safer, the technology will create jobs and shore up the supply chain. A steady supply chain that is complimented with AV technology will help to lower inflation. With a 40-year high inflation rate in the United States, Grayson and Ariel discuss autonomous trucks and the benefit the technology will have on the U.S. economy.
According to recent data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate for overall trucking costs is 17%. For the long-haul trucking sector, the annual inflation rate is 25%.
With record-high inflation, Grayson asks Ariel why the United States is not embracing autonomous trucking as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce inflation. The autonomous trucking industry is willing to step up, but there is a need for a national framework and engaging conversations between the Government and the industry.
Conversations also need to take place between the Ports and the autonomous trucking industry as the costs to ship goods have gone up due to the supply chain crisis. At the Ports of LA and Long Beach, it can take anywhere from 28 to 52 days to ship a pair of shoes produced in China from Shanghai to Los Angeles, up from between 17 and 28 days before the pandemic. And the total cost has gone up by $1.77 per pair. Yet the Ports will not engage with the autonomous trucking industry.
Today, autonomous trucks can not test and/or deploy in California due to the regulatory environment. This is having a negative impact on not only the citizens of the State of California but all Americans, as 31% of all imports to the U.S. enter the country through the Port of LA and Port of Long Beach.
Autonomous trucking is going to be a positive for everyone involved. – Ariel Wolf
The California Alliance for Freight Innovation (CAFI) was founded to transform how freight moves across the State of California to the benefit of everyone. With the future of autonomous trucking unsure in California, the industry has opened operations in Texas and is actively hauling freight in the State.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Ariel discuss the environmental benefits of autonomous trucks.
Recorded on Friday, February 4, 2021.
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Sean Ackley, eMobility Segment Lead, Americas, Hitachi joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why the electric vehicle industry is at the peak of the new gold rush.
The conversation begins with Sean discussing how he first became interested in electric vehicles. From building a performance golf cart to electric race cars, he shares insight into how his passion for racing turned into building his own EVs and eventually a career.
From passion to a career, Sean has incredible real-world insight into EVs. With this insight in mind, Grayson asks Sean what his thoughts are on the current state of the electric vehicle market.
It’s exciting. It’s certainly at a fever pitch of attention globally, both from people who are looking at it as an opportunity to invest in new commercial models, companies looking to dabble in new technologies. I almost feel like we are at the peak of the new gold rush. – Sean Ackley
While the EV market is at the peak of the new gold rush, what happens next?
There is going to be a lot of winners. There is going to be a lot of people striking gold. – Sean Ackley
With a gold rush underway, there are still hurdles that have to be crossed and one of those is the inconsistency in EV charging. There are numerous complaints from EV owners about chargers being broken when they need to charge.
A broken charger does not necessarily reflect poorly on the charging company, the majority of the time it reflects negatively on the car company. This is a problem that needs to be solved in order for EV market share to grow.
There is a lot of frustration in what you might call uptime and reliability of charging infrastructure. – Sean Ackley
Consumer frustration with EV charging infrastructure is creating new opportunities for traditional oil and gas companies to enter the space. Shell is beginning to explore charging infrastructure with plans to operate over 500,000 chargers by 2025.
Users expect a parity to their experience to a petrol car or a gas engine vehicle. – Sean Ackley
While the ability to quickly charge today is limited, does this create an opportunity for convenience stores to install EV charging stations? Grayson and Sean discuss what would have to happen from an infrastructure perspective to make EV charging at convenience stores a reality.
As more electric vehicles come online along with EV charging infrastructure, the grid will have to be upgraded to support the additional load demand.
We need to continue to invest in a robust and resilient grid and then supplement it where time is a critical factor with grid edge technologies. And then build out from there as technology continues to grow in efficiency. – Sean Ackley
For EV owners who live in dense urban environments, access to EV charging can be challenging. Grayson and Sean discuss what the future of EV charging in cities might look like.
Wrapping up the conversation, Sean shares his vision of what the future of electrification looks like.
Recorded on Tuesday, January 25, 2021.
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Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, covering self-driving tech and the future of mobility, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Ford and the electrification of an iconic brand.
The conversation begins with Grayson and Pete discussing the incredible performance of Ford under CEO Jim Farley in the public markets. As Ford electrifies their brand, the company has implemented a savvy strategy built around iconic Ford brands: F-150 and Mustang.
As car companies such as Ford begin to electrify their lineup of vehicles, it’s important not to lose sight of the circular economy. Ford clearly understands the positive impact that the circular economy will have on the EV supply chain and the environment as Ford is an investor in Redwood Materials (a battery recycling startup).
Everybody suddenly sees the writing on the wall that the chip shortage of 2020 to 2023 is going to quickly turn into the battery supply shortage of 2024 to 2028. – Pete Bigelow
While the supply chain will pose long-term challenges for automakers, the model of selling vehicles to consumers is changing. Consumers are demanding a direct-to-consumer model and shying away from dealers due to the overall buying experience.
The dealership networks of today are not well set up to sell electric vehicles. They are an obstacle in a lot of ways. They are not incentivized to sell electric vehicles. It’s a whole different thing where you are selling an ecosystem and you need to answer questions about utility bills and getting a charger installed in your home. – Pete Bigelow
As certain car dealers look to charge more for a vehicle due to demand, it ends up having a negative long-term effect on the automaker’s brand, not the dealer. It’s important for car companies to take a stand and protect their brands. Ford is doing this by not allowing dealers to mark up the vehicle due to demand.
Startups such as Rivian (which Ford owns 12%) do not have dealer networks. Does this create an inherent competitive advantage? Grayson and Pete discuss the pros and cons of the Rivian brand and the appeal of outdoor (Patagonia, The North Face) brands. Grayson raises the question: Does Rivian’s van business devalue the brand’s overall value?
Competition in the electric van market is heating up with GM’s Brightdrop, Stellantis’ Ram ProMaster, and Ford’s E-Transit vans coming online in the near future. Could these vans become autonomous in the future?
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Pete discuss the airport opportunity for autonomous vehicles and why the future of autonomy might not be shared.
Recorded on Monday, January 17, 2021.
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Jason Eichenholz, Co-Founder & CTO, Luminar joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss optoelectronics, lasers and seeing around corners.
The conversation begins with Jason telling the story of how he first became interested in imaging systems and optoelectronics during a physics demonstration he witnessed in high school.
I vividly remember the day that I saw that laser beam going across. And I was like OK, I want to do this and learn everything I can about lasers and optics and imaging and the things we could do. I thought there were all sorts of applications. Little did I know that [this event] would shape the direction of my career, that I would be using lasers to make autonomous vehicles safely operate on highways. – Jason Eichenholz
Fast forward from high school to a career and Jason is following his lifelong passion by commercializing optics and photonics as Co-Founder & CTO of Luminar.
From Day 1, we wanted the technology to be deployable, scalable, and we never sacrificed on the technology-based upon what was available. We made the technology work to enable the application. – Jason Eichenholz
Luminar has a commercial partnership with Volvo where Luminar LiDAR will be standard on Volvo’s to be announced all-new electric SUV and an upcoming autonomous driving subscription called Ride Pilot. This partnership validates Luminar’s technology and looks to usher in the future of transportation.
I look at the automotive industry and I look at the ability to bring technology and innovation forward. The overall industry is going through a transformation. I think it is the single largest transformation to transportation since the Model T. – Jason Eichenholz
At CES 2022, Luminar demonstrated its Proactive Safety system to great success. The system was able to detect a safety dummy crossing the road and came to a complete stop. In the other lane, a vehicle that was not equipped with the Proactive Safety system ran over the safety dummy. Grayson and Jason go on to discuss the system as to how it was able to detect the safety dummy.
Proactive Safety is about preventing accidents, not mitigating or minimizing them. It’s about preventing them. – Jason Eichenholz
For the last 25 years, Jason has served as a volunteer firefighter in Orange County, Florida. During his service, he has seen sights and heard sounds that stop and make you realize how truly dangerous the roads of America can be at any time of the day. Continuing the safety conversation, Jason discusses the safety benefits of LiDAR and how Luminar tests for edge cases in all conditions.
Wrapping up the conversation, Jason shares a personal story about why autonomous vehicles are so important for society and what he is doing to enable the future of autonomy.
Recorded on Tuesday, January 11, 2021.
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Finch Fulton, Vice President of Policy and Strategy, Locomation joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of autonomous trucking policy and why narratives shape reality.
The conversation begins with Finch sharing his outlook for 2022 and what he is expecting to see in the autonomous trucking industry. The potential impact of the April 2021 Executive Order Establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment on autonomous trucking.
With rising inflation, labor politics, and a lack of truck drivers, Grayson and Finch discuss how autonomous trucking can shore up the supply chain and lower the costs of goods delivered to consumers. From an investment standpoint, investors in the public markets are starting to look at the autonomous trucking industry as an investment opportunity due to the technology’s ability to shore up the supply chain and its environmental benefits.
The transportation sector as a whole represents 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy-duty trucks account for 23% of that. – Finch Fulton
Locomation’s ARC (Autonomous Relay Convoy) technology will allow its customers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22%. This reduction in greenhouse gases will have a positive environmental impact. The environmental benefits and the shoring up of the supply chain are two of the major benefits of autonomous trucking.
When U.S. Labor Secretary Walsh was Mayor of Boston he fully embraced autonomous vehicles when he signed an executive order in 2016 welcoming autonomous vehicles to Boston. Over the last six years, has his stance on autonomy changed. Grayson and Finch discuss Secretary Walsh’s changing approach to autonomy and the impact these changing views might have on the autonomous trucking industry.
The reality of what [truck drivers] face today is different than what the perceptions are. So we really have a lot to do to inform and educate [truck drivers] on what this technology can do to make their jobs better. – Finch Fulton
To start this process, the industry has to build trust. The trust has to be built with truck drivers, politicians, regulators, and the public. Grayson floats the idea of the industry partnering with Disney to create a new Pixar movie about autonomous trucks that could help develop public trust in the technology. Finch fills in the storyline with real-world data.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Finch discuss the positive economic impact that autonomous trucking will have on the U.S. economy.
[The United States] lets innovators innovate and we do not start with no. – Finch Fulton
Recorded on Monday, January 3, 2021.
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Dustin Koehl, Senior Vice President Of Sales, U.S. Xpress joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why U.S. Xpress is doubling down on innovation and what the future of the trucking industry looks like in the coming years.
The conversation begins with Dustin sharing an overview of U.S. Xpress and why the company is constantly doubling down on innovation. From Variant which is reengineering the truck diver experience for the better to autonomous trucking which will shore up the chain, U.S. Xpress is constantly focused on the future of trucking.
With a pending truck driver shortage of over 80,000 drivers, the trucking industry will change dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years. One of the major changes that will affect the industry is the focus on sustainability and what the industry will do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Our trucks travel over 600 million miles a year and over 1.2 million deliveries are made per year. It’s a great opportunity to be good stewards of our environment. – Dustin Koehl
U.S. Xpress’ commitment to sustainability extends to the local community as the company gives back by rolling up its sleeves and participating in the Chattanooga Preparatory School mentor program. The Chatt Prep mentor program could eventually pave the way for students to enter the trucking industry.
The trucking industry is currently in a phase of optimization to improve performance and dwell time.
With a driver, they have a fourteen-hour day or an eleven-hour clock that they drive. Well, the industry average is about six and half hours is really all they drive each day. – Dustin Koehl
A large part of the discrepancy in time on and driving is due to parking and congestion. With parking being a major issue for trucking, Grayson and Dustin go on to discuss the issue and what can be done to solve the issue and increase hours driven each day by a truck driver.
Putting the pieces together, Grayson asks Dustin how the company is preparing for the future of autonomous trucking.
U.S. Xpress became one of the first fleets if not the first fleet to say let’s be at the tip of the spear here. We have really pressed in from a regulatory space, we have pressed in from an operational playbook. – Dustin Koehl
Expanding the conversation, Grayson and Dustin talk about how the industry at large is preparing for the future of autonomous trucking.
States are also preparing to welcome autonomous trucking, but California is not allowing the technology to operate on public roads in the State. Brulte & Company and U.S. Xpress are both founding members of the California Alliance for Freight Innovation which is working to foster innovation and advancement in freight transportation.
While the autonomous trucking technology is being developed in California, it is being deployed in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. California is missing a large positive economic impact by not embracing autonomous trucking deployments as the State acts merely as Texas’ R&D lab as companies are actively deploying autonomous trucks in Texas.
Autonomous trucking can spur on $111 billion in aggregate investment across the U.S. economy. – Dustin Koehl
Wrapping up the conversation, Dustin discusses U.S. Xpress’ 2022 technology investment plans.
Recorded on Friday, December 17, 2021.
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Russ Mitchell who covers the rapidly changing global auto industry (with special emphasis on California, including Tesla, electric vehicles, and driverless cars) at The Los Angeles Times once again joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss what is self-driving.
The conversation begins with Grayson posing the question to Russ: are we in an electric vehicle bubble?
Yes, we are in an EV bubble, but that’s part of a greater stock market bubble. – Russ Mitchell
The conversation evolves into the electric vehicle charging market and if that market is in a bubble. The conclusion is yes. Staying on the economics theme and price performance of companies and markets, Russ discusses Tesla’s current public market valuation.
A large portion of the general public believes that a Tesla is a self-driving car due to the vehicle’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature. This feature has created scenarios that are dangerous and have led to crashes as members of the public are overly confident that their Tesla will drive them home safely. While in fact, a Tesla is not a self-driving car (today).
Regulators and politicians are beginning to take notice and ask questions about whether Tesla’s FSD system is a self-driving vehicle or if it’s a Level 2 ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) that requires drivers to be fully engaged at all times.
California Senate Transportation Committee Chair, Lena Gonzalez recently sent a letter to the CA DMV questing the CA DMV’s approval in allowing Tesla to operate vehicles with the FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature enabled on public roads in California.
The letter from California State Senator Gonzalez raises the question does the CA DMV even has the legal authority to impose regulations on FSD since it’s technically an ADAS system and not a self-driving vehicle.
As an example, there have been multiple police reports of Teslas with FSD engaged being involved in crashes and nothing happens from a regulatory standpoint. When Pony AI, which is authorized to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in California, got into a crash on October 28, 2021, the company had its testing permit suspended by the CA DMV.
With multiple regulatory bodies vying to regulate autonomous vehicles in California, will passenger AV companies look to follow non-AV businesses by relocating to Texas and Florida? It’s possible, but Russ brings up the point that engineering talent is located in the Bay Area.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Russ discuss what the AV industry will look like in California over the next 10 years and what consumers can expect in the market.
People shouldn’t assume that any car for sale right now can drive itself because it can’t. – Russ Mitchell
Recorded on Monday, December 16, 2021.
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David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss commercializing autonomous vehicles and the growth of the electric vehicle market in the United States.
The conversation begins with David sharing his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous vehicle industry.
Right now you are kind of seeing a race to get some sort of autonomous business to market. – David Welch
As autonomous vehicle companies prepare to commercialize their service, Grayson and David discuss the strategic advantages that Cruise has with GM/Honda and Argo AI has with Ford/VW. Cruise and Argo AI have the advantage of having a traditional automaker to help them build and test their AVs for safety requirements.
As a competitor, Waymo does not have the traditional automaker relationship, but it does have Alphabet’s cash. The question is, how long will Alphabet continue to invest in Waymo without seeing a return on capital?
I do not think they have unlimited time and unlimited money to do this anymore. The parent company, Alphabet has basically said that they do not want to forever pump billions of dollars into science projects. [Waymo] has to start earning its way over time. – David Welch
As AV companies prepare to commercialize their service, Grayson asks David why the industry has an obsession with launching in San Francisco as the City is hostile to the technology. As David explains, it all comes down to the engineering talent that is lives in and around the City.
Cities are a great place to deploy autonomous vehicles if the City is welcoming to the technology and if the infrastructure is properly developed. Sports stadiums will have to update their infrastructure as well to ensure that the fan experience is convenient and frictionless.
Today, fans do not like walking long distances to find an Uber or Lyft and in the future, they will want AVs to pick them up at the front gate without having to walk to a remote lot. The future of passenger autonomy will be defined by convenience and the overall passenger experience.
The adoption and growth of electric vehicles will come down to convenience and how easy it is to charge the vehicle without downloading multiple apps.
I do not think people want 27 apps for charging on their phone. – David Welch
Is this a problem for Apple to solve? Could fixing the EV charging problem be one of the things that Apple is working on as part of Project Titan? Possibly, but most likely Project Titan will be than just EV charging.
With a shortage of semiconductors and an unstable supply of minerals for electric vehicles, Grayson and David discuss what can be done to shore up the U.S. supply chain for EVs. While the supply chain is a work in progress, there are still questions around how the minerals for electric vehicles are mined and refined.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and David compare and contrast GM’s and Ford’s vision for electric vehicles.
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Dirk Smillie, Author, The Business of Tomorrow: The Visionary Life of Harry Guggenheim: From Aviation and Rocketry to the Creation of an Art Dynasty joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Harry Guggenheim and the role he played helping to usher in the future of aviation.
The conversation begins with Dirk discussing who Harry Guggenheim was and the role he played in transforming the Guggenheim family business. As Harry became established in business, he was appointed Ambassador to Cuba and had personal relations with five U.S. Presidents.
As the co-owner of Newsday on Long Island, Harry’s political ideologies often clashed with those of his wife, co-owner, and publisher Alicia Patterson. When John F. Kennedy received the Democratic nomination for President, Newday endorsed Kennedy while Harry wrote an op-ed for the paper endorsing the Republican nominee Richard Nixon.
This was not the first nor last time that Harry and Alicia would disagree on issues that were important to them. One such issue was an airfield on Long Island that Harry wanted to see transformed into an airport, while Alicia wanted it closed. Due to her savvy move in having Newsday endorse John F. Kennedy for President, she was able to persuade then-President Kennedy to shut down the airport over a private lunch.
Aviation was deeply personal to Harry as he viewed it as the business of tomorrow. His relationships in the emerging industry ran deep as he developed a life-long friendship with Aviator Charles Lindbergh. Harry and Charles met before his famous Spirit of St. Louis flight at Mitchell Field on Long Island.
Capalitizing on the momentous occasion of the historical flight, Harry organized the Spirit of St. Louis Tour to develop public trust that flying in a plane was safe. The tour had 82 stops in 48 states over the course of 3 months.
The idea [of the tour] was to prove that the flight from New York to Paris was not a fluke. It was a function of the fact, generally speaking, were reliable and safe. Lindbergh sought to prove that by landing at a different city every day at exactly two-o’clock and then he would go through the same kind of protocols where he would make a speech and then maybe there would be a dinner and a parade and then he would get back in the plane and got to the next city. – Dirk Smillie
As the relationship between Harry and Lindbergh matured over the years through countless days at Falaise (Harry’s estate on the Gold Coast of Long Island) and through innumerable letters, Lindbergh introduced Harry to Robert Goddard. Robert was a professor studying rockets in Massachusetts who would later go on to become known as “America’s Father of the Space Age”. It was the introduction by Lindbergh to Harry that paved the way for the rocket age, as the Daniel Guggenheim Fund funded Goddard’s work.
One could make the assumption that if it were not for the visionary Harry Guggenheim, aviation could possibly have been slower to take off and liquid-cooled rockets might have been developed years later.
It was the kind of spark plugs that Harry put into place that accelerated the sector. – Dirk Smillie
The other accelerator of aviation was the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics which funded programs focused on aviation engineering and education. The fund had a limited term as it was set up to accelerate the emerging aviation industry.
The idea was, put the spark plugs in place and then let industry take over. – Dirk Smillie
Wrapping up the conversation, Dirk and Grayson discuss what they think will be the businesses of the future.
Recorded on Monday, December 6, 2021.
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Ellen Carey, Global Head of Sustainability, Circulor joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the global supply chain and the importance of tracking commodities in real-time.
The conversation begins with Ellen and Grayson discussing the sustainability of the global supply chain.
We are thinking about our supply chains at more levels and more deeply than we have ever before. – Ellen Carey
Expanding the supply chain conversation from Christmas toys to electric vehicles, Grayson asks Ellen when do we get to the point where there is clear transparency on how the raw earth minerals for EVs are mined and eventually refined? Now.
In terms of the market dynamics, customers are demanding that their purchase power goes towards supporting responsible sourcing, sound businesses. – Ellen Carey
The market is past the point of goals and press releases to the point where consumers and investors are demanding to see proof of sustainability on a quarterly basis.
At Circulor we like to think of ourselves as the pioneers of proof. – Ellen Carey
This is exactly what Circulor is doing as they are tracking the physical flow of materials in real-time from source to manufacturing. Real-time tracking allows corporations and companies to report on ESG standards and to make smarter decisions.
For the tracking of the raw material to be traced, Circulor creates a digital twin of the commodity/material and then traces that digital twin through the industrial process. Looking back at the history of the global commodities market, the move by Circulor to be the pioneers of proof was ground-breaking.
Circulor’s system and approach are based on trust and transparency.
It has to be a secure system that grows trust and has immutable records of the supply chain so that it enables participation. It enables trust. – Ellen Carey
Trafigura, one of the world’s largest commodity trading houses has engaged Circulor to provide traceability and CO2 tracking for their nickel and cobalt trading division.
By providing transparency of its cobalt and nickel supply chains and by tracking, dynamically tracking its CO2 emissions throughout, it provides a new value proposition to its downstream customers. – Ellen Carey
Transparency is the future. Transparency is coming to all industries across the global economy due to customer and investor demand.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Ellen discuss the future of sustainability.
Recorded on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
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Chris Anderson, President, Sala Consulting joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the Vegas Experience and why mobility companies can offer unique immersive autonomous vehicle experiences only in Vegas.
The conversation begins with Chris discussing the current state of the Las Vegas Economy.
It’s recovering quickly. It’s going really well. If you go down to the Strip on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday night, Sunday, it is packed as it ever was. – Chris Anderson
Over the years, Vegas has constantly reinvented itself and introduced new trends that would be exported to the world. One of those trends is experiences. Chris explains why the trend of immersive experiences truly began in Vegas when Jay Sarno developed Caesars Palace in 1966.
[Caesars Palace] was really a project that took Las Vegas from being just gambling halls and extremely gaming-focused to a more of an experiential resort. – Chris Anderson
The trend of immersive experiences accelerated with Steve Wynn opening the Bellagio Hotel in 1998. The opening of the Bellagio also transformed the image of Vegas from midnight buffets and cheap rooms to a luxury destination.
With Vegas emerging as a hub of mobility with Aptiv, The Boring Company, Lyft, Motional, Nuro, Uber, and Zoox, all operating in Vegas, Grayson, and Chris discuss why Las Vegas.
We have a very welcoming community that is very welcome to innovation and new people, new companies. Our regulatory framework reflects that. – Chris Anderson
It’s not only the community and the regulatory framework it’s the Vegas brand.
It’s the ultimate branding opportunity. If you launch in Las Vegas, you are going to get hundreds of millions, if not billions of impressions around the world, because Las Vegas is such a destination. – Chris Anderson
While a majority of the revenues generated in Las Vegas today are non-gaming revenues, online gaming is growing at a rapid pace. With the growth of online gaming and Motional and Zoox preparing to offer autonomous vehicle services for paying passengers, Grayson asks Chris when bespoke online gambling experiences will be offered in resort branded autonomous vehicles.
There is no doubt that that is going to happen. Obviously, we have great online sports betting opportunities right now. Sometime in the future, I can see full internet gaming being an option. So, when those products are ready for it and the autonomous vehicle industry is ready for it, there is no doubt in my mind that that will happen. – Chris Anderson
Autonomous vehicles companies that will benefit from this trend the most, are companies that have chosen to build a bespoke vehicle from the ground up.
Autonomous vehicles that are not retrofitted will enable unique partnerships with gaming companies due to the design and the user experience in the vehicle. The immersive user experience will expand to sports teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders and the Golden Knights.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Chris discuss Casinos and their role in the growth of online gaming and how in-autonomous vehicle gamming could expand globally.
Recorded on Tuesday, November 11, 2021.
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Matthew Lipka, Head Of Policy, Nuro and Bert Kaufman, Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Zoox joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why autonomy and electrification make the future of mobility and delivery possible.
The conversation begins with Matthew and Bert discussing what the SAVE Coalition is and why the coalition was founded. The idea for SAVE was originally hatched at an autonomous vehicle conference in late 2017 and further formulated during a coffee meeting at Philz Coffee in San Mateo, CA between Matthew and Bert.
Both Nuro and Zoox had and still have a unique point of view on autonomy. Both companies along with Local Motors decided not to retrofit a vehicle for autonomy and instead choose to build purpose-built vehicles from the ground up.
We got a unique point of view because we made the deliberate decision to not retrofit. – Bert Kaufman
When companies choose to build a bespoke vehicle, it creates new opportunities but also unique policy challenges such as updating the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
If you are rethinking the car then you are not going to be building an internal combustion engine. You are not going to be building a vehicle that is designed just for protecting that those inside. It is also going to be thinking about those outside of the vehicle. There are a lot of opportunities this creates both in the robotaxi as well in the delivery space. – Matthew Lipka
As companies such as Zoox prepare to commercialize their robotaxi services, they are working to properly set expectations.
The first to know is that it is going to be a very shallow ramp into society for these fully autonomous vehicles to start driving around on public roads. – Bert Kaufman
Trust is the other key component to ensuring the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles. First responders have to trust that they can safely engage with the vehicle. The public has to trust that the vehicle will get them to and from their destination safely. Once trust is developed and the public’s expectations are set, robotaxis and autonomous vehicle delivery services can scale.
One of the most effective ways to build trust is through education. SAVE is working to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits of bespoke electric autonomous vehicles. One of the best ways to educate the public and to build trust is through interactive autonomous vehicle demo days where individuals can experience the technology first-hand.
People who have interacted with an autonomous vehicle, more than 75% of them say they trust autonomous vehicles, I would use it again. But people who haven’t, the number is much lower. – Matthew Lipka
Autonomy and electrification are enabling designers and engineers to completely reimagine what is possible. This is exactly what Nuro and Zoox are accomplishing through design.
There are all sorts of new designs that may be necessary or possible created by autonomy. We are just at the beginning of learning that. – Matthew Lipka
In order for this to happen, policies and regulations have to be updated. Policymakers and regulators have to look past what is considered normal and to a future that prioritizes safety innovations.
These new technologies offer the promise of new safety innovations for our roadways. – Bert Kaufman
Wrapping up the conversation, Matthew, Bert, and Grayson discuss the future of autonomy.
Recorded on Monday, November 15, 2021.
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Dr. Dean Bushey, Vice President, Global Social Innovation Business, Hitachi joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss an all-electric vehicle future.
The conversation begins with Dean discussing his 25-year career in the United States Air Force and his first-hand experience with unmanned aircraft.
When you fly a drone, you actually get combat hours. – Dr. Dean Bushey
From military applications of unmanned aircraft to civilian applications, Grayson asks Dean his thoughts on the consumer drone market. It’s an exciting market with a lot of use cases.
If you look at a drone it’s a platform that holds a sensor and the sensor is what makes it sexy. Whether it’s a camera used in photography, a camera used in mapping. A sensor used to measure the depth of water at a mining facility. – Dr. Dean Bushey
Shifting the conversation to Hitachi, Grayson asks Dean how Hitachi is evolving as a business with a strong focus on an ESG future. As part of this focus, Hitachi is focused on the societal conversion from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
In order to achieve a successful conversion to electric vehicles, companies need a plan. A plan is needed for the vehicles, energy grids, maintenance solutions, and infrastructure. Dean breaks down what a plan looks like and what is needed to start the electric vehicle planning process. The key to the planning process is optimization.
Currently, there is no optimized way to pay for electric vehicle charging when you travel unless you drive a Tesla as there is a standardized payment solution.
When there is a standardized payment solution it will have to be:
Convenient, seamless, and secure. – Dr. Dean Bushey
Staying on the security theme, Grayson asks Dean what can be done to secure an electric vehicle when the vehicle is connected to the energy grid and charging.
We need to recognize that it is a critical infrastructure piece. If you are plugging into the grid and you are operating a vehicle based on your charge down the highway it becomes a national safety concern. – Dr. Dean Bushey
As society moves towards an all-electric vehicle, Grayson and Dean discuss major obstacles that might slow down the adoption of electric vehicles. To make an all-electric future a reality, it has to be convenient.
A big concern, one that you are already seeing — supply chain disruption is going to be a big one. – Dr. Dean Bushey
Supply chain disruptions extend from the chip shortage to the mineral supply chain. Similar to the electric vehicle industry, the autonomous vehicle industry is facing similar supply chain issues. The future of electrification and autonomy will overlap in the coming years as the technology and hardware mature.
The emerging industries of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles will create new high-paying jobs. Grayson and Dean discuss the new jobs that will be created as autonomous vehicles and trucks scale.
In the future, these vehicles will be electric and they will have to be optimally charged and integrated into the fleet. The question is how? Dean discusses how delivery fleets can optimize their charging times based on delivery routes.
Wrapping up the conversation, Dean shares his thoughts on the mobility trends he sees emerging in 2022.
Recorded on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
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Annant Patel, Director, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and Gautam Narang, CEO & Co-Founder, Gatik joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss investing in growth.
The conversation begins with Gautam discussing why he decided to run Gatik as a business from day one and why the team focused on the middle mile.
When we started Gatik we decided to focus on an opportunity that was being overlooked by almost every AV developer, which was automating on-road goods transportation. – Gautam Narang
As Gatik has scaled and grown as a business, Grayson asks Annant what first attracted Koch Disruptive Technologies to Gatik.
We saw the tech is disruptive, going back to the investment philosophy, it was disruptive to Koch, it was disruptive to the supply chain and it’s good for society. – Annant Patel
Shifting the conversation to economics, Gautam explains how Gatik has been able to achieve profitability at the vehicle level.
Our operations are highly efficient. We operate our trucks over 20 hours daily, 7 days a week. – Gautam Narang
With a highly efficient operation, Gatik has begun to pass on savings to customers. In the history of Gatik, the company has not lost a single customer or partner. As Gatik prepares to turn five years old next year, the company is accelerating growth through partnerships with Walmart, Loblaw, Goodyear, Ryder, and Koch Industries.
Koch Disruptive Technologies is helping Gatik accelerate growth.
The alignment between KDT and Gatik was there since the very first meeting. – Gautam Narang
One of the advantages of a Koch partnership is Koch Labs that strategically accelerates growth for portfolio partners. Annant explains how Gatik is leveraging the Koch Labs opportunity.
Koch is investing for long-term growth.
We invest 90% of earnings back into Koch. That translates to about to $133 billion invested in growth and improvements since 2003. $30 billion was spent on technology investments and acquisitions in the last six years alone. – Annant Patel
With a long-term growth mindset, Grayson asks Annant what Koch’s vision is for autonomy.
The future is now. Gatik is pulling the future forward as we think about it. If you are not experimenting with automation and supply chain transformation, the way I say it is that we are already many years behind. – Annant Patel
With the supply chain disruptions actively affecting the economy and autonomous trucking and delivery vehicles offering a solution, Gautam shares his thoughts on the commercialization of autonomy and Gatik’s partnership with Walmart.
Gatik is laser-focused on the middle mile. Gautam explains why:
All of this started with the customer pain-point and the customer need. – Gautam Narang
The team at Gatik clearly saw the emerging trend of same-day delivery which would require new smaller distribution centers located closer to consumers.
Wrapping up the conversation, Annant and Gautam discuss the current state of the global supply chain.
Recorded on Thursday, October 21, 2021.
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Greg Rogers, Public Policy Manager, Nuro joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the future of local commerce.
The conversation begins with Greg discussing Nuro’s plan for the new manufacturing facility and test track in Las Vegas, Nevada. The facility will employ 250 individuals and generate as much as $2.2 billion in economic benefits for Nevada in the first 10 years.
This is the first such factory in America which will have the capacity to manufacture tens of thousands of autonomous delivery vehicles. – Greg Rogers
With the factory being built to manufacture and scale the autonomous delivery robots, Grayson asks Greg what has to be done from a policy perspective to ensure that the company can scale. As Nuro looks at policy, the company was one of the founders of the SAVE Coalition with Zoox and Local Motors.
Often new technologies that are transformational do not look like anything that came before it. – Greg Rogers
As autonomous vehicle technology and electric vehicle battery technology merge, an opportunity arises to completely rethink the design of vehicles. This is exactly what Nuro is doing with the R2. The R2 was designed from the ground up for delivery.
In Houston, Texas, Nuro’s R2 is actively autonomously delivering pizzas through a partnership with Dominos. The R2 is bringing smiles and joy to the residents of Houston as the robot becomes part of the community.
R2 is designed to be a friendly introduction to autonomous vehicles. – Greg Rogers
Besides pizzas, FedEx packages are being delivered in Houston with the R2. It is important to note that Nuro’s partnership with FedEx is a multi-year, multi-phase agreement that is revenue-generating for Nuro.
Since the structure of this partnership is uncommon in the autonomous vehicle industry as it is not a pilot, Grayson asks Greg how Nuro was able to secure this deal.
We have a goods-only focus. That is a benefit. We are laser-focused on delivery. The companies that we are partnering with are laser-focused on delivery as part of their business model.
Since delivery is our business as it is with our partners, we do not look at delivery as an alternative go-to-market plan. We do not look it at something that we dabble in. Our partners know that our interest unequivocally aligns with theirs. – Greg Rogers
Shifting the conversation to a personal level, Greg discusses growing up in the Central Valley of California and the impact it had on him.
It’s ground zero for food insecurity. The breadbasket of the world is actually where a lot of people struggle with hunger. – Greg Rogers
Wanting to pursue a career in politics, Greg moved to Washington, D.C. After quitting his job as a political consultant, Greg started driving for Lyft and Uber full-time and blogged about his experience. During these rides, Greg noticed a trend of individuals ordering rides to grocery stores. With the autonomous delivery of groceries, individuals will save money and time, all the while having a positive impact on society.
Wrapping up the conversation, Greg shares his thoughts on the future of mobility.
More mobility is a good thing. – Greg Rogers
Recorded on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
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Ernest Huffman, Aviation Planning and Education Program Manager, North Central Texas Council of Governments joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why North Texas is the home of aviation innovation.
The conversation begins with Ernest sharing a story about how a high school teacher changed his life and put him on the course of becoming a pilot, which lead to a career in aviation.
Looking at [the aviation industry] from a holistic, macro perspective and my early background in doing some economist work, I think of aviation as a competitive industry, a means for folks to get out of their current situations in urban communities. – Ernest Huffman
Putting his words into action, Ernest worked with Tuskegee NEXT to inspire at-risk youth to explore career opportunities in the aviation industry.
I had my pilot’s license before I had my driver’s license. – Ernest Huffman
Shifting the conversation to North Texas, Grayson asks Ernest about the North Central Texas Council of Governments NASA partnership to study the potential of drone technology and integrate it into future transportation plans.
The North Texas region is emerging as the home of aviation innovation due to the economic strength and the business climate in the region.
We like the growth. We are going to keep attracting these great businesses here. – Ernest Huffman
In February, a Bell autonomous drone successfully delivered a package at Hillwood’s AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone out of the line of sight which requires significant regulatory approval.
It is a monumental achievement. To do it in the current regulatory environment that we have for those types of flights is an achievement. – Ernest Huffman
Looking to the future, there are plans for a more significant flight to take place in 2023. Taking it one step further, Grayson asks Ernest if there are plans to connect the DFW airport to the Dallas Cowboys football stadium with an eVTOL service. This type of experience would enhance the fan experience on GameDay for fans who fly into Dallas for the game.
That is definitely a use case that we are exploring heavily. – Ernest Huffman
To enable this future, there has to be a public trust. The public has to trust that the eVTOL aircraft will get them there on time and safely. NCTOG is working on this issue through their Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety and Integration Initiative.
Wrapping up the conversation, Ernest shares his vision of how advanced air mobility will be rolled out in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
Recorded on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
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Don Burnette, Co-Founder & CEO of Kodiak Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why trucking is the right problem to solve.
The conversation begins with Don discussing the early days of the Google Self-Driving Project.
The early days were really an exciting time for those of us who were aware of the self-driving industry, which was very few folks at the time. – Don Burnette
It was during this time that Don began to understand the business use case challenges that would soon come to face the self-driving car industry. During these early days, the team on the Google Self-Driving Car Project also thought about trucking, but it was dismissed.
It was dismissed fairly early on, not because of technical reasons, just because at the time we all envisioned this as a very sexy technology. The leadership at Google was really focused on personal mobility. They wanted people to be able to touch and interact with the technology in a very direct way. So robo-taxis was the obvious direction for us to try and head. – Don Burnette
Looking at the trucking industry and what is happening today with the driver shortage, the growth of e-commerce, and the shortages in the global supply chain, it becomes very obvious that trucking is the right problem to solve.
You have this gap that can actually can be solved, I think fairly uniquely with autonomy. – Don Burnette
In the autonomous vehicle industry, we are beginning to see “The Great Pivot To Trucking” as the economics of autonomous trucking are far greater than those of the current robo-taxi models.
It is the combination of the technical challenge combined with the commercial viability that I think is pushing other programs toward trucking. – Don Burnette
It’s not only the economics of trucking that is appealing, it’s the fact the industry as a whole is welcoming autonomous trucking. The technology is not disrupting the market, it is helping to shore up industry and the United States economy.
You are seeing that market really embrace it in a way that is unprecedented up until today. – Don Burnette
Wall Street is beginning to pick up on the financial upside of autonomous trucking as several companies have gone public this year.
Wall Street along with most of the AV industry has finally realized that the strong business case for autonomous trucks has been defined. – Don Burnette
Recently several analysts went on a tour to meet with autonomous trucking companies and came away impressed with the current state of technology. As Wall Street takes notice and Kodiak’s competitors have gone public, Grayson asks Don why Kodiak has not gone public. Don shares his honest insight into why Kodiak has opted to stay private.
Shifting the conversation to Kodiak’s Generation 4 Autonomous Truck, Grayson asks Don about the company’s mirror pods innovation. Mirror pods were designed to be repaired or replaced in the field by non-skilled technicians with just four bolts.
As Kodiak prepares to build out its business, Don shares Kodiak’s business model and the role that Kodiak Express and the Kodiak Driver will play in scaling the business.
Once the safety case is proven out, we are also going to offer technology as a subscription. This is where customers can run the Kodiak Driver technology on the trucks that they own specifically. – Don Burnette
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson asks Don if he views Kodiak as more of a trucking company or a technology company.
Recorded on Tuesday, October 5, 2021.
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Prashanthi Raman, Senior Director, Global Government Affairs, Cruise joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss deploying sustainable autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with Prashanthi discussing why she wants to make the world a better place and what she learned from her mother.
To [my mother] honor, reputation, people being able to trust you is something that you need to hold sacred. That is something that I really carry with me. – Prashanthi Raman
With a background steeped in health care, Grayson asks Prashanthi when she thinks health care services will be available in autonomous vehicles. When health care services become available in autonomous vehicles, lives will be able to be saved. For example, when a rider experiences a cardiac event in the vehicle, the vehicle will be able to be rerouted to a hospital with the doctors on duty being notified instantly about the incoming patient.
While this is the future, Cruise is currently focused on impact. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruise delivered 1.6 million meals and groceries to families and individuals in San Francisco.
Operating in San Francisco, the conversation naturally shifts to policy and what it takes to deploy an autonomous vehicle in the City of San Fransico. Prior to joining Cruise, Prashanthi was the Head of State and Local Government Relations at Lyft where she learned the importance of educating consumers and elected officials on new and emerging mobility technologies.
Autonomous vehicles will have a profound positive impact on society when they are deployed in meaningful numbers.
Cruise’s desire is to launch into ride-sharing in a fleet-managed approach that is more accessible and affordable to more people. We want to do so in a more sustainable way than any other AV company. – Prashanthi Raman
When Cruise deploys in a city, they want to be part of the local community. Being based in San Fransico and the 2021 baseball playoffs underway, Grayson asks Prashanthi when the SF Giants win their next World Series title, will the parade feature Cruise vehicles? While it’s always a possibility, Giants legend Willie Mays has been for a ride so you never know what the future might hold.
What we do know that the future holds is sustainable autonomous vehicles. Sustainability is something that is core to the Cruise mission and near and dear to the team’s heart.
We actually think that real innovation is zero-emission. – Prashanthi Raman
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson, and Prashanthi discuss Cruise’s holistic approach to sustainability.
Recorded on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
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Abhijit Ganguly, Managing Director, Goodyear Ventures joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Goodyear’s continuous commitment to innovation.
The conversation begins with Abhijit discussing Goodyear’s continuous commitment to innovation since 1898.
We have a rich history and proven track record of innovating in the mobility space. – Abhijit Ganguly
At CES 2020, Goodyear announced the Goodyear Ventures fund.
We announced the fund at CES with the goal of letting everyone know that we were ready to build these strategic relationships with startups. – Abhijit Ganguly
A little over a year has passed since the fund was launched. With a successful exit already under the fund’s belt with the IPO of TuSimple, Grayson asks Abhijit what his thoughts are on the current state of autonomy. With the global truck driver shortage and the rapid expansion of e-commerce, a perfect storm is created for the development and deployment of autonomous trucks.
The Port of LA which handles 40% of the nation’s imports is currently experiencing a backlog that is having a profound negative impact on the supply chain. Autonomous trucks can help to shore up the supply chain and deliver goods in an efficient manner. Goodyear Ventures is currently looking at investment opportunities around autonomous delivery and the supply chain.
We are actively looking to support the acceleration of these trends and support them from our products and services building capabilities for new companies. – Abhijit Ganguly
Shifting the conversation to tires and the impact that tires have on delivery, Grayson, and Abhijit discuss Goodyear’s SightLine, a suite of tire intelligence solutions. Since tires are the only thing on a vehicle that makes contact with the road, tires have the unique ability to gather real-time intelligent data on the driving conditions.
We have the ability now to start telling the vehicle what the tire is feeling from the road. That knowledge allows the vehicle to drive safer and in a more efficient way. – Abhijit Ganguly
Electric vehicles will have a different set of requirements for tires, partly due to the weight of the vehicle and the sudden acceleration of the vehicles. With a growing EV market, Goodyear is actively supporting the trend of electrification by investing in tire technology.
As EVs will need to charge, Goodyear Ventures invested in AmpUp to learn about charging. Today there a several charging companies in the market and no standard on payment. A software layer that allows for a seamless payment experience no matter which charging service that a consumer is using will be one of the keys to the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
Looking to the future of mobility, Grayson asks Abhijit to share his vision of the future of mobility
I do feel like mobility can be much safer than it is today. It can be much more efficient than it is today. I hope it can be more fun than what it is today. – Abhijit Ganguly
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson, and Abhijit discuss the role that private capital plays in the advancement of autonomous mobility.
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Recorded on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
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Cameron Gieda, Director of Business Development, Spartan Radar joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why 4D radar is a brave new world.
The conversation begins with Grayson and Cameron talking about surfing, sharks, and the impact Jaws had on society. The movie and the music make you think twice before getting in the water now.
Learning to kinda overcome those primal fears and other fears that were generated by media is a challenge, but it is quite cathartic when you can finally relax in that situation understanding the odds. – Cameron Gieda
Comparing and contrasting surfing with mobility, Grayson and Cameron discuss the unique similarities between riding a wave and find a parking spot at the beach. Shifting the conversation to autonomy and when Cameron worked at AutonomouStuff, his office was stop #1 for most mobility start-ups in Silicon Valley. He shares his thoughts on the current state of autonomy.
Covid helped drive far greater adoption of autonomy in the logistical space. – Cameron Gieda
Staying on the theme of logistics and autonomy, Grayson and Cameron discuss the global supply chain and how autonomous trucking can help shore up the global supply chain. The Port Of LA is currently experiencing a massive shortage of trucks and workers which is forcing ships to idle out at sea for days until there is the capacity to unload the cargo.
During a recent weekend at the beach, Cameron counted over 70 ships waiting to go into the Port of LA.
It’s the very beginning of our economic funnel. – Cameron Gieda
There is a glaring need for U.S. Ports to embrace autonomous trucking as this technology will have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. To get here, though we need political leadership, however that this something that is lacking at the moment.
Shifting the conversation to radar, Cameron explains why we joined Spartan Radar and what he saw in the company’s technology.
The main reason I came to talk to Spartan was really because they look at it very differently. They take a very holistic systems engineering approach to the design. – Cameron Gieda
Spartan radar can run on low-power ARM chips which is a competitive advantage for the company. The trend towards low-power will continue to accelerate as society begins to shift towards electric vehicles. After consumers shift to electric vehicles, they will shift to autonomous vehicles.
Radar will not only play an important role in the driving aspect of autonomy but also the health and wellness of passengers and drivers of SAE Level 2 and 3 vehicles.
You can use radar to monitor the heart rate of a driver. It can see through your chest and basically listen to your heart. – Cameron Gieda
Being able to detect a heart rate will save lives. Grayson and Cameron go on to discuss all of the health and wellness benefits that radar will be able to deliver in-vehicle.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson, and Cameron discuss what’s next for Spartan Radar.
Follow The Road To Autonomy on Apple Podcasts
Recorded on Tuesday, September 9, 2021.
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Mike Stankard, Managing Director, Automotive Practice, Aon joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss insuring autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with Mike sharing his thoughts on the current state of the insurance market for autonomous vehicles.
Overall, it’s pretty healthy. – Mike Stankard
The right insurance policy for autonomous vehicle companies is absolutely critical. As AV companies move from testing and development to commercialization their insurance needs will change as the risk will change when paying passengers are involved.
The risk profile of that vehicle raises dramatically when you move to that next step. – Mike Stankard
When AV companies are ready to take the next step and commercialize their service, the insurance markets are comfortable with insuring the risk as the technology has matured. The insurance markets are comfortable with insuring delivery, trucking, and passenger autonomous vehicle companies.
The insurance for autonomous vehicle companies also carries over to directors and officers liability insurance when AV companies decide to go public.
When a private company goes public, the risks that the directors, officers, investors, and other stakeholders are exposed to are substantially increased when you are going to be making a public offering. – Mike Stankard
If the board of an AV company decides not to go public but instead accepts an offer to be acquired by another company, a new insurance program is developed to manage those risks. Managing risks throughout the lifecycle of an AV company is extremely important as it will ensure that the company is not blindsided by a risk that could be insured.
For AV companies that are younger and are in the process of raising their Series B round, it is important to start a risk management program as the risk profile of the company will change.
One of the biggest risks in a rapidly growing company is attracting and retaining top talent. – Mike Stankard
The insurance policies that are written for autonomous vehicle companies are bespoke and unique to a company’s operations and overall risk profile. Inside the insurance industry, there are several companies that have dedicated teams focused solely on autonomous vehicles.
In the long run, all humans are going to have interaction with autonomous vehicles. – Mike Stankard
Having dedicated teams focused on AVs allows the insurance companies to better understand the risk and how to price it. The trend of dedicated teams specializing in this technology will only increase as the technology matures and AV companies increase the size of their deployments.
Wrapping up the conversation, Mike and Grayson discuss the future of the insurance business as it directly relates to autonomous vehicles.
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Ian Kinne, Director, Logistics Innovation, Hillwood joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss AllianceTexas and the Mobility Innovation Zone.
The conversation begins with Ian describing the vision behind Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development, a 27,000-acre development that has generated $92 billion in economic impact and created over 63,000 jobs in just 30 years.
Our platform grew from being a land development company to an industrial development company to a mixed-use development company which is now Alliance. – Ian Kinne
With Texas seeing unprecedented growth of companies either expanding or relocating their headquarters, there is still room to grow at Alliance as the development is only about 50% built-out. Alliance was built around innovation as Hillwood made the decision early on to embrace fiber connectivity due to the leadership of the Perot family.
The Perot family is incredibly forward-thinking. – Ian Kinne
With Amazon operating a regional air hub, FedEx operating a regional sort hub, UPS operating a ground hub, and BNSF operating an intermodal hub at Alliance, Ian has incredible insight into the global supply chain. With this insight, Grayson asks Ian what he is seeing in the supply chain.
The past 18 months really exposed some challenges in the global supply chain. – Ian Kinne
While the global supply chain faces challenges today, there is another challenge on the horizon — the truck driver shortage. This is where autonomous trucking comes into play as the technology will help to shore up the global supply chain. TuSimple recently opened their 2nd Texas autonomous trucking depot which will be part of their Autonomous Freight Network (AFN) at Alliance.
With the autonomous trucking industry actively expanding to the Dallas / Fort Worth region, Grayson asks Ian why Hillwood decided to embrace autonomous trucking early on.
We saw long-haul trucking leading the adoption of autonomy. – Ian Kinne
Autonomous trucking will complement the rail industry as the consumer demand for goods continues to rise. Ian and Grayson go on to discuss how these two industries will work together and why Alliance is well-positioned to embrace this soon-to-be emerging trend from an infrastructure standpoint.
Wrapping up the conversation, Ian and Grayson discuss the Mobility Innovation Zone and how Alliance is planning for the next 30 years.
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Bert Kaufman, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Zoox joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss big dreams, big ideas, and the role that policy plays in the future of autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with Bert discussing his experience serving as a Senior Advisor in Secretary Penny Pritzker’s Office of Business Liaison inside of the Department of Commerce during the Obama Administration.
Public service is really important. If people have the opportunity in their careers or lives to serve the public in shape or form, take it seriously, think about it, consider it. It can be incredibly rewarding. – Bert Kaufman
Bert served for a little over two-and-half years during the second term of the Obama Administration in the Department of Commerce. During his tenure in Government, he helped launch the Presidential Ambassadors Global Entrepreneurship program that exported innovation from Silicon Valley to the rest of the United States and the World.
It was during his time in Government that Bert took his first ride in a self-driving car when Google invited him to take a ride in one of their self-driving Lexus’ on a highway outside of Washington, D.C. in 2014. The ride in the self-driving Lexus would change Bert’s life and become a defining moment for him.
It was one of those moments where you are like, yeah, everything is going to change with this technology. – Bert Kaufman
In 2016, Bert left the Administration and moved out to Silicon Valley with the hope and dream of joining something early on that would solve bring problems for the world.
I am a problem solver. I am really really driven by helping to solve big problems for society. – Bert Kaufman
It was the big idea that is the Zoox vision and the idea that this vision could increase safety and have a positive impact on society is what ultimately attracted Bert to the company. The Zoox vision of developing technology for the right reasons is as strong today as it was when Bert first joined in 2016.
It’s not developing technology for technology’s sake. What is the reason why the technology is being developed? Who is it for? At Zoox the vision is for it is for everyone. It’s for the world. – Bert Kaufman
As Zoox prepares to deploy their beautifully designed purpose-built vehicles in cities around the world, policy moves to front and center in the conversation as currently there is no national autonomous vehicle framework in the United States.
With no national autonomous vehicle framework, the regulation of the industry is falling to the State and local level. Each State seemingly has a different policy and certain cities/counties are trying to enact their own policies to the detriment of their local constitutes. Still, the industry is progressing forward as autonomous technology will save lives and reduce crashes around the world, all the while having a positive impact on society.
One of the key differentiators of Zoox is the rider experience. The rider experience is prominently featured in Khalid’s New Normal music video. With the music industry embracing autonomous vehicles, Grayson and Bert discuss hip-hop culture and what the autonomous vehicle industry can learn from artists.
Wrapping up the conversation, Bert and Grayson discuss why electrification was core to the Zoox idea from day one and when Zoox will begin to commercialize their service.
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Danny Shapiro, Vice President, Automotive, NVIDIA joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why NVIDIA is the platform for enabling autonomy.
The conversation begins with Grayson and Danny discussing how NVIDIA developed the platform for autonomous vehicles and why NVIDIA first entered the automotive market.
We’ve created an open platform. It’s an accelerated computing platform for autonomous vehicles. – Danny Shapiro
In 1999, NVIDIA invented the GPU to overcome performance bottlenecks of the CPU.
Think of it as lanes on a highway, where a CPU maybe would be a dual-core or quad-core. It would have two lanes or four lanes for data to travel. The GPU has thousands of lanes. A highway with a thousand lanes is going to accommodate a lot more traffic. – Danny Shapiro
With over 370 automakers, tier 1 suppliers, developers, and researchers as partners, NVIDIA is playing a crucial role in ushering in the future of autonomy. A lot more goes into an autonomous vehicle than just the autonomous driving stack. The user experience will be an important element to success and NVIDIA’s GPUs are being used to improve speech recognition in-vehicle.
Speech is very complex. You have many different languages. You have different accents. You have the same word that can mean different things, so the context matters. – Danny Shapiro
NVIDIA is working on bringing natural language processing to the edge with the goal of reducing latency and improving the user experience inside of the vehicle. As an example, Danny shared the following scenario:
You could say it’s warm and the car would respond, do you want me to turn on the AC or roll down your window? You can say, I will roll down the window. The car will also be able to recognize was it the driver or the passenger speaking.
That’s a multi-modal approach where we are using AI on the voice and also with a camera inside that can monitor the occupants, read lips and determine who was talking. It would roll down the appropriate window based on who was speaking. – Danny Shapiro
This is the future of in-vehicle experiences and Mercedes, through a partnership with NVIDIA, is beginning to deploy the early stages of this technology in their new flagship 2022 EQS sedan. In the future when SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles become available, the inside of the vehicle could become an interactive gaming experience.
Integrating the motion of the vehicle with what is happening in virtual reality can be a really amazing experience. – Danny Shapiro
In the interior of SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles, window glass will become augmented and screens will be ubiquitous, suggests Grayson. This new digital real estate will allow brands to create bespoke experiences for paying passengers, creating new potential revenue streams.
Disney is an example of a brand that stands to benefit as it can extend the “Disney Experience” into the vehicle. Grayson shares an example of how Disney can potentially create Star Wars autonomous vehicles to further enhance the new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser two-night immersive experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The same technology that is used to develop immersive experiences is used to develop autonomous vehicles — simulation. With DeepMap joining NVIDIA, DeepMap’s maps will be used to enhance NVIDIA’s simulation technology.
Through simulation, we can train the vehicle to be smarter. – Danny Shapiro
Inside of NVIDIA, there is one centralized engineering organization, which has many benefits as engineers are able to learn from each other and apply processing techniques to different industries from autonomous driving to health care.
If you look at something like autonomous driving where we are taking images from front-facing cameras and trying to detect pedestrians, our health care group and the work they are doing in medical imaging and cancer research leverages a lot of that same technology. Because if you do a scan, an MRI, an X-Ray, you are looking for cancer cells. It’s not that different to process from what we are doing with pedestrian detection. – Danny Shapiro
With NVIDIA’s core approach towards engineering and solving the world’s biggest challenges through compute, the company was busy simultaneously building an autonomous trucking business at the same time they were building their automotive business. Today, NVIDIA has 15 truck partners to complement its 370+ automotive industry partners.
We are not building the trucks, we are not building the cars, but we are helping our customers do their life’s work and create amazing products. – Danny Shapiro
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Danny discuss NVIDIA’s data center strategy and the advantage for autonomous vehicle and trucking companies to build autonomy solutions on the NVIDIA platform.
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Lee Redden, Chief Scientist & Co-Founder Blue River Technology and Chief Scientist of the Intelligent Solutions Group at John Deere joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how See & Spray can help farmers optimize farms.
The conversation begins with talking about growing up in Nebraska and how having a shop at the back of his house would have a profound impact on his life.
We had a shop on the back of my house and I would spend 4 or 5 hours a day in the back of the shop just putting things together. I built a couple of go-karts, I built a car, I just have so many fond memories of just being back there welding something up, grinding something down, and building. – Lee Redden
Lee’s hands-on experiences in the shed led to him enrolling at the University of Nebraska where he designed microcircuit boards for miniature surgical robots. During his time on campus, Lee watched a documentary about the DARPA Grand Challenge. Little did Lee know at the time, but the documentary would change his life.
One of the things growing up in Nebraska, I wasn't really exposed to a lot of computer science. What that documentary did was show that there was this computer science group that was basically taking a stock car and adding a couple of sensors to it, but not putting too many sensors on it.
Then it was a computer science problem and it really kind of paved and showed me the way for what was possible with computer science in an area that I thought was really cool and was cars and autonomy and I just saw that as like oh my gosh if you can make this car do things it couldn’t do before, it just becomes so much more useful. Totally game-changing in the possibilities. – Lee Redden
The documentary exposed Lee to the possibilities of machine learning, computer vision, and AI. Eventually, he enrolled at Stanford to learn computer vision.
I knew this is what I needed to do to really get up to speed to work in the field I wanted to. – Lee Redden
At Stanford, the seeds were planted for the founding of Blue River Technology when Lee met his co-founder, Jorge Heraud. From autonomous lawnmowers to the autonomous weeding of carrots to the thinning of lettuce. Lee and Jorge kept pivoting until they had their breakthrough moment with high-precision weeding machines.
During the early days of See & Spray, farmers provided invaluable feedback on the system as it was rolled out to farms in the United States. With feedback from farmers in hand, Blue River began to test in different geographies to build the data sets that are required to fully optimize the system.
The diversity of data you have really matters. – Lee Redden
In 2017, John Deere acquired Blue River Technology. Being part of John Deere is allowing Blue River to take a longer-term view on the development of the technology.
It has been really fantastic for the company to be able to have that longer-term view. – Lee Redden
After the acquisition, Lee took a step back to focus on control systems.
We will see shifts in machine form and how machines are designed and put together based on control systems. – Lee Redden
While control systems are next, Lee is still dedicated to See & Spray. With an estimated 250 species of herbicide-resistant weeds, uncontrolled weeds result in annual losses of approximately $43 billion in corn and soybean crops, Blue River is using their computer vision technology to identify the weeds to help farmers save money when they use the See & Spray system.
The See & Spray system reduces the number of herbicides used by 77%, having a positive economic impact on farms and a positive impact on the environment.
Higher precision and plant by plant care is a win, win, win situation. – Lee Redden
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Lee discuss the global population growth and how automation on farms can help feed the growing global population.
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Alan Ohnsman, Senior Editor, Forbes joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the public mobility markets. From SPACs to Tesla to traditional IPOs, Grayson and Alan discuss the current state of the public mobility markets, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and autonomous trucking.
The conversation begins with Alan and Grayson discussing the current state of the SPAC market.
SPAC activity in both the EV and AV space is just astonishing. I think there is an increasing concern about the quality of some of these offerings. Not all companies are created equal. Not all startups are the same. – Alan Ohnsman
As the SPAC market matures and companies begin the process of de-spacing, issues around the business models and the strength of the balance sheet are being to come into question. A major issue with SPACs is the lack of disclosure as compared to a traditional IPO. We are seeing this very issue play out today with Lordstown Motors as they are under investigation by the Department of Justice over the pre-order numbers of their vehicles.
Alan points out the lack of disclosures will lead to increased regulation.
The amount of investor litigation aimed at some of these companies is going to be high. I think it’s inevitable that the regulator is going to step in and say slow your roll. We really need to vet these a little more carefully and set some better ground rules. – Alan Ohnsman
Tesla which went public in 2010 continues to dominate the public electric vehicle market while capturing the public’s imagination.
There is going to be so much competition in the EV space that Telsa has a first-mover advantage. The brand is well established. It is clearly popular in many markets. – Alan Ohnsman
While Tesla is dominating the electric vehicle market today, Toyota is well poised to gain market share in the future. As the economics of electric vehicles improve and electric vehicle charging becomes more readily available, the market is going to change as Toyota and Hyundai move into the market.
With the lack of electric vehicle charging around the United States, Grayson raises the point that hybrid vehicles will become the dominant vehicle type sold over the next 10 years. This is where Toyota wins as they are the clear leader in hybrid technology. Until we achieve ubiquitous electric vehicle charging, consumers will be unsure about adopting and embracing EVs.
Ubiquitous charging. It has to be everywhere and people have to know where it is. It has to be a no-brainer. – Alan Ohnsman
Shifting the conversation back to autonomous vehicles, Grayson asks Alan about the Aurora SPAC and specifically highlights one of the risk factors in the investor presentation:
We operate in a highly competitive market and some market participants have substantially greater resources. If one or more of our competitors commercialize their self-driving technology before we do, develop superior technology, or are perceived to have better technology, it could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.
This risk factor is a clear reference to Waymo, which continues to raise billions of dollars.
The amount of funding for [autonomous vehicles] is enormous. Just astonishing. – Alan Ohnsman
Both Aurora and Waymo are focused on developing a universal driver which can drive a robo-taxi and an autonomous truck. As Aurora begins life as a public company, investors and analysts could begin to question the universal driver approach due to economics and the business model.
The same can be said for Waymo if and when Alphabet spins out Waymo as a publicly-traded company. If this was to happen, investors would have the opportunity to invest in a pure-play. Waymo for the robo-taxi market and Waymo Via for the logistics market.
The money maker in the near term certainly is going to be trucking and logistics. No question about it. That is going to be where everyone makes their money at the outset. – Alan Ohnsman
With the iShares US Transportation ETF ($IYT) having returned 15.16% YTD (as of Monday, July 19, 2021), Grayson asks Alan when will we see an autonomous trucking company added to the index. Alan believes by 2023 we will start to see autonomous trucking companies added to the index. Those companies could be TuSimple and Waymo.
Staying on the 2023 theme, Alan discusses why this could be the year that autonomous trucking becomes a two-horse race between TuSimple and Waymo. With TuSimple and Waymo’s growing fleets of autonomous trucks, the companies are well poised for the future.
Fielding an ever-larger fleet is important. You can do a lot on modeling in computer simulation, but having physical fleets and getting real-world data day-in and day-out, it’s really hard to substitute that. – Alan Ohnsman
While fielding an ever-larger fleet is critically important, having real-world experience and hiring individuals from the trucking industry is also one of the keys to success. Another key is understanding the global supply chain and the impact that the driver shortage is having on the global economy.
The habits of consumers are shifting to e-commerce as Adobe is projecting that global e-commerce sales will reach $4.2 trillion this year. As consumers shift their habits to ordering online, this creates new opportunities for companies to serve the growing demand for the delivery of goods. Uber’s EATS business is booming as the business is now a $50 billion business.
You want to go where the money is. – Alan Ohnsman
This raises the question of, does Uber one day shut down the passenger ride business to focus solely on delivery and logistics? It’s an interesting question with a lot of what if’s. But one thing is for certain, Dara Khosrowshahi will make the hard decisions that ultimately benefit the business. What we do know today is that the consumer appetite for delivery is only going to grow.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Alan discuss the 2028 Summer Olympics and what the transportation network will look like in Los Angeles.
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Alex Roy, Director of Special Operations Argo AI, Host of The No Parking and Autonocast Podcasts, Editor-at-Large, The Drive, Founder of the Human Driving Association, author of The Driver, and Producer of APEX: The Secret Race Across America joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why he has always been obsessed with the impossible.
The conversation begins with Alex discussing his 2007 U.S. Cannonball Run in a BMW M5 and how he was able to break the record using data.
I have always been obsessed with things that people said are impossible. Someone says something is impossible, I want to try it. Or as an investor, I want to invest in it because the future is always built by optimists. – Alex Roy
It was during this time that Alex first learned about mapping and how creating a map with intricate details such as construction zones and potential police hiding places could enable the U.S. Cannonball record to be broken.
16, 17 years ago, we created map data sets around road construction, road conditions, police locations, and looked at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) [for] weather, and created a very comprehensive data set and plan. – Alex Roy
The U.S. Cannonball Run changed Alex’s life after the story was published in Wired Magazine. The FBI called and invited Alex to speak at the FBI Academy about how he used free off-the-shelf mapping tools to create datasets to do the impossible – breaking the Cannonball record.
With the record broken, the FBI asking how he did it, corporations asking for advice on mapping, an appearance on The Tonight Show with David Letterman, the Alex Roy brand was born.
Years later, Alex would meet Bryan Salesky, Co-Founder & CEO of Argo AI. That meeting would change Alex’s life when Bryan asked him how he did it and said the following:
So basically you were using for bad all of the technology that we use for good. You have an engineer’s mind but not the education. Have you ever considered how else you might use that knowledge?
It was at that moment that Alex put his knowledge to good and joined Argo AI.
Very few people in life are lucky enough to have such an opportunity, so I was going to take it. If I had lasted one week, I would have said that was the best week of my life because I could point back and say that was a good thing. – Alex Roy
While Argo operates as a business, other companies in the industry are solely focused on perfection and not necessarily the business of autonomy. Grayson asks Alex for his thoughts on this trend and what is behind it. Alex emphasizes the importance of studying and understanding history.
Every successful technology and business built around it learns from the prior one. Or at least the successful companies do. – Alex Roy
Looking at history, Grayson discusses his theory on why autonomous vehicles will become platforms that will enable businesses to build experiences and expand margins. Staying on the history theme, Alex talks about the ascending room and how elevators enabled profitable experiences.
[Elevators] were installed by the department stores because as spectacles and experiences the thought was that they would compel or inspire shopping. – Alex Roy
Combining an Only in Vegas experience with a mobile gambling platform and an autonomous vehicle, casinos can expand their highly profitable gaming operations into mobility. Grayson and Alex discuss why this could become a product.
Each city will have multiple products based on and around the autonomous vehicles. Some may exist today, but what you really want is to create experiences and products around autonomy that don’t exist today. What is the number one lesson in entertainment? Give them something that they can’t get anywhere else and if you can, let them have it twice. – Alex Roy
Taking this experience outside of Vegas to cities around the world, this experience will become possible as States continue to legalize online gambling. In the future fans will be able to ride in bespoke autonomous vehicles to sports events. These vehicles will be fully stocked for tailgating with beverages, food, and the ability to gamble. From a safety perspective, fans will no longer be driving home from the game after consuming adult beverages.
With the advancements of AR (augmented reality), new experiences will be created in the mobility sector that will turn into new profitable revenue streams for autonomous vehicle companies which operate as platforms. This is the future of the much-rumored Apple Car. The Apple Car will be a platform that allows Apple to expand its fast-growing services business.
Airbnb will be another very large player in the autonomous vehicle industry in the future as the company looks to expand its experiences business. The music industry will also benefit as it is an experiences business. On an episode of The No Parking Podcast, Alex and Bryan spoke with Barak Moffitt, Executive Vice President of Content Strategy & Operations, Universal Music Group about combining music with AR to enable in-autonomous vehicle experiences.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Alex discuss how autonomous vehicles will eliminate friction when attending concerts.
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Andy Smart, Safety & Technical Standards Specialist joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why the data will always set you free when an organization embraces and implements a culture of safety.
The conversation begins with Andy talking about the first time he experienced mobility freedom when he got his first bike at age ten in Scotland. Today, Andy rides a fixed-gear bike without brakes as he wants to be in control and fully aware of his surroundings at all times.
It’s all about the awareness of your surroundings and your connectivity to your environment. You will never be more connected in that sense when you are riding [a fixed-gear bike without brakes] as you have to be tuned in both from an acoustic point of view, visual and acoustic. – Andy Smart
When Andy is driving a vehicle he uses the same visual and acoustic tactics that he uses while riding a bike. Once on a cross-country drive from Michigan to California with his wife, Andy overtook a truck as he heard the sound of little pieces of rubber hitting the windshield because it was only a matter of time before the truck tire would blow. Potentially avoiding a crash because he was fully aware of his surroundings.
It is all about the feeling. – Andy Smart
While driving a vehicle or riding a motorcycle or a bike, Andy is always aware of his surroundings.
I am looking through the lens of the driver and also the environment and the connection between the two. – Andy Smart
Taking a look at the current driving environment, a lot of drivers do not pay attention while driving as they are distracted by their phones. What these drivers fail to realize and what Andy points out very clearly is that a vehicle is a lethal weapon that has to be treated with care and respect.
Building upon Andy’s real-world experiences, Grayson shifts the conversation to autonomous vehicles and how Andy approaches AV safety. One of the most important elements of AV safety is the organization’s commitment to safety.
The whole basis of a safety culture in an organization is above any business objectives. It has to be you are held to a higher level. Business decisions should not be built around safety. Safety decisions are made because of safety, not through business decisions. – Andy Smart
A holistic approach to safety is what is required to develop a culture of safety. It’s an approach that is built around all aspects of the operation and takes into account both off-vehicle and on-vehicle operations. Without a globally recognized safety standard, Grayson asks Andy how AV safety can be measured.
As engineers, it is our responsibility to go in and look and to say ok who already does this. Let’s benchmark other industries. We are not unique. We are into some groundbreaking stuff here, but hey would you believe that mining has been automating mining trucks for the last 35 years.
Maybe we can learn a bit from them. It’s different but learn, adapt, because as engineers you have to put your hand on your heart and say I did my best and I did everything I could do to find out what was the right way to do it. – Andy Smart
With the advancements of ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) and the growing trend of consumers over-relying on SAE Level 2+ systems, Grayson and Andy discuss who is responsible for a crash and what can be done to improve safety.
The person who is making the decisions is responsible, they have primary responsibility. – Andy Smart
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Andy discuss how consumers approach safety. Why dealer training for ADAS is important and the role driver monitoring will play in the future of ADAS.
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Thomas Bamonte, Senior Program Manager, Automated Vehicles, North Central Texas Council of Governments joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the growing autonomous trucking and autonomous vehicle industries in Texas.
The conversation begins with Tom discussing how he first became interested in autonomous vehicles. In 2006, Tom wrote an article about merging the best of highway transportation and transit through autonomous vehicles.
Little did Tom know at the time, but this article would go on to have a profound effect on his career. After writing the article, Tom started attending conferences and became one of the earliest individuals discussing the positive impact that autonomy will have on society.
Being based in the Dallas Fort Worth Region, Tom has a front-row seat to autonomy as the region is emerging as the home of autonomous trucking. The geographical features of the region are land, land, and more land. With these geographical features, Tom explains why the region has openly embraced autonomous trucking.
We are a large inland port and we have to be extra scrappy because we do not have a river or a seaport, we just have land. We have to be extra innovative and extra supportive of our freight partners. – Thomas Bamonte
The region is part of the Texas Triangle and the home to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth International Airport) which is a major cargo hub. The airport has a yearly $20 billion economic impact on the North Texas Region. With welcoming State and Regional Governments, a major cargo hub, and freight companies located in the region, the area is well-positioned to fully embrace the future of autonomous trucking.
We are well situated at the apex of the Texas triangle to host freight operations. It’s a great central U.S. location where AV freight can reach basically all of the country within a reasonable amount of time. – Thomas Bamonte
As the Texas population continues to grow as individuals and families relocate from other States, Grayson asks Tom how the North Central Texas Council of Governments is continuing to drive the economic growth from autonomous vehicle companies relocating to the region.
We are investing in our AV 2.0 program. We’re advancing six automated vehicle deployments and we’re moving from thinking of deployments as individual exercises. We are trying to build a regional AV program that has everything from sidewalk delivery bots. We are investing in what may become the nation’s first automated truck port. That is one of the six projects.
We are signaling through our investments that we are open for business and willing to effectively partner with our private sector AV developer partners. – Thomas Bamonte
Expanding the conversation to other regions of Texas, Grayson asks Tom about Argo AI’s deployment in Austin and Nuro’s deployment in Houston.
All of the Texas cities are evolving into very diverse AV environments. – Thomas Bamonte
When Drive AI operated a self-driving passenger service for the public in Frisco and Arlington, Texas in 2018 and 2019, they interacted with the community and did outreach to the local community to encourage future engineers to learn about the technology. The community/school outreach program was a tremendous success with Tom summing it up as a Norman Rockwell moment.
With the AV 2.0 plan, NCTCOG has partnered with Dallas College to stand up and invest in an AV-oriented curriculum with a focus on trucking and autonomy. Additionally, NCTCOG organized the North Texas Center For Mobility Technologies.
We are looking for every opportunity to work with the AV companies to develop the curriculum and engage with the next generation of workers in the transportation and related sectors. – Thomas Bamonte
Shifting the conversation to autonomy and urban environments, Tom shares his thoughts on what autonomous passenger vehicle and delivery deployments will look like in the future.
I can see delivery expanding from individual items to experiences and a richer sort of interaction, instead of just having stuff dropped off. – Thomas Bamonte
With the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers being located in the Dallas Forth Worth region, there is a tremendous opportunity for bespoke day-of-game autonomous vehicle experiences.
Wrapping up the conversation, Tom makes the case on why autonomous vehicle and autonomous trucking companies should consider expanding to Texas.
Recorded on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
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Robert Day, Director, Autonomous Vehicles, Arm joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why the world runs on Arm.
The conversation begins with Robert discussing Arm’s partnership approach and how over 190 billion devices around the world contain Arm-based chips.
It’s really all about the partnership approach. It’s all about working with our silicon partners and giving them the right technology to allow them to address the different markets they want to put their silicon into. – Robert Day
Focusing on Arm’s partnership approach, Robert discusses how Arm was able to ship a record 7.3 billion Arm-based chips in Q4 2020 as the global markets faced a supply chain crunch.
Our partners like to work with us because we are continuously innovating. – Robert Day
Shifting the conversation to autonomous vehicles, Grayson asks Robert when and why did Arm first enter the autonomous vehicle industry. Arm has been in the automotive industry for a long time. Building upon this experience, Arm expanded into the autonomous vehicle industry as companies prepare for the mass deployment of autonomous vehicles as they will need great silicon.
As autonomous vehicle companies such as Cruise actively prepare for the commercialization of their service, Grayson asks Robert if custom chip architectures are currently being developed for autonomous vehicles.
Whether people will develop custom silicon to do it, I do not know. As they get closer to deployment, it’s what is available. What is out there? It costs a lot of money to develop a custom chip. If our silicon partners have the right SOCs based on our technology, they will probably just pick those up off the shelves.
There might be certain applications, there might be certain parts of the vehicle that may be doing sensor intelligence where they might want to do some of their own silicon. At the moment you have to get closer to the actual deployment before it will be obvious which way people will go. – Robert Day
Taking a look at the autonomous vehicle industry as a whole, Robert shares his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous vehicle market. The adoption of autonomous vehicles will come down to trust. Grayson and Robert go on to discuss how brands and experiences and help to develop trust with autonomous vehicles.
When developing relationships and engaging with the autonomous vehicle industry, Arm asks the following:
What do you need in order to make autonomy deployable? Mass deployable. – Robert Day
Arm has been having these discussions for years as Arm considers autonomous vehicles a growth market.
It really is an industry and a market that we want to make sure that Arm is front and center in. – Robert Day
As society begins to shift to electric vehicles and the autonomous vehicle industry embraces electrification, Arm is well-positioned as the company specializes in low-power, high-performance chips.
Energy efficiency, thermal efficiency, it will all be really important for deployment. Especially in vehicles that are fit-for-purpose or vehicles that we actually drive as higher levels of autonomy come into them. – Robert Day
With higher levels of autonomy, safety is paramount. Robert discusses Arm’s commitment to functional safety and why it is mission-critical for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles.
Putting the entire conversation into context, Grayson asks Robert what role he sees Arm playing in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem as the industry matures.
It’s all about deployability and what’s required for autonomous vehicles to be deployed. – Robert Day
Wrapping up the conversation, Robert shares the story of how he first became interested in autonomous vehicles. It all started with an episode of Knight Rider. Grayson expands the conversation into the role popular culture will play in the adoption of this technology and why in the future there will be an Elvis autonomous vehicle service in Las Vegas.
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Qasar Younis, CEO & Co-Founder, and Peter Ludwig, CTO & Co-Founder, Applied Intuition joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss simulation and why a simulation first approach to autonomy is key to building and scaling autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with Qasar talking about what the marketplace looked like when he co-founded Applied Intuition with Peter in 2017. This was the same year that Waymo began testing autonomous minivans in Chandler, Arizona without a safety driver on public roads. Reflecting on this, Peter shares his take on the marketplace.
Generally speaking, there is not really winner take all dynamics in the automotive ecosystem. There is always going to be many companies. There are going to be many players, [with] Waymo being sort of in front in autonomy technology. What is great for Applied is that they are showing the world what is possible and that we are building tools which frankly enable any automotive company to compete at that level. – Peter Ludwig
Qasar expands upon this to share his perspective on how the autonomous vehicle industry operated in 2016, 2017.
In 2016, 2017 the only pattern was the Waymo pattern. Which is raise tons of money and build everything in-house. That’s just not the case anymore. I do not think there a single sophisticated in-house sim team that isn’t also working with somebody in some capacity that is not inside. – Qasar Younis
Building upon this, Qasar dives into the economics of build versus buy and why it makes economic sense to buy instead of building in-house simulation tools. With technology advancements over the past four and a half years and new powerful chips being introduced, Applied has been able to close the sim to real gap.
You want simulation to be as close as possible to the real-world performance of the system, while still being cost-effective to run. – Peter Ludwig
As Applied matures as a company, the company has begun to assume a leadership position in the autonomous vehicle industry. Applied has recently published their Best Practices for The Testing and Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles guide that can be downloaded here.
In the guide, Applied summarizes best practices for the testing and development of autonomous vehicles. It is an important guide that can be incorporated into your development workflow today.
Our goal of the company is to move the entire autonomy ecosystem forward. – Qasar Younis
Taking a step back for a moment, Qasar discusses simulation and references an interview where a Waymo Senior Director of Product Management stated that simulation is roughly responsible for 80 to 85% of their progress.
Fundamentally there are many things that you cannot test safely in the real world that are necessary for ensuring the safe operation of the vehicle. You can model those scenarios in simulation. – Peter Ludwig
In a 2018 interview with Bloomberg, Peter spoke to Mark Bergen about scenarios. Grayson asks Peter how the team comes up with scenarios to model in simulation. Taking it to a local level, Grayson shares several scenarios and Peter explains how simulation can help to prepare autonomous vehicles for those ODDs (Operational Design Domains).
Shifting the conversation from autonomous vehicles to autonomous trucks, Grayson asks Peter what are the main differences between simulation for autonomous vehicles and autonomous trucks. Peter explains in-depth how there is a large difference in the approach to simulation for trucks due to the fact the way trucks are built and how they are driven.
While there are different forms of simulation, Applied has been solely focused on autonomy since day one.
Fundamentally we think that the autonomous industry will be very, very large. We believe that everything that moves will be autonomous. We want to enable that reality. – Qasar Younis
Expanding different forms of simulation, Peter explains how Applied’s simulation platform differs from a system designed to generate images for movies and video games.
Wrapping up the conversation, Qasar and Peter discuss why everything that moves will be autonomous.
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Recorded on Thursday, June 17, 2021.
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Robert Brown, Senior Director of External Affairs, TuSimple, Jordan Coleman, General Counsel & Vice President of Policy, Kodiak Robotics, and Jonny Morris, Head of Public Policy & Communications, Embark Trucks joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of the autonomous trucking industry.
The conversation begins with Robert Brown sharing his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous trucking industry from a policy perspective.
We are doing quite well as an industry. It is a testament to the core folks that work in this industry. We work very closely at a State and Local level in all of the States that we operate in. We all come from the adage that we do not like to surprise anyone. – Robert Brown
Expanding upon Robert’s comments, Jordan talks about the efforts that are being made around education and building trust with elected officials and regulators.
Trust is absolutely paramount in this industry. Showing that deep commitment to engagement on a State, Regional and Local level. As well as that deep commitment to building those relationships first. – Jordan Coleman
Rounding out the conversation about the current state of autonomous trucking, Jonny shares a detailed overview of policy and the regulatory environment.
Even though autonomous trucking is cutting-edge technology, it is an emerging industry. We are not entering into a blank slate from a regulatory environment perspective. There are plenty of requirements, rules, authorities that exist in the trucking industry today. – Jonny Morris
Putting the regulatory environment into perspective, Grayson asks Robert why Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are emerging as the leading hubs for the testing and deployment of autonomous trucking.
It has a lot to do with the regulatory environment. All three States now have legislation on the books that allows [autonomous trucking] testing and deployment. – Robert Brown
In January 2021, Kodiak successfully completed a disengage-free customer delivery from Dallas to Houston, Texas. Grayson asks Jordan how the company prepared for the run from a policy perspective. Jordan explains that before Kodiak started operations in Texas, the company met Governor Abbot’s office, State Legislators in both chambers, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the State Highway Patrol, and regional and local partners.
Shifting the conversation to California, Jonny talks about the importance of the California market for autonomous trucks and what the current state of autonomous trucking policy looks like in California. Robert chimes in about his love of living in San Diego and why autonomous trucking will create new high-paying jobs in California.
Looking at the priorities of the Governor and the California State Legislature, Jonny explains why the autonomous trucking industry is aligned with California’s goals on climate change and emissions.
Automation is something that can be adapted for any drivetrain, whether it’s diesel, natural gas, or electric vehicles. Furthermore what we have seen is that automation can take any drivetrain and make it more efficient because it is a more efficient driver than a human driver. – Jonny Morris
With the electrification goals of California, Grayson asks Jordan if Class 8 trucks will ever become electric.
It’s absolutely a when not an if. – Jordan Coleman
As Jonny and Jordan clearly explained, the autonomous trucking industry is clearly aligned with the goals of California. With California’s unemployment rate currently holding at 8.3%, Robert talks about the positive economic impacts that autonomous trucking will have on the State and the new high-paying jobs that this industry will create.
If California does this, it is a true game-changer from an economics perspective. – Robert Brown
Highlighting the U.S. Department of Transportation VOLPE Macroeconomic Impacts of Automated Driving Systems in Long-Haul Trucking study as an example, Robert explains why autonomous trucking will create new high-paying jobs and have economic benefits on the U.S. economy.
With the industry projected to have a positive economic impact on the U.S. economy the group discusses how the industry interacts with lawmakers and regulators on a federal level. Jonny addresses the misnomers around what the autonomous truck industry does and does not need from a regulatory and legislative standpoint.
[There is a misnomer] that this is the wild west and there are no rules for autonomous trucks. The fact of the matter is that the trucking industry is heavily regulated at the federal level. – Jonny Morris
Staying on the theme of misnomers, Jonny, Robert, and Jordan all address the workforce issue and clearly explain that if you are a truck driver today, you can retire a truck driver. There is an enormous need for high-quality truck drivers today partly due to the increase in e-commerce.
If you bought it, it’s been on a truck. – Jordan Coleman
With e-commerce projected to grow another 18% in 2021, Robert and Jordan discuss how autonomous trucking is working to shore up the e-commerce supply chain.
All commerce is becoming e-commerce. It is all being shipped and it is all being shipped via truck. That only underscores the critical need for this technology. – Jordan Coleman
Another critical need for this technology is for the shipping of fresh fruits and vegetables as The World Bank is projecting the global population to be 9.7 billion by 2050. Jordan, Jonny, and Robert discuss how autonomous trucks can reduce food spoilage and increase access to healthy foods.
Wrapping up the conversation, Jonny, Jordan, and Robert share their thoughts on the positive impact that autonomous trucking will have on society.
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Recorded on Monday, June 14, 2021.
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Jordan Sun, Chief Innovation Officer, City of San José joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss building better basics in the City of San José through innovation and technology.
The conversation begins with Jordan discussing his time serving two tours of duty (2012 and 2020) in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. Comparing and contrasting his experiences, Jordan talks about his time and what he learned during each tour of duty. During his 2020 tour of duty, Jordan and his team built and shipped a software product from the battlefield.
Continuing to serve his country, Jordan serves as a Tech Scout for the U.S. Army where he develops and builds relationships with innovative companies in Silicon Valley.
I am interested in all things tech-related. – Jordan Sun
During his stint at the U.S. State Department, Jordan continued to study international relations. Putting all of his skills to work from his time in the military, finance, and diplomacy, Jordan joined the City of San José in 2020 as Chief Innovation Officer to make a difference.
What attracted me initially was, the pandemic hit, I spent most of my service overseas when I served. I really didn’t feel like I did enough for the community. Sometimes I would scratch my head and was like well what could I actually do tangibly to change someone’s life in terms of here in America. – Jordan Sun
After his first meeting with the Mayor and being unable to sleep that night, Jordan knew that he had to step up and make a difference for the community of San José.
If not me then who, and if it is me, I need to put skin in the game and give it a try. – Jordan Sun
In November 2020, The Center for Digital Government announced that the City of San José was named the nation’s most innovative local Government. Being extremely humble, Jordan talks about how it was a team effort to the recognition and how it’s merely just a starting point to where the City wants to go in the future.
Looking to the future, Grayson asks Jordan how the City is working to bridge the digital divide. In the latest budget, the Mayor directed $10 million dollars to improve broadband connectivity for residents of San José.
With a City of over 1 million residents, Grayson asks Jordan how he is approaching innovation.
It’s about getting to more tangible outcomes. – Jordan Sun
Jordan looks at every digital service/website that the City builds as a product and how the residents of San José will interact with it and use the product. This philosophy ties directly into Jordan’s Three Pillars of a Smart City: Data, Digital Product/Engagement, IoT Network which he discusses in depth.
Shifting the conversation to mobility, Grayson asks Jordan what role mobility will play in his vision of a City of the Future. Mobility is just not the movement of passengers, it is the moment of goods. Mobility will also have a positive impact on health care as society shifts to autonomous vehicles.
With 50 companies currently testing in California, Grayson asks Jordan about the City’s relationship with the autonomous vehicle industry.
There is a very healthy relationship. – Jordan Sun
Looking to the current trend of privacy, Grayson asks Jordan what the City is doing to ensure the privacy of its residents as they embrace and deploy new technologies.
We have a foundational privacy policy that protects our residents that lays the groundwork and lays the commitment by the City for us to understand privacy as it pertains to not just surveillance, but overall. – Jordan Sun
Wrapping up the conversation, Jordan discusses the big issues that the City is going to tackle as the world emerges from the global pandemic.
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Cheng Lu, President & CEO, TuSimple joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss taking TuSimple public and the company’s plans for growth.
The conversation begins with Cheng discussing why TuSimple chose to go public as a traditional IPO rather than a SPAC and what the journey was like to become the world’s first publicly traded autonomous vehicle company.
We priced above our range. We raised $1.3 billion dollars as a company. We have a market cap of $8 billion dollars. – Cheng Lu
Taking a step back, Grayson asks Cheng about his time studying the economics of online platforms at the University of Virginia. At that time, Facebook was beginning to grow into an enterprise and the age of online platforms was about to change the world with the introduction of Uber, Lyft, and delivery services.
Thinking about what happens in the next 10, 20, 30 years, it’s safe to say that it will be the age of artificial intelligence. Autonomous driving is certainly one of the hardest use cases, but one of the biggest opportunities. Autonomous trucking is a massive opportunity. – Cheng Lu
Comparing and contrasting the rapid growth of Facebook, Grayson asks Cheng how he is preparing for the growth of TuSimple’s Autonomous Freight Network (AFN).
At the heart of TuSimple, we are an artificial intelligence software company. We are building the most advanced Level 4 autonomous driving system. We are also building the hardware in conjunction with our OEM Tier 1 partners. – Cheng Lu
The AFN will be TuSimple’s 5G network and their purpose-built autonomous trucks will be their 5G phones.
Shifting the conversation to the supply chain, Grayson and Cheng discuss how autonomous trucks can shore up the supply chain. They discuss the relationship between autonomous trucking and railroads (including TuSimple investor Union Pacific) and how these two industries will complement each other to the benefit of society.
We have the opportunity to help enable new freight capacity to address the supply chain constraints. – Cheng Lu
Doing things the right way is a common trait for TuSimple. The company has a partnership with Navistar to develop automotive-grade autonomous trucks that are manufactured in a factory and are not retrofitted.
If you want to scale autonomous freight operations you have to have purpose-built trucks that are factory-produced. – Cheng Lu
With 6,775 reservations for factory-built TuSimple autonomous trucks, Grayson asks Cheng how his customers are planning to use these trucks. Customers are looking to use their new autonomous trucks for long-haul applications.
Staying on the topic of orders, Grayson asks Cheng what is TuSimple’s business model for the trucks and how will TuSimple manage and monetize the trucks once they are sold to customers.
When a customer buys a truck from Navistar that is powered by the TuSimple Autonomous Driving System, the customer will subscribe to TuSimple Path, which is a per-mile subscription. – Cheng Lu
TuSimple has been focused on autonomous trucking since day one. Grayson asks Cheng why the company made the decision to focus on trucking from day one and why they did not divert their attention to robo-taxis.
The number one thing to get adoption into a very disruptive technology is are you providing something of value to the existing key stakeholders. Autonomous trucking checks all of those marks. – Cheng Lu
As seen in a 60 Minutes episode, TuSimple has a culture of safety that is built around the company’s core five values. The company also has a culture of transparency. Cheng discusses why this is important and why the company focuses on safety and transparency. This culture will play a vital role as TuSimple prepares for driver-out runs which will be revenue-generating runs and not demos.
TuSimple is the only company that has demonstrated the ability to drive on not only highways but surface streets. – Cheng Lu
Wrapping up the conversation, Cheng discusses TuSimple’s partnership with McLane, a Berkshire Hathaway company.
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Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow Manhattan Institute, Faculty Fellow Northwestern University School of Engineering, and Partner in Montrose Lane, an Energy-Tech Venture Fund joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the geopolitics of the global mineral supply chain.
The conversation begins with Mark discussing his review of the book Unsettled by Physicist Steven Koonin in the Wall Street Journal and how it led to the Manhattan Institute’s Facebook page being temporarily suspended. Grayson raises the point about debates and how debates were instrumental in the founding of The United States.
Shifting gears, Grayson asks Mark about his time as a physicist at Bell Northern Research and at the RCA David Sarnoff Research Center.
RCA was then the company of consequence. RCA was the company that did as much for communications as Apple and Google and Cisco and others of the modern era did back then. – Mark P. Mills
With everything becoming more efficient, crypto mining farms popping up everywhere, and more electric vehicles coming online daily, Grayson asks Mark if the world has enough electricity to support the increased energy demand. We currently produce enough, but that could change in the future.
The single most important thing about electricity is not how you make it. That is derivative. It’s how you make it to support the two objectives which is: As I need it at scale, the price matters, because the more of it you use, you want it to be cheaper, not more expensive. And, I want to have the electricity when I need it. – Mark P. Mills
Mark goes on to discuss the history of the energy grid and how the grid is a series of networked grids. With the colonial pipeline having been recently hacked, Grayson asks Mark how secure the electric grid is today and what can be done to secure the grid from potential cyber-attacks.
The electric grid is remarkably secure, currently. – Mark P. Mills
Staying on the topic of resources and what is need to ensure that energy can continue to flow uninterrupted, Grayson asks Mark what happened in 1990 that led The United States to lose its position as the world’s number-one producer of minerals. This was caused by regulation and the political environment at that time. Sensing an opportunity, China expanded its mining and refining capabilities.
China is the world’s biggest refiner of critical minerals. – Mark P. Mills
The United States is 100% dependent on the importation of 17 key minerals and imports over half of its needs for another 29 minerals. These minerals are needed for electric vehicles. At this time, The United States does not have a secure supply chain for electric vehicles.
This raises the question of how can The United States transition to an all-electric vehicle future when the supply chain is controlled by a geopolitical foe, China?
If your energy system is dependent on a handful of supply chain routes and a hand full of supply chain suppliers, if anything happened that took that handful out, there is a massive impact. You do not have optionality. You do not have optionality at any price. – Mark P. Mills
The supply chain for minerals is volatile with Chile, China, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo controlling the mineral supply chain and mineral refining. With a lack of new mines coming online and limited access to copper and minerals, Mark explains what the economic impact would be on the economy.
Every single feature of the minerals world relevant to energy is on track to rising, not declining prices. – Mark P. Mills
After focusing on the economics of minerals and the impact of the supply chain, Grayson and Mark discuss mining minerals and how minerals are mined.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Mark discuss why the geopolitical issues of the mineral supply chain are not broadly discussed. Securing the mineral supply chain for electric vehicles is the only way to ensure the adoption of electric vehicles.
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Robert Bielby, Senior Director of Automotive System Architecture & Segment Marketing, Micron joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the crucial role that memory plays in automotive.
With the automotive industry focused on electrification and statements made by Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, and Bryan Salesky, Co-Founder & CEO of Argo AI about the computer power needed for self-driving cars, Grayson asks Robert to share his thoughts on how to best optimize for energy efficiency in autonomous vehicles.
We are focused on how do we optimize power consumption. – Robert Bielby
With over 30 years of experience in automotive, Micron currently has a 40% market share for memory. As we look to the next 30 years, Micron is focused on growing that market share.
We continue to make the investments because for Micron automotive is an important market. – Robert Bielby
60% of Micron’s automotive business is centered around in-vehicle experiences. Infotainment and in-vehicle experiences are becoming the most important features for consumers.
Customers are making their purchasing decisions based upon the cockpit, and features and the functionality, and the cool displays. – Robert Bielby
When SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomy is achieved, Grayson asks Robert what experiences will look like in autonomous vehicles.
This is definitely going to be an element that is going to define the brand identity of the vehicle. A Ford is going to look a certain way, a BMW is going to look a certain way. You will make purchasing decisions on I can connect to Apple or Android. I can answer emails, I can edit word documents, excel spreadsheets. – Robert Bielby
While memory will enable great in-vehicle experiences, memory will also increase safety in the vehicle. Memory will help to enable occupant detection that can enable air conditioning to turn on if a child is left unattended in a vehicle during a hot day.
Staying on the theme of safety, Grayson and Robert discuss augmented reality and how it can be used to build trust with adaptive cruise control.
Micron has 13 customer labs around the globe where they work with customers to optimize memory performance for their automotive applications. The company also has a partnership with Nvidia where they are jointly working to enable “True AI”.
The impact that memory has on system performance can and will be profound. – Robert Bielby
Robert expands upon the conversation with a dive deep into AI and what he expects to see in the future as AI begins to be fully integrated into the vehicle experience.
The expectation is that the vehicle is a natural extension of my lifestyle. – Robert Bielby
With everything being connected and the vehicle being an extension of consumers lifestyles, Grayson and Robert discuss security. How verification will work and what role memory plays in securing the experience and paying for services such as gas using the infotainment system.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Robert discuss functional safety and the ISO 26262 safety standard.
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John Absmeier, Chief Technology Officer, Lear Corporation joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Seating as a Service and how Xevo will enable in-vehicle experiences and commerce.
The conversation begins with John discussing his time in the United States Marine Corps and what he learned as a Sergeant E5 motor transport mechanic. John learned leadership skills that have translated into an extremely successful career as an innovator and business leader.
As a young engineer, John worked on the inductive charge panel connection system for the GM EV1.
I got highly interested in electrification 25 years ago. – John Absmeier
It was this project that sparked John’s interest in electrification. In 2012, John set up Delphi Labs and led the lab’s development of its autonomous vehicle platform. In 2015 a Delphi Labs autonomous vehicle completed a coast-to-coast trip from San Francisco to New York City. During this time, John put his leadership skills to work as he worked with the team to solve the complex problem of autonomous driving.
With a background in solving complex problems, Grayson asks John what attracted him to join Lear. John goes onto discuss his time at Samsung and when Mr. Ray Scott, CEO of Lear Corporation approached him about becoming CTO.
We need to start to focus on innovation and technology as a priority in our mission. We need someone who has experience and wants to drive that. – Mr. Ray Scott, President & CEO, Lear Corporation as told by John Absmeier
When John joined Lear, he became the company’s first CTO. As CTO of Lear, John became CTO of a publicly-traded company with a market cap at that time of $13 billion (June 2018). As CTO of a publicly-traded company, Grayson asks John how he is keeping Lear 2 to 3 steps ahead of the competition in autonomous vehicles.
Autonomous vehicles for Lear are a bit of a different thing. We are not directly competing in the full-stack development. But, all of our products are affected by the changes that happen. – John Absmeier
As mobility changes and new shared services are introduced, there is one common denominator – passengers will continue to ride in seats. New business models will emerge such as ‘Seats as Service” where customers can opt to take a ride in a vehicle that offers an in-vehicle seat massage.
With the growth of the gaming world, Grayson asks John if Lear is taking inspiration from the gaming world as it relates to in-vehicle seat design.
The user experience is now the main differentiator in cars. – John Absmeier
Expanding the conversation of experiences, Grayson asks John about Lear’s acquisition of Xevo in 2019. Why did Lear acquire Xevo? Xevo will allow Lear to expand its “seating as a service” compliment it with in-vehicle experiences and commerce.
Looking to the future, Grayson asks John when he expects to see AR (augmented reality) experiences in vehicles. Taking a step back, John talks about CES 2014, when Samsung showcased an AR experience in a Tesla Model S. Staying on the CES theme, Grayson talks about the Warner Bros. / Intel immersive entertainment experience which they demonstrated in 2019.
As companies look to develop in-vehicle experiences, Grayson shares his thoughts on why Disney will introduce a Star Wars in-vehicle experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Comparing and contrasting Disney with Lear, Grayson asks John about the footprint of the Xevo platform.
Xevo is currently running in over 50 million vehicles globally. The Xevo commerce platform has over 400,000 retail outlets which are available to customers today. All of the data generated through driver interactions is owned by Xevo’s OEM customers.
To enable in-vehicle commerce a payment method is needed. Grayson asks John how Xevo approaches payments and integrates the ability to pay for goods and services into the platform. Xevo does not store credit card data, instead, they aggerate payments through a secure wallet. When the vehicle becomes autonomous, the wallet can reside in the mobility provider’s app.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and John discuss the current state of M&A in the autonomous vehicle industry.
There [are] very few companies in the world that have the balance sheet to create an entire autonomy stack. I estimate that it is somewhere in the $50 billion to the $100 billion range to create a full autonomous stack solution. – John Absmeier
Consolidation is coming across the board as companies start to turn their attention to the economics of autonomy.
Mobility is only going to get a lot better. – John Absmeier
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Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, American Petroleum Institute (API), and Prentiss Searles, Petroleum Marketing Policy Manager, American Petroleum Institute (API) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the economic impact of the U.S. oil industry.
The conversation begins with Dean sharing an overview of the current state of the U.S. oil markets.
We have historically strong demand, potentially record demand this year and next combined. Weak drilling activity, weak investment. That opens the question of just the extent that the U.S. can participate in this recovery. – Dean Foreman
The U.S. is no longer an exporter of oil, the U.S. is once again a net-importer of oil.
In 2020 [The United States] was a net-exporter of between $15 and $16 billion dollars. We have gone from imports of $300 to $400 billion dollars a year to exports of $15 to $16 billion and potentially is the U.S. energy revolution remains intact the ability to grow that. – Dean Foreman
A recent report has stated that the United States could be heading for an oil shortage in 2022. Grayson asks Dean about this report and what the potential impact will be on the economy and the average consumer. Dean explains how this could lead to higher costs for transportation and the shipment of goods.
With a potential oil shortage, Grayson asks Prentiss what it will mean for U.S. consumers and their driving habits. Looking back in history, Prentiss discusses how U.S. drivers changed their driving habits to save money and why consumers may opt for hybrid vehicles if this scenario happens.
Hybrids definitely provide economic ways to achieve higher fuel economy. – Dean Foreman
As society starts to shift to electric vehicles, Grayson asks Dean about the economics and the potential impact policy will have on cost increases for consumers.
By having an EV mandate built into the economy will impact the amount of vehicles that are available for the secondary market to purchase. That ends up having an additional cost and EVs are $10 to $15 thousand dollars more compared to an equal-sized vehicle. – Prentiss Searles
Staying on the theme of policy, Grayson asks Dean about a Tampa, Florida Council Member who proposed banning fossil fuels and any new fossil fuel infrastructure in the city of Tampa by 2030. Dean who is originally from Tampa, explains what the negative impact would be on Florida’s economy.
This would be one way to really grid Florida’s economy to a halt. – Dean Foreman
The natural gas and petroleum industry supports more than 10 million jobs in the United States. The average salary in the industry is $50,000 above the nationwide average.
Shifting the conversation back to passenger cars, Grayson asks Prentiss what would the current state of the electric vehicle market look like if there were no subsidies? Prentiss explains that there would still be a market for electric vehicles, but the market would not be as large as it is today. He cites Georgia as an example, when the electric vehicle tax credit was removed, EV sales plunged by 90% in the State.
Referencing an article in the Wall Street Journal about how automakers are trying to increase sales of electric vehicles by demanding higher taxes on conventional vehicles that burn gas and diesel fuel, Grayson asks Dean when do shareholders raise the economic concerns of this strategy.
The conversation flows into a discussion about free markets and when do market-based economics return instead of markets being driven by policy.
Consumers are ultimately going to be the ones who have to choose. Affordability is going to rule. We have to have an embedded faith that consumer preferences will ultimately speak and that this will play out. – Dean Foreman
Looking at the passenger vehicle market, Prentiss shares his thoughts on free markets and consumer choice of vehicles. Consumers will end up choosing vehicles that meet their needs.
Regardless of how quickly EVs take off as a percentage of sales, in 20 years, the majority of vehicles are still going to remain internal combustion vehicles. – Prentiss Searles
Expanding upon consumer choice, Prentiss discusses the best ways to reduce carbon emissions of vehicles without having a negative economic impact. As more electric vehicles come online with charging infrastructure, Dean discusses what the potential economic impact will be on the petroleum market.
Wrapping up the conversation, Dean and Prentiss discuss the future of the petroleum industry.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Patrick Goddard, President of Brightline Trains joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how Brightline is building a mobility experience company.
The conversation begins with Patrick discussing how his background in hospitality partly inspired the way Brightline was developed and how it is managed today. Customer service and the emotional connection with the experience are the keys to success in the experience business.
We are first and foremost an experience-focused company. – Patrick Goddard
Prior to boarding the train, the customer journey begins the moment that individual leaves their home or hotel. You have to think about that journey and look at it through the five senses. Patrick discusses how the five senses create an emotional connection.
Understanding the door to door to experience for a traveler has become more and more important. – Patrick Goddard
Expanding upon this thought, Patrick dives into the experience economy and how it is now starting to transform the transportation industry. The transportation industry is actively learning from the hospitality and restaurant industries on how to implement and scale meaningful experiences with an emotional connection.
The experiences economy is upon us. It has been upon us for some time. – Patrick Goddard
Focusing is on the Brightline experience, Patrick discusses in great detail the Brightline experience and how it was designed. From digital infrastructure to physical infrastructure, Brightline has completely thought through every single element of the experience.
Looking to the future, Grayson asks Patrick if Brightline will partner with an autonomous vehicle company to provide a branded Brightline mobility experience destination to destination.
We have to think about transportation as an ecosystem. – Patrick Goddard
Brightline is actively looking into what those mobility experiences might look like with a variety of non-exclusive partners. These services will be fully integrated into the Brightline experience without friction and without having to make multiple payments to multiple service providers.
As Brightline expands to Orlando / Walt Disney World and adds new stops, Grayson asks Patrick how the Brightline experience will not be diluted. Patrick shares a great example of driving from Miami to Walt Disney World with his family and all of the possible issues including traffic which could make the trip longer and stressful.
When you get on our trains, you stop worrying about the time. It’s not about the time. It’s about the reliability and the experience. – Patrick Goddard
On the train, you are relaxed, having a drink, or taking a nap. You arrive at the destination calm and ready to have fun at Walt Disney World.
Connecting Miami to Orlando with Brightline will have a positive impact on Florida’s economy. Grayson shares data from a previous podcast with Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research, Florida Chamber Foundation about how tourism dollars will be spent when tourists have a frictionless way to travel to different parts of the State.
Looking back in history, Patrick discusses the history of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway and how Brightline is building upon that history. The Florida East Coast Railway was built to support Flagler’s hotel operations. Brightline is following a similar model by developing the land around the stations.
Wrapping up the conversation, Patrick discusses the future of Brightline and why Brightline is a mobility experience company.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Neil Golson, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, FLASH joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how software and partnerships are enabling the future of parking —integrated payments and mobility hubs.
The conversation begins with Neil sharing his insight into the current state of the parking business. While parking demand is still down 65% pre-COVID, the industry is beginning to rebound as consumers begin to travel again.
FLASH has an interesting insight into the parking industry as they do not own the asset, they are the software layer that enables parking operators to efficiently manage their facilities.
Our role is to enable [parking operators] and to drive their technology so that they can differentiate their own asset. – Neil Golson
One of the neat ways FLASH is enabling parking operators to create new sources of revenue is their digital wallet offering that integrates services such as Ticketmaster and OpenTable. This eliminates friction for parking customers and simplifies the transaction.
Another way, FLASH is eliminating friction is by re-thinking having a redundant system in place for when the tickets run out at a parking kiosk. FLASH's system automatically switches to another mode such as scanning your license plate or using your credit card as a ticket.
This all boils down to what is the best customer experience and what can we do to enhance the customer experience. Neil goes onto explain the ways that FLASH is constantly working to improve the parking experience and ways to increase revenue for parking operators.
Our system can change on a dime. – Neil Golson
With a flexible system, customers benefit as FLASH can remotely change lane directions to ensure individuals can get into the game faster and exit faster with dynamic lanes. Grayson asks Neil, what’s the next step in improving the customer experience. Neil goes onto explain how FLASH is working with Target to integrate a parking and charging experience which is tied to purchases.
One of the keys to building out mobility hubs is partnerships. One of the partnerships that FLASH has is with EVBox. Grayson asks Neil about the partnership and why FLASH ultimately decided to partner with EVBox.
EVBox really saw the opportunity to separate hardware from software. – Neil Golson
Ultimately it was EVBox’s open-architecture platform that sealed the deal as FLASH could customize the software for their customers. With FLASH actively preparing for a future with electric vehicles, Grayson goes onto to ask Neil how the company is actively preparing for a future with autonomous vehicles.
The company is actively preparing for an autonomous future by fully understanding the asset down to the curb, the size of the parking space, and how the vehicles will pay to park.
We power the Porsche app. Porsche only wanted to put parking spaces that were of a certain width to make sure that Porsche drivers didn’t get dinged. – Neil Golson
This approach creates value for the Porsche brand as Porsche customers do not have to worry about parking in a space that is too close to another car.
In Las Vegas, FLASH has a partnership with the City of Las Vegas to allow Uber drivers to park in a staging area while waiting for a ride. Looking to the future, Grayson asks Neil if FLASH is using the data from this partnership to model for a future with autonomous vehicles.
Rounding out the mobility hub strategy, FLASH has a partnership with SwiftMile to solve the clutter issue with scooters laying around parking assets.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Neil discuss parking infrastructure assets and what happens when individuals begin to travel in large numbers again.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Bryan Hurd, Vice President, Chief of Office, Aon Cyber Solutions (Stroz Friedberg) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of cybersecurity and why cyber intelligence is critically important for Governments and Publicly Traded Companies.
The conversation begins with Bryan discussing the founding of the U.S. Navy’s First Cyber-Counterintelligence Program at Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Expanding upon the founding of the program, Bryan goes onto discuss Cliff Stoll, “Hanover hackers” and nation-state cyber attacks.
Then there is the emerging threat of the non-nation state of hackers which are having an impact on society.
Popular culture makes it cool to be a hacker. – Bryan Hurd
Grayson asks Bryan what assets hackers are looking to steal and compromise. International organized crime is focused on ransomware and IP Theft, while nation-state hackers are focused on gathering intel and plans on how the military develops planes and sensitive military assets.
The dwell times for these bad actors vary depending on the sophistication of the organization and what they are looking to achieve. At times international organized crime will gather all of the data they want, then lock the data and demand a ransom that is paid in crypto coin.
Ransomware is a clear and present danger to the United States. – Bryan Hurd
With ransom being paid in crypto coin, Grayson and Bryan go onto discuss the potential regulation of Bitcoin and the impact it would have on the market if a “know your customer” regulation would be put into place. Shifting the conversation to transportation, Bryan discusses the founding of the No Fly List and how it was developed using machine learning.
As society beings to shift towards electric vehicles, Grayson asks Bryan why there is not a larger conversation taking place on how you secure the energy grid from a potential cyber attack. Securing the energy grid is critically important as millions of consumers begin to drive charge their electric vehicles.
Securing intellectual property (IP) for large knowledge-based companies is also critical as the valuations of those companies are partly based on their IP portfolios. Using the Waymo vs. Uber lawsuit as an example, Grayson brings up Exhibit 22 from the trial as an example of why cyber intelligence and on-the-ground intelligence is critically important for companies developing new technologies.
If your entire company’s net worth is based on intellectual property (IP), a formula for a soft drink, a vaccine formulation, or intellectual property on how to make the next driverless automobile, then that is information that needs to be protected from an IT and tagging/data loss prevention and employee contracts for the level that is appropriate to your company. – Bryan Hurd
This raises the question of how connected should the Board of Directors be to the industry of the company of the board that they are sitting on?
Just the right bit of intel at the right time can either save you billions in research and development or get you there faster than the people who actually founded it. – Bryan Hurd
Looking at the current state of the world and events shaping the global economy, Grayson asks if bad actors are looking at the economic and supply-chain damage that the Ever Given container ship caused when it blocked the Suez Canal as an idea for a possible cyber attack. What if cyber terrorists could take control of container ships to cause economic harm globally?
Bryan talks about the current state of cyber terrorism, what bad actors are targeting and what the response could look like in the future. As society becomes more and more connected, it will be inherently important for companies to build trust around their products and services.
Trust is not only to the brand. It is to the uptick of any new technology or service. Spending a little bit more at the beginning to ensure that trust has a good foundation is going to be a more central discussion. – Bryan Hurd
Wrapping up the conversation, Bryan discusses what we can do as a society to stay pro-active and why cyber intelligence will continue to be top of mind for Government, companies and individuals.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jeremy Bezdek, Managing Director, Strategic Platforms, Koch Industries (KSP), and Kristof Vereenooghe, CEO of EVBox Group join Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss scaling electric vehicle charging globally through strategic partnerships.
The conversation begins with Jeremy sharing a high-level overview of Koch Strategic Platforms and the company’s mandate.
Koch Strategic Platforms mandate is to look for companies to invest in tail-wind industries and companies looking for growth equity. Either as public companies or late-stage private companies, maybe soon to be public companies. We invest in key verticals, specifically industry 4.0, connectivity, healthcare technology, and energy transformation. – Jeremy Bezdek
Taking a look at the EV charging industry, Kristof discusses fragmented markets and how EVBox’s market share in Europe combined with their open-architecture platform gives the company a strategic advantage.
We are headquartered in what I call the Silicon Valley of EV charging. – Kristof Vereenooghe
As EVBox begins to scale in the United States, Koch Strategic Platforms is actively collaborating with EVBox to assist the company with scaling the business in the U.S. In addition to the strategic capital relationship with Koch Strategic Platforms, EVBox has a partnership with TPG.
With the partnership with TPG and going public, it will give us the capital and the resources to scale. Most importantly, many competitors in the U.S. are closed systems and do not provide the same benefits as EVBox. There is a real need for our model and our software here in the U.S. market. – Kristof Vereenooghe
Koch’s has a long-term relationship with TPG. It is through this relationship that Koch first developed a relationship with EVBox, and later invested.
With their footprint, their European leadership position, and quite frankly our energy transformation vertical it made sense. It was a perfect fit for what we were looking for. With the vision that Kristof had to do a U.S. rollout, we felt that our capability could be applied to help them. It was a perfect fit for us to invest. – Jeremy Bezdek
Shifting the conversation to strategy, Grayson asks Kristof to discuss the EVBox strategy and the company’s relationship with three out of the four largest European automakers. EVBox’s competitive advantage is the company’s open-architecture platform.
With the competitive advantage of the open-architecture platform secured, EVBox is focused on developing a world-class brand that will have a positive impact on society.
We are planting a tree for every charging station that we ship. – Kristof Vereenooghe
Operating in over 70 countries presents opportunities and challenges. The brand has to be adapted to local customs, habits, and languages. Today, EVBox software is running software in over 21 languages.
With Koch being a global company with over 130,000 employees there are a lot of opportunities inside of Koch Industries. Jeremy goes onto to explain how Koch Industries and EVBox are collaborating on opportunities from installing charging stations to helping with the supply chain for materials.
Wrapping up the conversation, Jeremy and Kristof explain the opportunity for electrifying fleets.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chen-Ping Yu, Co-Founder & CEO, Phiar joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why augmented reality is the window to the world.
The conversation begins with Chen-Ping discussing his time at Stony Brook University followed by Harvard. At Harvard, Chen-Ping was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Cognitive and Neural Lab where he studied the brain.
I had the pleasure to work with a group of cognitive and neural scientists to combine what they have learned about the brain with deep-learning computer vision. – Chen-Ping Yu
It was during his time driving in Boston, that Chen-Ping had an “ah-ha” moment that would lead to the founding of Phiar.
Why couldn’t someone show me my route by overlaying that to the actual camera feed instead of drawing it on a map? – Chen-Ping Yu
Since no one was doing it, Chen-Ping decided to go for it and solve the problem that he experienced driving in Boston. He set out to build AR navigation.
Phiar was founded in 2017 when VR (virtual reality) was dominating headlines and film studios were building labs to better understand the technology. Consumers were associating Google Glass with AR (augmented reality) leading to a general misunderstanding in the marketplace about what is AR.
Today, a lot has changed. Studios are no longer investing in VR (virtual reality) and companies such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google are all rumored to be working on AR products.
Chen-Ping goes onto share his thoughts on the current state of AR and why software combined with hardware is the path forward.
AR is absolutely exciting. – Chen-Ping Yu
With a clear understanding of software integrated with hardware being the path forward, Chen-Ping decided to focus on the automotive market. Software integrated with hardware is the Apple model.
Grayson asks Chen-Ping what his thoughts are on a possible AR automotive services business for Apple.
People are looking at automotive vehicles as the next big platform for software. Even automotive players are trying to redesign and upgrade their whole architecture into a more software-driven [approach]. – Chen-Ping Yu
Looking to the future, Grayson asks Chen-Ping if Phiar will stay platform-agnostic and what his thoughts are on a potential Phiar App Store. It is possible, but only time will tell.
Shifting the conversation back to services, Grayson talks about why Airbnb will be one of the biggest benefactors of augmented reality in vehicles. In a post-COVID world, there will be a huge demand for experiences. AR will be able to unlock digital experiences that are not possible today. This will create massive new revenue opportunities for companies such as Airbnb.
Wrapping up the conversation, Chen-Ping and Grayson discuss how to make an augmented reality map without pre-mapping and the role that AI plays in enabling AR.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chris Ballinger, Founder & CEO, MOBI (Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative) joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the new economy of movement.
The conversation begins with Chris discussing international economics, monetary economics, and private money.
Marginalism. The idea that prices are determined on the margin. That it is the margin that matters. It’s the marginal transaction that determines the cost, the opportunity, the opportunity cost. – Chris Ballinger
With over 28 years of experience in the finance industry, Chris shares his thoughts on digital currency and the potential impact of regulation on digital currencies.
Touching on Facebook’s Libra digital currency, Chris explains why Government policy and Government opposition can change the path and plans of an organization as large as Facebook. Breaking this down further, Chris lays out the reasons why Government’s around the world opposed the new digital currency.
The plan was to hold reserves in relativity safe sovereign and bank assets. Well, the problem is if you are running a reserve and your revenue source is carried on that reserve, then there is a strong temptation to stretch a little bit, to take a little more risk to increase the return.
That works out great in most environments, but as soon as you have a shock, then the additional risk, the additional leverage that has been put in can cause problems.
If you have a breakdown or a sudden failure of trust in a global world currently that is out of Government control, then you have a real problem. – Chris Ballinger
With the crypto market becoming extremely heated, Grayson asks Chris about financial bubbles and what patterns he saw during his years on trading floors. After Chris’ insight, Grayson asks how those patterns might apply to today’s low-rate environment.
The underlying technology of cryptocurrency is blockchain. With a strong foundation laid in financial markets, Grayson shifts the conversation to discuss what is possible when applying blockchain to mobility.
You can link the vehicle’s digital twin (decentralized digital identifier) to location. If you can link location and the vehicle’s trusted identity, then you can create a trusted trip.
If you can create a trusted trip, you can pay as you go for things. You can do micro-tolling, you can do road usage charge, you can do usage-based insurance, there are all kinds of things that now become possible. – Chris Ballinger
Grayson expands the conversation into in-vehicle commerce and what is possible when the vehicle has a trusted identity. Chris discusses the digital VIN and the role it will play in the future of digital commerce.
A digital VIN in the future will be a “living birth certificate” which helps to eliminate fraud such as lemons and increase trust in the chain of custody.
[With blockchain] you can trace the chain of custody of data back to the original source. – Chris Ballinger
Telematics combined with a digital VIN opens the opportunity to fund infrastructure development in new ways such as micro-tolling. Doing this digitally will save tax-payers money as Governments will not have to build-out physical tolling infrastructure. This is all possible with an in-vehicle digital wallet.
With everything being connected and tracked, privacy concerns are being raised by consumers. Chris explains why the data belongs to the customer and what is being done to protect consumer privacy using mobility services with blockchain.
On March 8, 2021, The MOBI Connected Mobility Data Marketplace (CMDM) Working Group released standards to enable a marketplace that could securely commodify mobility data and ensure data privacy for mobility users.
Standards will play a large role in the future of mobility. Standards will enable the future of autonomy. Grayson asks Chris if standards are needed to enable secure in-vehicle commerce.
Money is a standard. Driving on the left or right side of the road in different countries in a standard. – Chris Ballinger
Indeed they are needed. Chris goes onto explain coordinated autonomy and why standards are needed to make this a reality.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Chris discuss digital IDs and how they will enable in-vehicle commerce. Chris explains how digital IDs can enable autonomous organizations. These organizations will be autonomous vehicles that will be able to conduct commerce autonomously on the edge and buy other less profitable autonomous vehicles.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research, Florida Chamber Foundation joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the diverse and growing economy of Florida.
The conversation begins with Dr. Parrish discussing the current state of the Florida economy and The Florida Scorecard. Expanding upon the conversation about the economy, Dr. Parrish talks about The Florida 2030 Blueprint and what the Florida Chamber is doing to prepare for the continued growth of the Florida population.
Before COVID, Florida since 2015 was creating 1 out of every 11 jobs in this county. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
Today 800 net new individuals a day are moving to Florida.
Because of COVID, you will see more and more people move to Florida. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
Individuals are moving to Florida for the quality of life, job opportunities, and the #1 Higher Education System in the United States.
The State also has a vast hospitality and tourism industry that employs hundreds of thousands of individuals in the State.
Our tourism industry has been the trainer of people for all industries in the State of Florida and has been for a long time. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
Individuals working in these jobs understand people skills and how to deal with conflicts without escalating the situation. This is an incredible skill that is tremendously valuable for any industry. Dr. Parrish goes onto discuss why these skills are so important.
The Space Coast is back and operating at full capacity once again with the average manufacturing job in Brevard County paying $90,000 a year.
Over the past few years, Florida has been growing manufacturing jobs at 3 times the U.S. rate. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
Florida also has a thriving agricultural business with over 47,000 commercial farms and ranches using over 9.45 million acres in the States to farm and raise livestock.
Palm Beach County is the #1 agricultural county in the State of Florida. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
The agricultural industry in Florida employs over a million individuals and contributes more than $131 billion to the state’s economy each year.
With an influx of tech companies relocating to Florida and creating new high-paying jobs, Grayson asks Dr. Parrish what new businesses might be founded in Florida over the next 10 years.
Florida has a booming autonomous vehicle industry with Argo AI operating and expanding in Miami-Dade County. With the signing of HB 311 by Governor DeSantis, Florida became the most AV-friendly State in the country. With great weather, an incredible talent pool and some of the best universities in the world, the future of the autonomous vehicle industry is being developed in Florida.
With the Florida 2030 Blueprint, we are setting the stage for by 2030, we can have an economy that nobody will want to leave. There won’t be any reason why somebody wouldn’t want to come to Florida to do business.
Florida will be a business-friendly State. We will have the technology that we need. We will have the talent that we need. Talent is the key to economic development. – Dr. Jerry Parrish
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Dr. Parrish discuss Mayor Suarez‘s savvy use of Twitter to recruit tech companies to Miami and what Florida’s economy will look like in the future.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the big idea and why Florida is the perfect environment to operate autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with Senator Brandes discussing his experience serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a transportation officer. During his time in Iraq, Senator Brandes read Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. This book had a profound effect on him and changed the way he sees the world, chooses to govern, and propose legislation.
Operating convoys in Iraq also had a tremendous impact on Senator Brandes. One that would lead to one Senator Brandes Big Ideas a Florida State Legislator.
It would be a lot safer if I did not have to have soldiers in these convoys and they could operate autonomously. – Florida State Senator Brandes
As an incoming State Senator in 2012, Senator Brandes wanted to distinguish himself from a great class of legislators. To do this, he reached into his past experience and embraced a Big Idea – Autonomous Vehicles after watching Sebastian Thrun‘s Google’s driverless car TED Talk over a dozen times.
There is one big idea in every area of public policy. – Florida State Senator Brandes
To make this Big Idea a reality, Senator Brandes reached out to Google and sought their assistance. The legislation which made testing autonomous vehicles on public roads legal passed unanimously and HB 1207 was signed by Governor Rick Scott in 2012.
HB 1207 laid the groundwork for what Florida has become today, the Capital of Autonomous Vehicle deployments and commercialization in North America.
Florida has the best laws on the books as it relates to self-driving. We have the best laws on the books as it relates to ride-sharing. – Florida State Senator Brandes
Innovative companies have a long history of moving and expanding their operations to Florida from California partly due to regulation. This trend started in earnest when Walt Disney began acquiring land in the 1960’s to develop Walt Disney World.
Today, history is repeating itself as innovative autonomous vehicle companies such as Argo AI and Luminar are operating in the State. They are creating high-paying jobs and having a positive impact on the economy.
You have to be competitive globally, not just amongst the States. What can we do to remove the barriers? Florida has the perfect environment to operate these types of vehicles. – Florida State Senator Brandes
When you combine Florida’s tourism industry with frictionless mobility services, magic happens.
Florida is a mobility story as much as it is anything else. Whether it be Henry Flagler or Walt Disney. These are all mobility stories. – Florida State Senator Brandes
From autonomous mobility to space flights, Florida is leading on innovation. Florida is also leading on issues such as criminal justice reform. It is an issue that Senator Brandes has championed as it is a big idea.
Senator Brandes shares the story of how he first became interested in criminal justice reform. It’s a powerful heart-wrenching story. A story that leads Senator Brandes to take a leadership position working on solutions that will have a positive impact on society.
Another issue that is impacting businesses and schools today is COVID-19. Senator Brandes has filed legislation to protect health care providers, businesses, and schools from COVID-19 liabilities. The conversation evolves into a discussion about Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to open schools and the long-term positive impact on children in Florida.
It was the best decision [Governor Ron DeSantis] made since the beginning of COVID. – Florida State Senator Brandes
With schools open, businesses open, companies are flocking to Florida in droves. The trend did not just start with COVID, it just accelerated. The trend began when Argo AI chose Miami as one of the autonomous vehicle test cities in 2018.
We have created this environment where technology can thrive and where the taxes are of a lower nature. Where it’s a strong incentive to consider relocating here. – Florida State Senator Brandes
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Senator Brandes discuss the major mobility changes they see happening in Florida over the next ten years. Including how the State is preparing for the transition to electric vehicles and how safely evacuate individuals’ electric vehicles during a hurricane.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
James Gowers, Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Perceptive Automata joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss developing human intuition for autonomous vehicles.
The conversation begins with James talking about leading the Harvard Business School soccer team to two National Championships and what he learned about teamwork as an Army Ranger in the German Federal Armed Forces.
Being part of a team, being a leader does not mean that you are autocratic. The more important way to lead is by influencing. Being a solid part of the team, carrying your weight, and leading by example. – James Gowers
With a clear understanding of the rigors of leadership and a background in business from the Harvard Business School, Grayson asks James how he first joined the autonomous vehicle industry.
James shares a wonderful story of how a friendship with Mark Wheeler, Co-Founder & CTO of DeepMap led to him joining the industry. After a successful run at DeepMap, James joined Perceptive Automata to help them successfully raise their Series A round.
Getting from Series A to Series B is hard work. – James Gowers
Perceptive Automata is working on developing human-like intuition for autonomous vehicles as driving is inherently a social activity. James goes onto explain how Perceptive Automata is developing machine-learning models that can glance at a human and make powerful predictions on their intent to cross the road.
Grayson asks James if the machine-learning models can learn situational awareness. For example, can the models learn if an individual is walking, wearing headphones to staring at their phones, and generally not paying attention to the surroundings? Yes. James explains how the models capture behavior.
Perceptive Automata’s approach to situational awareness caught the attention of Jim Adler, Founding Managing Director of Toyota AI Ventures which invested in the company’s Series A $16m round.
Along with the investment, Jim wrote a Medium blog post titled: “Predicting the World Around Autonomous Vehicles: Our Investment in Perceptive Automata” about “theory of mind” and why Toyota AI Ventures invested in Perceptive Automata.
In the Medium blog post, Jim wrote the following:
As I’ve said before, cars are “social.” They exist alongside other human-operated vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. When we’re behind the wheel, we constantly survey the roads looking for clues to help predict what other people will do. Will that teenage skateboarder jaywalk? Will the minivan driver speed up as I try to make an unprotected left-hand turn? Who goes first at a four-way stop if we all arrive at the same time?
People use a “theory of mind” to face those kind of split-second decisions all of the time. However, what comes relatively easily to us humans is incredibly difficult for autonomous vehicles. To improve safety for passengers and pedestrians alike, it is so important to have an intuitive self-driving system that is able to recognize, understand, and predict human behavior.
– Jim Adler, Founding Managing Director of Toyota AI Ventures
Jim’s Medium blog post summed up Perceptive Automata’s approach to situational awareness brilliantly. This approach is critical for autonomous vehicles which are deployed in dense urban environments.
Grayson and James go onto discuss prediction models and planning for scenarios such as a baseball game a European football game getting out. Creating a situation where large groups of individuals are pouring out on the sidewalks and the roadway.
Autonomous vehicles have to learn and be prepared for all situations. From large groups of individuals at sporting events to first-responder vehicles traveling down the road at high-speeds. Driving is unpredictable and human intuition is a critical part of driving safely.
Perceptive Automata is developing human intuition for autonomous vehicles to make the roads safer for both passengers in autonomous vehicles and pedestrians walking or riding bicycles.
Humans have this unique ability to glance at pedestrians and make, immediate, effortless predictions about someone’s intent based on social cues, body language, etc. – James Gowers
This is exactly what Perceptive Automata is developing for autonomous vehicles. Grayson asks James if this technology could be deployed into the security industry to spot potential bad actors through behavior.
James explains how this technology can be applied to the security industry and the potential applications. Not only can Perceptive Automata’s technology be applied for security applications, but it can also be used in the retail business to predict intent. Will the consumer purchase this product? Do they like the color of the product? The potential applications for predicting human intuition are endless.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and James discuss the current state of the autonomous vehicle industry and what happens if and when Apple unveils an electric autonomous vehicle with an AR (Augmented Reality) app store.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Pradeep Elankumaran, Co-Founder & CEO of Farmstead joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss automating grocery delivery.
The conversation begins with Pradeep sharing how bad experiences with grocery delivery led to the founding of Farmstead. Armed with an idea, Pradeep posted the idea on Nextdoor Mountain View to see if there was a demand for his idea of a better grocery delivery experience. Indeed there was a demand. In 2 days, 200 new potential customers expressed interest in the idea.
One of the key selling points to those potential Farmstead customers the substitution policy.
We told customers that we would guarantee the item. – Pradeep Elankumaran
No longer would items that you did not order show up on your doorstep. This eliminates stress for parents who would no longer have to worry if their child’s favorite milk or ice cream will arrive instead of a substitute.
Our approach is software and a lot of prediction and a lot of very precise control of the data that is inserted into our system which makes the software better.
As the software gets better, prediction gets better. As the prediction gets better, your experience gets better. – Pradeep Elankumaran
One of the other elements of the Farmstead business model is that the company does not pick items from a supermarket, instead, they operate out of dedicated 15,000 – 25,000 square foot warehouses.
Supermarkets are not great places to fulfill online grocery orders. – Pradeep Elankumaran
Farmstead is able to operate this model because of its prediction software. As the Farmstead expands to cities around the United States, the company is using a demand model to gauge interest in the market. One of those markets is Miami.
As Farmstead scales, Grayson asks if Amazon and their growing grocery ambitions are a threat to Farmstead. Pradeep shares an interesting thesis on the grocery market comparing Amazon to Walmart and how Farmstead is well-positioned to gain market share in the online grocery market.
One of the key differences between Amazon and Farmstead is that the company uses reusable packaging. Grayson and Pradeep have an in-depth conversation about packaging and why it is so important for grocery delivery.
The crux of the market of the packaging should really be: is it recyclable? Is it returnable? – Pradeep Elankumaran
From packaging to the current in-store experience, Grayson and Pradeep have a long conversation about consumer habits and their shopping experiences.
Selection no longer matters, curation matters a lot more. – Pradeep Elankumaran
Farmstead is saving consumers time by curating groceries from specialty retailers all within the app. As Farmstead onboards new customers, they are adding new products that appeal to their customers' needs and wants. All the items that are stocked and the quantity of those products are chosen by Farmstead’s predictive software.
With an incredible software solution that is creating massive efficiencies for the company and its customers, Grayson asks Pradeep if Farmstead will adapt its model for autonomous vehicle delivery services.
It all comes down to the customer experience. It’s not about the shiny technology. – Pradeep Elankumaran
When automation can increase the customer experience, Farmstead will go all in.
Wrapping up the conversation, Pradeep shares his vision for the future of Farmstead.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Çetin Meriçli, Co-Founder & CEO of Locomation joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss what he saw in the market when he launched Locomation into a maturing autonomous trucking market in 2018.
The conversation begins with Çetin discussing growing up in Istanbul, Turkey, and how his family encouraged curiosity and asking questions to learn.
Curious to us was something that was particularly promoted in our family. – Çetin Meriçli
With unlimited curiosity and an always learning philosophy, Çetin taught himself computer programing when his Uncle gifted him a small home computer.
I started learning computer programing. Very quickly I ran out of the idea of just getting the computer to do what I wanted it to do. Then I started exploring the idea of what if the computer can make the decisions? What if it can surprise me? – Çetin Meriçli
After several years of hard work, Çetin moved to America to study robotics at Carnegie Mellon in 2009 and be part of the history.
CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) was equal to Top Gun for me. I wanted to come here, I wanted to learn from the Red Whittaker’s, Al Kelly’s, Tony Stentz’s of the world. – Çetin Meriçli
While a Senior Robotics Engineer at the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon, Çetin co-authored the Slip-aware Model Predictive Optimal Control for Path Following paper which was published by IEEE. This paper heavily influenced the founding of Locomation as several of the co-founders were authors.
Locomation was founded in 2018 just as the autonomous trucking market was starting to mature. Grayson asks Çetin what he saw when he made the decision to join a maturing market.
We were not deterred, but we were actually nervous. We were scared to death. That is just normal because you are about to enter into a race where there are quote on quote more established players.– Çetin Meriçli
Know-how is very valuable. With a history in robotics and automation, the team at Locomation sat back and watched as the market matured. They were learning the market and discovering opportunities based on their technical backgrounds. While others made mistakes, Çetin learned and studied until the time was right.
Being fashionably late to the party we did not lose the entire window of opportunity. We got our feet into the game at the right time. We got to observe what others were going after. – Çetin Meriçli
Sitting back and observing the market, Çetin was able to develop an autonomous trucking business model that would resonate with the market.
The business model resonated with Wilson Logistics after a chance meeting at a conference. Then in September 2020, the companies announced a deal where 1,120 Wilson Logistics trucks will be equipped with Locomation’s autonomous relay convoy technology.
Currently, Locomation has tested trucks in Pittsburgh, Ohio, Michigan, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and Louisiana. Grayson goes onto asks Çetin what the company is learning from testing in different environments with different climates and driving habits.
Not all tests are created equal. – Çetin Meriçli
Grayson shifts the conversation to commercialization and asks Çetin when the company plans to start deploying trucks for customers and when the company will become profitable.
In late 2022, Locomation trucks will start operating commercially and by 2023, the company will be cash-flow profitable optionally.
Wrapping up the conversation, Çetin shares his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous trucking industry.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sahas Katta, Founder & CEO of Smartcar joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the building blocks of mobility – standardized APIs (Application Programming Interface).
The conversation begins with Sahas discussing the founding of Smartcar and growing up in Silicon Valley. Growing up in Silicon Valley has its advantages as one is able to build and develop a network early in life.
This network becomes extremely valuable as one is exposed to new and emerging technologies prior to individuals located in other geographical regions. Expanding upon this, Grayson asks Sahas when the automotive industry first turned its attention to Silicon Valley.
Automotive has always had a heart in Silicon Valley. – Sahas Katta
The trend began to take hold in 2015 with the adoption of connected cars. Capitalizing on this trend, Sahas and his brother Sanketh secured a pitch meeting (view the Smartcar pitch deck here) at Andreessen Horowitz which led to $2m in venture capital funding.
With funding secured, Sahas and Sanketh got to work developing a standardized API for connected cars to solve the connected car problem.
If you are a mobility company trying to bring your product or service to the market, you may today have to do proprietary integrations with a dozen or two dozen different car brands. Each integration might take 6, 9, or 12 months to get through that process.
The end result in the world pre-Smartcar, companies decided not to even do it. It was too much work, too expensive, and too time-consuming. – Sahas Katta
Today with a standardized API for connected cars, companies and developers can build new products and services without having to dedicate an immense amount of resources.
As connected cars become autonomous, Smartcar’s platform will be the plumbing that enables the “non-sexy” parts of the business to function at full capacity.
From unlocking doors to ensuring the vehicle is fully charged to making certain that the vehicle is properly cleaned. This is all possible with Smartcar’s platform.
Staying on the theme of what is possible with Smartcar’s platform, Grayson and Sahas discuss vehicle miles traveled (VMT). How does VMT work and what has Smartcar learned from its pilots in California and Oregon?
With California’s plan to phase out gasoline-powered cars by 2035, Grayson shifts the conversation to focus on electric vehicles. Sahas explains how the Smartcar platform can be used to optimize vehicle charging and monitor the health of EV car batteries.
We are not the innovators coming up with these ideas to solve these problems. We provide the building blocks for incredible entrepreneurs to build really amazing applications which create a lot of value for both consumers and businesses. – Sahas Katta
One of the applications that uses Smartcar’s platform is Turo. Smartcar’s platform has enabled Turo to digitize their business all the while eliminating consumer friction. This same approach can be applied to fleet operators.
With Smartcar operating in the United States, Europe, and Canada, the company takes the time to understand the culture and localizes its product to comply with local rules and regulations.
Wrapping up the conversation, Sahas shares his thoughts on what mobility will look like in the United States over the next four years.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dr. Pippa Malmgren, Former Presidential Advisor, Economist, Best-Selling Author, and Policy Analyst joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why data is the new space race.
The conversation begins with Pippa sharing insight into what her father, Mr. Harald Malmgren, a senior advisor to four consecutive U.S. Presidents (President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson, President Richard Nixon, and President Gerald Ford) taught her about relationships.
My dad taught me how important it is to have trusted relationships even with people who are your opponents. – Dr. Pippa Malmgren
When Pippa first joined the George W. Bush White House she called her counterpart who worked for President Bill Clinton to learn and develop a relationship.
Bipartisanship is something that is not very common today. Grayson and Pippa go on to discuss why bipartisanship is the way forward.
You are not elected to just represent one side. You are elected to represent the American public. – Dr. Pippa Malmgren
Pippa has a talk to everyone policy which has allowed her to understand complex issues from different perspectives. With a new incoming administration, Grayson and Pippa discuss what the Biden administration should focus on as it relates to economic policy.
As America awakes from a COVID-19 slumber, entrepreneurs will emerge with new, stronger businesses that will create jobs and have a positive economic impact on society.
Americans now have increased savings, stimulus checks, and commission-free trading. This is causing consumer habits to change. The world is becoming digitized and consumers are investing in the stock market like never before.
While consumer habits are changing, Government habits are changing as well. The United States is printing trillions of dollars with no plan to repay the National Debt. Does the debt even matter?
Can the United States keep printing money? Grayson asks this question to Pippa and the answer might even surprise you – The United States can keep printing money indefinitely.
With a highly digitized society, comes security issues that can have a profound impact on geopolitical politics and the global economy. Pippa and Grayson go onto discuss data gathering and the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List.
Data gathering is just the first step in capturing emotions.
If you know how I emotionally react, then you know how to sell to me, but you also know how to negotiate with me.
Facial recognition is really about deep insight into your thought process that even you do not know. – Dr. Pippa Malmgren
What happens when autonomous vehicles start to gather data? Pippa shares examples of how that data can be used against consumers and why it could eventually lead to Surveillance Capitalism.
Grayson asks Pippa about privacy. What regulations are needed to protect consumers from the invasion of privacy? What happens if consumers are forced to show their medical history before entering a restaurant or getting on a plane?
This is a future that some individuals envision and want to see happen for their own personal and political gains. The big ideas coming out of California are not resonating as a record number of individuals and businesses are leaving the State in droves.
One of the places those individuals and businesses are moving to is Austin, TX. The movement is being driven by years of bad policy and over-regulation. This conversation evolves into a discussion about open communication and why individuals are done with being censored and de-platformed.
Grayson and Pippa discuss China and the current situation with Alibaba founder, Jack Ma. This situation raises the question of, who wants to do business in China. Does it lead to an exodus of foreign capital from China?
With the potential exodus of foreign capital from China and a revamped manufacturing industry in the United States, apprenticeships could make a comeback. These apprenticeships will lead to new high-paying jobs.
As the economy becomes more digitized and automated, Grayson and Pippa discuss the myth that automation will kill jobs. In fact, it is the opposite. Automation will create jobs. Pippa goes onto share historical contexts of why automation will create jobs.
You cannot say that automation equals unemployment because it’s just not true. Automation equals better employment. – Dr. Pippa Malmgren
Automation requires semiconductors and software to operate. Grayson and Pippa discuss the growth of the semiconductor industry. The exponential growth of Taiwan Semiconductor and the geopolitical issues that this is causing in Asia.
Wrapping up the conversation, Pippa shares her thoughts on what new trends she sees emerging over the next four years.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Roger Webb, Lifetime Student of the Restaurant Industry joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why the brand is the experience.
The conversation begins with Roger sharing the story of how he first met Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s. Later he shares his experience of when he first joined Wendy’s as the company opened its third restaurant.
Today there over 6,500 Wendy’s around the world and the brand is known and loved by millions of individuals. From the VP of Franchise to a Wendy’s franchisee, Roger had an incredible career with Wendy’s.
Roger was the first Wendy’s franchisee to join the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge in 2016. Before joining the challenge, Roger had a company-wide energy policy.
We had a very strict policy, never have a light out. – Roger Webb
Never having a light out is part of the experience of going to a restaurant. It’s an experience that consumers look for and one that the restaurant industry has to deliver on each and every-time.
The experience is the thousands of little things that have to be executed perfectly every time. – Roger Webb
Expanding upon the conversation of the little things that make an experience, Grayson and Roger go on to discuss brands and experiences and why they are crucial to the ultimate success of a restaurant.
Your brand is the experience. – Roger Webb
With a great brand, the future is bright and scalable if you are innovative and ahead of trends. Taking a look at the future of the restaurant industry, Grayson and Roger discuss the design of restaurants. Will they have to change with the growth of delivery and eventually autonomous delivery via delivery bots such as Nuro.
With an increase in delivery services, comes the need for new innovative packaging. Roger shares his thoughts on packaging and what needs to be done to ensure the french fries that arrive at your house are warm and crispy.
From drones to autonomous vehicles to delivery cars, the packaging has to be developed for the operating environment. The packaging used in delivery will be different than the packaging used for food picked up at a drive-through.
The drive-through is a booming business for the restaurant industry today. Roger explains how the drive-through operates and what the keys to success are for successfully operating one.
The drive-throughs of today might not look like the drive-throughs of the future. Chipotle is pioneering their Chipotlanes concept throughout the United States to great success.
Chipotlanes are Chipotle’s most-profitable experience because of the higher check averages. This raises the question: Is this the future of the restaurant business? Grayson asks Roger and he goes onto say restaurants are always evolving.
While restaurants are always evolving they must never stop building their brand equity. This lesson can be traced back to Sam Bronfman, Founder of Distillers Corporation who was always focused on quality and the appearance of his brands.
Discounting can impact brand equity in a negative way. Roger explains why discounting is something that should be done with caution.
Brand equity is what you do every day, every minute, every hour, and that should be a part of everything that you do when you are building a brand. – Roger Webb
Looking at the current trend of Cloud / Ghost Kitchens, Grayson asks Roger how these types of restaurant businesses can develop a brand. Without a brand, customers will be unsure whether to try a new concept that they might never have heard of before.
For Cloud / Ghost Kitchen concepts to be successful, they will have to have a brand that customers know, like and trust. A brand combined with a bespoke delivery service and pick-up service will thrive in resort communities.
Wrapping up the conversation, Roger discusses delivery fees and the economics of delivery services.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Aarjav Trivedi, Founder & CEO of Ridecell joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how digitizing and automating fleet management leads to increase revenue and profitability for logistics and mobility companies.
The conversation begins with Aarjav discussing the founding of Ridecell 1.0 in Atlanta, GA. The experience of waiting for the bus in the cold and not knowing if and/or when the bus would show up gave Aarjav the inspiration to change transportation.
Three years in a row this experience on an almost daily basis grinds into you this feeling – there has got to be a better way. – Aarjav Trivedi
During this time, Uber had yet to exist. The iPhone was just being introduced and Aarjav Trivedi an engineer from Georgia Tech decided to change transportation by combining trust and payments.
In 2011, Aarjav moved to San Fransisco and launched Summon. Summon was the first on-demand taxi company in California to receive a permit and operate legally. While operating Summon, Aarjav saw that partners such as BMW and companies such as Google needed a fleet optimization management software solution.
The relationship and trust Aarjav developed with BMW during the Summon days led to BMW’s i Ventures team leading Ridecell’s $11.7 Series A round.
Most great investors are very focused on creating impact. If you create impact the revenues follow. – Aarjav Trivedi
Today, Ridecell is a global enterprise operating in multiple countries around the world including the United States, Europe, and India. Aarjav discusses how he manages a global team and understands local cultures and customs.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to pivot and embrace new business models. Aarjav discusses how Ridecell was well prepared for the pandemic as the company was well-diversified with digital-first solutions.
With digital-first solutions for fleet operators and the growth of e-commerce, Ridecell’s logistics business is growing as more companies around the globe adopt digital-first solutions. Aarjav explains how Ridecell’s software platform helps logistics companies operate more efficiently and profitability.
One of Ridecell’s strongest value propositions is being able to automate the decisions that increase revenue, decrease cost, increase yield while increasing sustainability. – Aarjav Trivedi
Grayson asks Aarjav, how the Ridecell platform can help optimize courier services for the delivery of goods. It all comes down to digitization and using the data to optimize the fleet to ensure optimum up-time. The courier also benefits from a comfort perspective. Before getting into the vehicle, the temperature and music are set for the driver’s preference.
What happens when the vehicles are autonomous? Grayson and Aarjav go on to discuss autonomy and Ridecell’s acquisition of Auro Robotics in 2017. Expanding upon the autonomy theme, they discuss the economics of autonomous vehicles and what the business model might look like in the future.
Grayson asks Aarjav if fleet optimization the key to achieving profitability with autonomous solutions. Fleet optimization along with the eco-system of operating a service is the key. From managing the health of the vehicle to in-vehicle entertainment. All the parts of the eco-system have to work together in harmony.
The core problem is to not let data live in silos so that decisions are made in efficient ways. The core thing is to connect the data from the vehicle. – Aarjav Trivedi
Wrapping up the conversation, Aarjav shares his thoughts on the future of mobility and the role that Ridecell will play.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
John Eggert, Automotive Business Development, FLIR Systems joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how thermal imaging is making roads safer.
The conversation begins with John sharing his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous vehicle industry while looking back to 2015 when he first started his career in the industry.
[The industry] has become a lot more professional. – John Eggert
Today, the industry as a whole is spending money more wisely. It’s maturing, but certain companies still do not have a path to profitability. Expanding upon this, Grayson and John discuss the economics of the autonomous vehicle industry and properly setting expectations for investors and the public.
Diving deeper into the economics discussion, Grayson asks John to talk about his experience of owning a Quiznos franchise in San Fransisco. John shares what he learned and how difficult it was to operate a business in San Fransico.
With John’s unique experience of having owned and operated a business in San Fransisco, Grayson asks John why the autonomous vehicle industry is determined to launch a service in a city that is extremely unwelcoming to the technology.
John explains that the talent pool is currently driving the decision, but that could change in the future as the reality of economics and regulation set in as the companies move to commercialize their services.
Could Miami end up becoming the Autonomous Vehicle Capital of North America as companies are fleeing California every single day? Grayson and John discuss why and what is driving the growth of the autonomous vehicle industry in Miami.
Looking back on his days at Velodyne, John shares some intimate stories about the early days of LiDAR including a meeting with George Hotz, Founder of Comma AI where he showed him the latest Velodyne LiDAR.
The conversation evolves into a discussion about Comma AI and how George Hotz understood the economics of LiDAR. At the prices, George knew that it would be impossible to scale Comma AI with LiDAR due to the cost of LiDAR.
LiDAR is one of the key technologies to enable full self-driving. The other technology is thermal imaging.
There is no technology in vehicles today more capable of identifying or classifying or detecting a human or any living creature for that matter than thermal imaging. – John Eggert
John goes onto explain the safety benefits of thermal imaging and how this technology can be incorporated into automatic emergency braking systems to save lives. Today, thermal imaging is not included in AEB systems due to the cost.
Grayson makes the case that it is not about the cost, it is about saving lives and doing good by society. In March of 2020, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 76% of all 2018 pedestrian fatalities involving vehicles happened after dark.
This conversation evolves into a discussion around safety and how Volvo built a brand around safety. Expanding upon brands, Grayson and John discuss Zoox and their relationship with Amazon.
Grayson goes on the record to predict that Amazon will launch an Amazon Prime Mobility Tier in the future which will include unlimited Zoox rides.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson and John go onto discuss FLIR Systems and the many use cases for thermal imaging around the world.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chase Koch, President of Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), and Andrew Smith, CEO & Founder of Outrider join Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss automation, partnerships, and the power of the Koch network for principled disruptive entrepreneurs.
The conversation begins with Grayson sharing a high-level overview of Koch Industries and the company’s economic impact globally. Koch Industries is a private company that generates annual revenues of $115 billion according to Forbes and employs over 130,000 individuals in 70 countries around the world.
Following the introduction of Koch Industries, Chase explains the Koch Laboratory approach to entrepreneurship.
We can give entrepreneurs with a lot of upside a place to experiment, grow, and transform their technology and their business model to help them unlock their potential. – Chase Koch
Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) vision is to be the preferred partner in accelerating value creation for principled disruptive entrepreneurs while helping to transform Koch Industries.
Koch Industries success comes in part from the company’s Market Based Management (MBM) philosophy which was developed by Mr. Charles Koch. This same philosophy is applied to Koch Disruptive Technologies and the Koch Laboratory.
It’s the whole Joseph Schumpeter model, disrupt yourself or the market will. – Chase Koch
Koch incentives every employee to create value not just for their P&L, but for the entire organization. Expanding upon this conversation, Chase explains Koch’s Republic of Science approach and how it benefits founders who work with Koch Disruptive Technologies.
One of the companies that Koch Disruptive Technologies has invested in is Outrider. Andrew Smith, CEO & Founder shares his inspiration for why he founded Outrider and what the market opportunity is for Outrider.
One of the biggest market opportunities facing today’s business leaders is essentially to reinvent how we move things, power things, produce things to support higher and higher standards of living. – Andrew Smith
While leading an expedition to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to witness the caribou migration, Andrew came up with the idea for Outrider.
Outrider is the perfect example of how innovation allows us to avoid unnecessary tradeoffs. – Andrew Smith
Grayson asks Andrew, why yard automation. Andrew explains that there are over 10 billion tons of cargo moving around the United States on a daily basis. A majority of the cargo is moving over trucks and yard trucks are being used to move the trailers around yards.
Automation has become more and more a key driver for our transformation vision across all of our businesses. – Chase Koch
The partnership with Koch Industries gives Outrider a massive path to scaling operations. Andrew talks about his working relationship with Chase and how their organizations are working together.
Chase expands upon Andrew’s thoughts and shares his own thoughts on the power of relationships and partnerships. Additionally, they discuss their mutual commitment to the environment and sustainability.
The Koch Industries vision is applied to everything that Koch does:
We want to create products, services, and solutions that are better than customers’ alternative but do this responsibility while always consuming fewer resources. – Chase Koch
Over the past five years, Koch Industries has invested over $30 billion in technology alone. This investment in technology is only going to continue to grow.
Using fewer resources and being a sustainable company is one of the key goals of Outrider. Sustainability is core to who Outrider is as a company.
Wherever your gift is, you have to lean into it. Where passion meets your gift, you have to lean into because that is how you are going to unlock your potential. – Chase Koch
Prior to founding Outrider, Andrew founded ATDynamics and sold it to STEMCO in 2015. During his time running ATDynamics, Andrew learned a lot and he shares his knowledge and how this experience prepared him for Outrider.
To succeed in transportation logistics, it’s not just about fancy technology. It’s about reliability, simplicity, and durability. – Andrew Smith
Andrew discusses why having the right investors is key to succeeding. The team at Outrider works closely with their investors including Prologis to ensure that the company is creating value.
Prologis is working with Outrider to ensure that their warehouse yards are designed for yard automation. Increasing the efficiencies of the yard benefits both Prologis and their customers.
Closing out the conversation, Chase and Andrew share their thoughts on the future of automation and supply-chain management.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Joshua Schachter, Investor, and Founder of Self Racing Cars joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss what’s next and the current state of investing in the private markets.
The conversation begins with Joshua sharing his thoughts on new trends that he is starting to see emerge and his philosophy regarding investing. One of his key investment traits is the emotional deal in which he invests based on his gut and intuition.
Out of the two-hundred plus companies [that I have invested in] this has probably happened 6,7,8 times, but 5 of those have IPOed. – Joshua Schachter
Investing in tech start-ups is based on patterns and that is what Joshua looks for when he is making an investment.
By the time people have identified trends, it’s a little lagging. – Joshua Schachter
While fintech is hot now, it’s an area that Joshua is currently not investing in, despite his experience on Wall Street. Joshua spent a decade on Wall Street working for Morgan Stanley.
Before fintech became an identified trend, Joshua’s long-standing relationship with Jack Dorsey led to an early investment in Square. This conversation evolves into a discussion about reputation and it’s importance in investing.
I will absolutely take it on the chin to make sure that a founder is not screwed over. – Joshua Schachter
With a great reputation, one can build life-long relationships. To learn a new industry, one must invest. This is one of the main reasons why Joshua created Self Racing Cars. He wanted to develop relationships in a sector where he did not have any connections.
Joshua goes onto explain what Self Racing Cars is and how his love of racing inspired the event. Grayson asks Joshua about how he is planning to maintain the homebrew club feel of the event as it scales and becomes more popular.
This conversation evolves into the current state of markets. With a red-hot IPO market and stocks of electric vehicle companies soaring, Grayson asks Joshua to share his thoughts on the current state of the private market.
It’s a much more slowly moving system. I think venture goes throw waves of contraction and relaxation. – Joshua Schachter
As a seed-stage investor, Joshua looks for companies that have a market value of $10 – $12 million. Investing at this stage is risky and takes years to realize returns.
With the current global pandemic, Grayson asks Joshua what new opportunities might be bubbling up for investors in the private market. Additionally, why investors are following the herd mentality by investing large sums into loss-making electric vehicle startups.
Expanding upon his thoughts, Joshua explains the difference between enabling and enabled companies. An electric vehicle start-up (excluding Tesla) is an enabled company as the companies depend on battery technology to create and deliver their product.
There are still a lot of enabling technologies that have yet to be unlocked. In the future, new technologies will be invented which completely change the current state of the electric vehicle market.
New technologies (such as autonomous vehicles) will become mainstream one day. But before they get there, there will be a massive round of consolidation in the industry. Grayson and Joshua have a lively discussion around investments in autonomous vehicle companies and the current state of the market.
The shape of organizations will change as consolidation begins. Joshua explains the impact that this will have on the teams that are working on the technology. With Uber ATG being in the news (and eventually sold to Aurora), Grayson and Joshua discuss the program and why it was not in Uber’s best interest to start the program.
Looking at programs and acquisitions, Grayson shares his thoughts on Zoox and why Amazon made a brilliant purchase. With Amazon being the “Everything Store”, Grayson and Joshua discuss why the Amazon Prime Mobility tier might one day become a reality.
Looking at the competitive advantages that certain companies have as they look to enter the autonomous vehicle sector, Grayson discusses why the Apple Store will be one of Apple’s competitive advantages. Joshua goes onto explain Voyage‘s competitive advantage with master-planned communities. The master-planned community strategy was one of the main reasons why Joshua invested in Voyage.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson and Joshua discuss the current state of the autonomous vehicle market and who will ultimately be the winners.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chef Hugo Bolanos, Executive Chef, and Co-Founder, Búho Rouge joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss timing, passion, and risk.
The conversation begins with Hugo sharing his memories of growing up in Guatemala and the influence that his grandfather and father had on his life.
After a bad investment in textiles, Hugo’s father took a huge gamble and moved the family to America to provide his family a better quality of life for his family. Twenty years after moving to America, the family was able to achieve U.S. Citizenship.
Wanting to achieve the American Dream, Hugo wanted to shoot for gold and enter the restaurant business by becoming a waiter at 17. At that time the required age to be a waiter was 21. During the interview, the manager of the restaurant offered Hugo an opportunity as a runner, but he had to prove himself.
During that time in the kitchen, Hugo developed a relationship with Chef Fred Iwasaki who would become his very own “Mr. Miyagi”. Wanting to learn to be a chef, Hugo asked Chef Iwasaki to teach him.
The Chef replied:
I will not pay you anything. If you want to come in, I will pay you in lessons. You come in the morning, you clean the bathrooms, you clean the floors, and if you can hack it- at the end of the day I will teach you a lesson every single day.
One day a chef did not show up for work and Hugo got his first big break as a Line Chef. When the restaurant closed its doors, Chef Iwasaki took Hugo to cook at the Oscars as part of the Wolfgang Puck Catering team. This was a life-changing moment for Hugo which would go on to alter the course of his career.
At that time in his life, he wanted to work at the Cheesecake Factory, which was always busy and looked cool. Hugo went through six interviews, including a physiological test and he ultimately did not get the job.
I tell myself all the time when I drive by the Cheesecake Factory, if I would have gotten that job, it would have changed my whole life. It would have taken me down a different road. – Chef Hugo Bolanos
After being turned down for the Cheesecake Factory job, Hugo received a phone call from his mentor, Chef Iwasaki, who invited him to join him once again cooking for Wolfgang Puck Catering. This time it was not for the Oscars, but a private party at the home of the actor David Carradine in Beverly Hills.
Hugo was in charge of driving the catering van this evening. This evening turned into a make or break moment. When the party was over, backing out the van, Hugo crashed into Wolfgang Puck’s prototype Mercedes.
With the fear of getting fired, Hugo went into the party to inform Chef Wolfgang Puck that he had crashed the van into his car. Wolfgang asked if was OK and told him that it was fine.
You have to get over your own fears to see what you are capable of. – Chef Hugo Bolanos
The next day, Hugo had to report to Spago for a demo for Chef Charlie Trotter. Feeling like “death”, Hugo shows up and has no idea what is about to happen. Will his parents get a phone call. Will he lose his job. What will happen?
During this time, Wolfgang Puck and Chef Lee Hefter were talking about the event and how it went. Wolfgang told Chef Hefter about the incident which did not go over well, to say the least.
As Wolfgang makes the rounds during the demo, he locks eyes with Hugo and says:
You are that stupid kid who hit my car.
Wolfgang calls over Chef Hefter, who respects Hugo for the fact that he showed up at Spago after the incident. Chef Hefter transferred Hugo from Catering to Spago to repay the debt. Once again it was about timing as Hugo owned the situation.
Hugo ended up spending 10 years at Spago working his way up to #3 in the kitchen. When famous chefs such as Daniel Boulud or Alain Ducasse would visit Spago, Hugo would ask to join their operations for a summer to learn new cooking techniques.
He made it happen and paid his own way. The world’s kitchens were Hugo’s internship.
You cannot cook great food or give a great experience unless you received that great food. Received that great experience and seen that for yourself. – Chef Hugo Bolanos
From Spago, Hugo transferred to the Hotel Bel-Air where he created the annual End-of-Summer Barbecue. This conversation evolves into a discussion around not giving up when facing obstacles in life.
With COVID-19 impacting the world, Hugo’s dream of opening his own restaurant was starting to diminish. Having to make a big life decision, Hugo pivoted and shifted to a takeaway restaurant business – Búho Rouge.
With takeaway food, packaging and ingredients are crucial. Grayson and Hugo have an in-depth conversation around packaging and foods that can be packaged for takeaway and delivery.
Building upon packaging, Grayson asks Hugo for his thoughts on cloud kitchens and what the experience will look like for customers when the food is delivered.
I am looking for whatever that next platform is. – Chef Hugo Bolanos
Closing out the conversation, Grayson and Hugo discuss culinary experiences and why they are important for the hospitality industry.
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Colin Roche, Co-Founder & CEO of Swiftmile joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss gas stations of the future - electric charging hubs.
The conversation begins with Colin telling the story of how entering a raffle during a Christmas party and eventually winning an electric bike inspired him to co-found Swiftmile.
Taking a step back in history, Colin shares the story of how he came up with the idea for Penagain during an all-day Saturday detention during High School. Penagain has gone on to sell millions of pens around the world. Colin tells the story of how he grew the business, secured manufacturing, and had a positive impact on society.
Grayson steers the conversation back towards Swiftmile and asks Colin about one of his first bosses, Alex Edelstein who told him to:
Go Make Something Happen. – Alex Edelstein
Later Alex Edelstein became the first investor in Swiftmile after a dinner in which Colin said:
What if the world really adopts these PETS (personal electric transports)? – Colin Roche
Alex wrote the check on the spot, reinforcing the strength of life-long relationships.
2015 was a banner year for Swiftmile as the company raised its first investment and was one of the winners of Verizon’s Powerful Answers contest. Swiftmile won $250,000 and developed a long-term relationship with Verizon.
What is the big picture? How can we impact the world? – Colin Roche
Colin asked this question to his team prior to entering the contest. Today, Swiftmile is having a positive impact on the world by increasing renewable transportation in cities around the world.
With investment and guidance from Thayer Ventures, Swiftmile is expanding into the hospitality industry.
A big part of our plan is working with hotels. – Colin Roche
By having a micromobility hub at the hotel, guests will be able to experience cities in new and fun ways with little to no friction. The hubs will end up becoming part of the experience and integrated into the hotel’s guest app.
Micromobility solutions are also being deployed on Military bases to assist troops moving around the base. Colin discusses Swiftmile’s current deployments at U.S. Military bases and the positive impact that their solution is having on base life.
From cities to hotels to Military bases, Swiftmile is aiming to become the gas station for micromobility solutions.
Swiftmile will become a gas station for scooters. – Colin Roche
Building upon this comment, Colin expands upon this statement while taking history into account. This evolves into a conversation about Standard Oil and the initial roll-out of Standard Oil gas stations.
Grayson raises the question, what would Standard Oil be without Henry Morrison Flagler? Would there have been vertical integration and distribution innovation that would have allowed Standard Oil to stay ahead of the competition?
Staying ahead of the curve, Swiftmile is planning to add new forms of charging to the stations while planning for the eventual consolidation in the micromobility industry.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson asks Colin about the economics of micromobility charging and why charging infrastructure is one of the keys to enabling profitable scooter deployments.
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Alvaro Ramis, VP of Business Development and Alliances, Bestmile joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why robotaxis are the Shangri-La of mobility.
The conversation begins with Alvaro talking about his career which started in banking and later the travel industry, before joining the mobility industry. Throughout his career, Alvaro has always had a focus on innovation.
My background is someone who feels extremely comfortable with uncertainty. – Alvaro Ramis
Staying on the theme of being extremely comfortable with uncertainty, Alvaro joined Car2Go in 2014 as Chief Marketing Officer. When he first tried a free-floating car-share service, Alvaro thought the following:
It was that moment when I opened that car with my app that the lights turned on. I walked into the vehicle and the panel told me hello with my name. I was like man, this is the future. I fell in love. – Alvaro Ramis
Bringing this conversation full circle, Grayson asks Alvaro about the current state of free-floating car sharing. The market is stagnating due to competition from Uber and Lyft and the inherent asset-heavy business model.
Staying on the topic of asset-heavy business models, Grayson and Alvaro discuss who is going to own the autonomous vehicles on their balance sheet. Will it be the banks? Will it be rental car companies?
Alvaro go into discussing who will “go to school” to learn the model of asset-heavy mobility as the industry and venture capital firms continue to focus on asset-light companies. Without the asset, there is no mobility service.
The future of mobility is about electric, shared, and autonomous. – Alvaro Ramis
While the future may be electric, shared, and autonomous, it has to be profitable. As autonomous mobility companies continue to focus on the robotaxi business, they are starting to diversify into trucking as there is a clear path to revenue and profitability.
Waymo has their Waymo Via service which is focused on the delivery of goods and Aurora is now expanding into self-driving trucks. Both Waymo and Aurora were solely focused on the robotaxi market until the path to revenue and profitability was marginalized for the short-term.
The end game is the robotaxi. That is the big prize. That is the Shangri-La of mobility. It’s the biggest market by a lot. – Alvaro Ramis
Is there a path to profitability in the robotaxi business? With highly indebted businesses, Alvaro makes the comparison to the telecommunications industry.
Grayson agrees with the comparison, but he states the case that the robotaxi business will not spit-off nearly as much cash as the AT&Ts and Verizons of the world. Robotaxi companies will not be able to pay a 4%+ dividend.
However, the Beeps and Voyages of the world which operate in controlled environments with captive audiences will be able to generate large amounts of cash and eventually become extremely profitable.
Once you have an enclosed environment, you can add more services around it. Also, you are not fighting for that customer in a similar environment that you would have in a traditional ride-hailing market where you would have to buy the supply and demand which is a race to the bottom. – Alvaro Ramis
Autonomous vehicle companies operating in these environments will not face the same customer acquisition costs as the robotaxi business.
However, a majority of autonomous vehicle start-up founders are still attracted to Shangri-La, while Oliver Cameron, CEO of Voyage is instead focused on the riches in niches business model.
Building upon the business model conversation, Grayson asks Alvaro about the current state of autonomy in Europe. Europe is behind the United States in terms of funding, deployments, partnerships, and legislation.
To operate an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle in Europe today, companies have to apply for an exemption. This process is cumbersome and challenging with national security issues playing a large role.
National Security is a huge issue for the deployment of autonomous vehicles. Grayson and Alvaro go on to have an in-depth conversation about national security and what has to be done to ensure that remote operations of AVs are secure.
You cannot allow artificial intelligence or autonomous vehicles to decide where to go when a terrorist attack happens in a city. – Alvaro Ramis
The issue of terrorism and the potential of a terrorist attack is very real and it is an issue that the autonomous vehicle industry needs to plan for as they build out their remote operations. As part of VW’s autonomous vehicle deployment for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Government required remote operations in case of a potential incident.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson and Alvaro discuss the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles in China.
Shangri-La is not technology per se, its the problems that it solves. – Alvaro Ramis
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Bobby Hambrick, Founder & CEO, AutonomouStuff and Chief Autonomous Officer, Hexagon joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the founding of AutonomouStuff, the acquisition by Hexagon, and why AutonomouStuff is an American success story.
The conversation begins with Bobby telling the story of how he founded AutonomouStuff in a barn in his backyard and eventually sold his house and rental properties to scale the company.
I was born with this natural innate motivation and this drive to succeed. I have always taken this fearless approach to accomplish whatever task I had on hand. – Bobby Hambrick
As the company grew, Bobby reinvested every dollar that the company made back into the company to help it grow. He grew the company without venture capital as he invested in himself and his company. Every month Bobby operated the company it was was profitable.
The conversation naturally evolves into SPACs and why companies are going public with little to no revenue and zero profitability. Grayson and Bobby discuss the importance of operating a business that is profitable.
Building upon this, Bobby shares an insightful story from when he was interviewing an engineer who did not know how to use tools. This opened his eyes in a meaningful way.
Hard work and common sense can get you a long way. To be a successful entrepreneur, being smart is not enough. You have to be able to understand how things work and even more important is the power of the relationships that you have. – Bobby Hambrick
The ethic of hard work was ingrained into Bobby during his time growing up in the Midwest. The Midwest historically has had a reputation of hard work. Understanding this, Bobby founded and scaled the company in Morton, Illinois.
As Bobby was contemplating selling the company to Hexagon he thought about the following:
If I am going to sell to a larger company, I want to take care of the people who helped me. They are like family to me. – Bobby Hambrick
As part of the transaction, there was a clause that AutonomouStuff would stay in Morton for good. The impact that AutonomouStuff has had on the town of Morton cannot be measured. It is felt at the dinner table when employees discuss building the future and their travels around the world.
CES 2020 was one of those moments when it all came together when Hexagon showcased AutonomouStuff right next to the Google installation. Bobby goes on to explain that is merely just the beginning for AutonomouStuff. With the resources of Hexagon, the future is extremely bright for AutonomouStuff.
While the future is bright for AutonomouStuff, the rest of the industry is going through growing pains.
This is marathon This is not a sprint to whoever can show the best concept of driving around in the urban area. This is a serious business, people are spending billions of dollars and now they are realizing that it is not that easy.
This is probably one of the biggest engineering challenges of mankind. – Bobby Hambrick
Closing out the conversation, Bobby shares his advice for entrepreneurs who want to start their own business while staying true to their roots.
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Jillian Slyfield, Digital Economy Practice Leader, Aon joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of the insurance markets and the digital economy.
The conversation begins with Jillian sharing a high-level overview of Aon and the current state of the insurance markets.
It’s the hardest market that we have seen in 25 years. – Jillian Slyfield
With a hard market comes reduced capacity in the marketplace which leads to increased pricing for renewals.
The markets are hardening with anywhere from 25-40 %, sometimes, even more, delivering at times a 70% year-over-year increase in costs. – Jillian Slyfield
The hardening markets are not just leading to price increases for companies, insurance companies are also reducing their capacity. Aon is working with it’s clients to ensure that they are prepared for the current state of the insurance markets.
The current state of the insurance markets conversation evolves into one about being underinsured. With significant price premium increases, some companies are having to make hard decisions about how much insurance they can afford and what to do to ensure they are still properly insured for risk.
The insurance market is currently facing the “perfect storm” due to the current state of the world. Jillian dives into the issues that are affecting the insurance markets, which is leading to increased premium increases.
It all flows up to the reinsurance markets, very data driven underwriting in that space. – Jillian Slyfield
As more certainty comes into view on monetarily policy and elections, the insurance markets should start to stabilize. Monetary policy and elections have direct effects on markets across the globe.
Looking at the capital markets, one of the biggest trends of 2020 has been SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) which have raised $51.3 billion this year as compared to $111.6 billion raised in traditional IPOs.
Grayson asks Jillian how the insurance is different for SPACs as compared to traditional IPOs and how underwriters view the risk of SPACs.
Interestingly the markets see SPACs being less risky than a traditional IPO, which can be very positive. – Jillian Slyfield
The biggest risk for a company going public either through a SPAC or a traditional IPO is the D&O (Directors and Officers) insurance. For a company going public, insurer selection is extremely important and that the carrier understands your business model and industry.
Aon works with their clients to ensure that if this then that scenario happens, their clients are fully protected with the right insurance.
Claims occur all of the time. That is why the insurance is there. That is why you have strong advisors like Aon beyond you. Should something arise, you get the best counsel possible. – Jillian Slyfield
Staying on the theme of working with clients, Grayson asks Jillian how Aon works with underwriters to properly insure asset-light companies. The risk issues, the data used for underwriting is different for asset-light companies.
Jillian gives a masterclass on how insurance can be used to protect third-party transactions such as Airbnb and Uber. Looking to understand these asset-light businesses, underwriters are actively using the products and services to fully understand the business.
By driving for Uber or listing your home on Airbnb, underwriters are experiencing how the business operates first-hand and what potential risks are associated with the business model. This hands-on approach allows underwriters to properly understand the risk.
With an autonomous future on the horizon, Grayson and Jillian discuss what happens when autonomous vehicles are operating in cities around the world. Autonomous vehicles do not get distracted or sleepy, which will lead to a decrease in claims.
Jillian goes onto explain how insurance carriers are planning for a future with autonomous vehicles and who will be responsible for the risk and pay the insurance premiums.
Expanding upon this conversation, Grayson and Jillian discuss how underwriters are looking at insuring self-driving trucks and delivery bots.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson asks Jillian what impact will mobility and innovation have on the broader insurance market over the next 25 years.
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David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the mobility SPAC market.
The conversation begins with David sharing his thoughts on the current state of the mobility SPAC market. He brings up the valid point of who is conducting the scouting and due diligence on the deals.
Grayson then asks David about the supposed due diligence that Steve Girsky’s VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. did prior to merging with Nikola and taking the company public via a SPAC transaction. Building upon that conversation, David talks about the in-progress Nikola / GM deal that has yet to close.
Expanding upon the conversation around Nikola and GM, Grayson asks David if Nikola would even have made it through a traditional IPO. David does not think Nikola would have made it through a traditional IPO process.
David suggests that GM originally did the deal with Nikola because the company had a hot stock at the time. Was the Nikola stock craze driven by retail investors on Robinhood? Perhaps, but we do not know.
Now SoftBank and Apollo Global Management have announced that are launching SPACs.
Real money is getting into the game. To me, that is a good sign. Those guys are professionals who invested in everything from publicly traded stocks already to startups and other private players.
They have made a lot of money so it’s more clear that they know how to do due diligence.
It’s a better bet than the more well-known SPACs that are out there. – David Welch
Could this be a trend of blue-chip investment companies investing in less-risky electric mobility companies? BlackRock has invested billions in Rivian and Arrival. Both companies are being deemed less-risky than other mobility start-ups by the market. Rivian also has backing from Amazon.
Staying on the Amazon theme, Grayson and David discuss Amazon and mobility. What are the plans for Zoox? Will Amazon end up acquiring Rivian? Does Amazon introduce a mobility Prime service in the future powered by Zoox?
Amazon could have their own competitor to Uber and Lyft with Zoox controlled self-driving vehicles. – David Welch
But who wants to own and manage the fleet? Does someone buy Hertz out of bankruptcy to carve out an autonomous vehicle management business? Or does Penske expand outside of trucks into autonomous vehicles?
Rounding out the fleet management conversation, Grayson asks David to share his thoughts on the Great Pivot from Self-Driving Cars to Self-Driving Trucks. The two discuss the economics of self-driving trucks and how the business has a path to profitability.
Did this path to profitability, impact Waymo’s decision to introduce self-driving trucks as the Waymo Via service? Grayson and David discuss Alphabet’s appetite to continue investing in Waymo without revenue.
When Alphabet breaks out Waymo revenue for the first time, it will have a positive impact on Alphabet’s stock price. One just has to look to the time when Amazon broke out AWS (Amazon Web Services) revenue and the impact the revenue breakout had on Amazon’s stock.
While Waymo is developing the Waymo Driver, Embark, Kodiak, and TuSimple have been focused solely on trucking from day one. Does this give them a competitive advantage? Perhaps.
Grayson and David go on to discuss the Universal Driver debate and how developing autonomous technologies for trucks operating on highways is different than developing the tech for dense urban environments such as San Francisco.
Staying on the theme of companies that are developing the Universal Driver, Grayson and David discuss Aurora and their many pivots. The two discuss Aurora’s business model and their seemingly never-ending stream of partnerships with no commercially viable products. Evolving into a larger discussion, the two discuss the need for partnerships in the autonomous vehicle industry.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson asks David when Tata Motors will make a move and introduce self-driving Jaguars and Land Rover Range Rovers through a partnership with an autonomous vehicle company.
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Jordan Coleman, General Counsel and Vice President of Policy, Kodiak Robotics joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss autonomous trucking logistics.
The conversation begins with Jordan talking about his journey from corporate lawyer to start-up lawyer. His love of being a lawyer and working on transformative technology and what happened when Kodiak Robotics Co-Founders, Don Burnette, and Paz Eshel asked Jordan to join Kodiak as General Counsel.
As my parents like to say, I was a lawyer when I was two-years old at the dinner table, well before I ever went to law school. – Jordan Coleman
Expanding upon the dinner table conversation, Grayson asks Jordan to dive into family dinners and to share his insight into what his family would discuss over dinner. Jordan credits his parents and family for encouraging him to explore intellectual curiosity and have healthy debates.
My dinner table was a debate club, my dinner table was public speaking 101 and my dinner table was definitely law school 101. – Jordan Coleman
The conversation evolves from the dinner table to a discussion on why autonomous trucks and what problems autonomous trucks can solve. The impact autonomous trucks will have on the economy and society as a whole.
The economy can not function well without a well functioning logistics system. – Jordan Coleman
Autonomous trucks will make the roadways of the United States safer for every single driver and passenger on the road. Autonomous trucks will be safer than human drivers as they do not get distracted, they do not drink and drive and they do not tailgate.
For individuals who grew up in the ’80s with a third-row rear-facing seat in the back of their parent’s station wagons commonly known as the way-back, don’t worry your children will still be able to play the “Truck Honk Game”.
There is nothing more mom and apple pie Americana than pulling the old air horn sign and the truck honking that horn. – Jordan Coleman
The perception team at Kodiak is actively working on ensuring that when a child does the “Truck Honk” arm pull, the autonomous truck will honk.
In addition to working on the “Truck Honk”, Kodiak is actively delivering loads in Texas and learning how to operate in Texas. Kodiak is developing a technology that is solving pain-points and ensuring customer happiness.
While Kodiak is purely focused on highway driving for autonomous trucks, a majority of the autonomous industry is focused on passenger vehicles in dense urban environments such as San Fransisco. San Fransisco is a notoriously complex city to drive in (both human and autonomously), not to mention a stringent regulatory environment.
With the uncertainty around business models and the complexity of driving in dense urban environments, Grayson asks Jordan about “The Great Pivot to Autonomous Trucking” and why companies are pivoting from passenger vehicles to trucks.
Part of the pivot is being driven by the economics of autonomous trucking as there is a clear path to profitability. The other part of the pivot is being driven by the fact that autonomous highway driving is an easier problem to solve than driving in dense urban environments.
Then there is the opportunity based on trends, the growth of e-commerce, and cooking at home with farm-to-table ingredients. These goods and ingredients are shipped to consumer homes on trucks.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Jordan discuss the economics of autonomous trucks, the trend of asset-light businesses, and why autonomous trucking as-a-service will become a reality in the future.
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Russ Mitchell who covers the rapidly changing global auto industry (with special emphasis on California, including Tesla, electric vehicles, and driverless cars) at The Los Angeles Times once again joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss California’s Electric Future.
The conversation begins with a discussion about California Governor Newsom’s executive order to phase out gasoline-powered cars. Why this was politically savvy to appeal to the climate front, but the uncertainly that this will cause around the economics as an electric vehicle costs on average 30% more than a gasoline-powered car.
Grayson and Russ go onto discuss why this might create a grey market for gasoline-powered cars and what the supply chain for electric vehicles currently looks like in the Congo and China.
Following on this topic, they go onto discuss the conditions in which these minerals are mined, and if consumers will take the same active approach to blood cobalt as they took to blood diamonds and demand ethical mining.
Russ who lives in Berkeley, CA says that his friends who drive electric vehicles have not even thought about the ethical mining of cobalt. Companies are currently focused on shoring up the mineral supply chain at the moment.
While the supply chain and the ethical mining of minerals for electric vehicles remain a concern, the bigger question still remains: “How do you recycle electric vehicle batteries”. Grayson and Russ go onto to discuss this issue and how EV batteries can be reused for backup batteries for homes.
In California, Toyota and Honda were the top two selling brands in 2019, accounting for over 30% of all new vehicles sold in the State. Grayson and Russ go onto discuss why Toyota and Honda have to start investing in fully-electric vehicles today to not lose market share in California when new gasoline-powered car sales are banned.
In the late 2000s, the Toyota Prius was the “It Car” when it became a Hollywood status symbol thanks in-part to Leonardo DiCaprio who was driven to the 2008 Oscars in a Prius. Not to mention the thousands of photographs of him driving around LA in the car.
Today, Toyota no longer has the “It Car”, but they popularized the idea of driving an environmentally friendly car. The current “It Car” is Tesla.
While California may be on the edge of emerging trends, consumers are still not sold on electric cars. Only 2% of the 17 million light cars and trucks sold in the United States in 2019 were electric.
Could this be due to charging and charge time? Grayson and Russ discuss why consumers want to charge quickly and efficiently. This conversation raises the question, can the energy grid handle an increase in new electric vehicles?
With new electric vehicles coming on the market, Grayson and Russ discuss what the market would look like without Tesla’s Model 3. They go on to discuss how Elon Musk built Tesla into a brand that is a lifestyle choice for millions of individuals.
Grayson goes onto discuss how Elon Musk captured the public’s imagination that an electric can be cool, part of your lifestyle, accessible and approachable.
This evolved into a deep conversation about Tesla and what Elon has to do to continue to dominate the public’s imagination on electric vehicles. While the public’s imagination is important, quality control is even more important.
Wrapping up the conversation, they discuss the current state of the electric vehicle market and when brands such as Porsche, Land Rover, and Mercedes will make their big moves to gain EV market share from Tesla.
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Jesse Blumenthal, Vice President, Technology & Innovation, Stand Together and Director, Technology & Innovation at the Charles Koch Institute joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how innovation improves lives.
The conversation begins with a discussion around innovation in society and the positive impacts it has had throughout history.
Innovator used to be basically a synonym for a heretic. An innovator meant someone who challenge[s] the King or challenged the Church. – Jesse Blumenthal
As more individuals are able to try new things, there are more attempts at innovation which has a positive impact on society. Following on this trend, the conversation expands to platforms and how they grow knowledge in society through access to information.
Today billions of individuals around the world access information through a simple search or a scroll of a newsfeed. But in 1992, that was not the case as only 10 million individuals around the world had Internet access. In 1994, only 24% of Americans had a computer at their home.
During the Clinton Administration, President Clinton and Vice President Gore encouraged the private sector to lead on the internet and develop technologies that will help usher in the “New Economy”.
It is the policy of the United States that the private sector should lead on the internet. Internet innovation should be lead by the private sector and not the public sector.
During the mid-’90s, consumers did not have a credit card on file. There was a healthy level of skepticism about doing business online. This all changed when the Clinton Administration stepped up and lead on innovation.
Staying on the topic of policy and innovation, Grayson and Jesse discuss the AV Start Act and why a national framework for autonomous vehicles is needed. Individuals do not think about driving from Boston to New Hampshire, but without a national framework, they will have to as the autonomous vehicle will not be able to travel over State lines.
While there is the national issue of an autonomous vehicle framework, there is the California State issue of Prop 22 and AB5. AB5 came to be law because of special interests and their desire to curtail the rapidly growing gig economy.
While special interests and the politicians who they back are trying to slow down innovation, entrepreneurs across America continue to innovate and look to the future.
Tech Moves Faster than Government and that is a good thing. – Jesse Blumenthal
Staying on topic. Grayson and Jesse discuss the politics of ride-sharing, the gig economy, and the economic impact on society. The gig economy gives individuals flexibility and voters value flexibility.
With voters valuing flexibility, they also value their privacy. Apple has clearly demonstrated that consumers value privacy. While this approach works for Apple, it might not work for other companies.
Apple’s approach to privacy will benefit the company if and when they decide to introduce an autonomous vehicle service.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson and Jesse discuss what can be done to ensure that America continues to lead on innovation. Innovation that will improve lives and create new opportunities for entrepreneurs to build companies with outcome-based approaches.
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John Rossant, Founder & CEO of Commotion and Chairman of the NewCities Foundation joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast for a global conversation about mobility and cities.
The conversation begins with a discussion around public transportation in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. Grayson and John discuss the culture of cities and why this is one of the main defining factors of how and why public transportation is used in cities around the world.
From a discussion around culture and public transportation, Grayson shifts the conversation back to Paris where John started his career as the Europe Editor of BusinessWeek. While in the City of Lights, John saw the oncoming decline of print and joined the Publicis Groupe after a meeting and long negotiation with Maurice Lévy.
After several years of leading communications and public affairs, John became Executive Chairman of PublicisLive, producer of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. John shares his insights into Davos and how logistically challenging it is to put on the World Economic Forum each and every year.
Putting that all together is like putting a man on the moon in terms of complexity. – John Rossant
Staying on the theme of the World Economic Forum, Grayson asks John to share his thoughts on the 2021 WEF Theme; “The Great Reset“. John shares his thoughts on what a dense urban environment will look like in a post-COVID world.
The conversation veers into a conversation about travel and virtual reality. John believes the future will be defined in a metaverse world. Grayson follows up by asking John about what impact a metaverse world will have on cities.
I find the idea of putting on a headset and walking down a canal in Venice in a three-dimensional way is pretty interesting. – John Rossant
Keeping with a global flair, the conversation shifts into Saudi Arabi where Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud is developing a city for the 21st Century with 21st Century technology from the ground up called NEOM.
NEOM imagines a city that does not have to built around the motor car. In fact, there won’t be a place in NEOM for the individually owned motor car. – John Rossant
The idea of NEOM is to build a city from the ground-up that takes into account two of the big mega-trends of the modern world: mobility and energy.
Combining all of John’s career experiences, John and Grayson discuss the founding on CoMotion and why John chose to build the company in LA.
If LA could change, any city could change. – John Rossant
Staying on the theme of LA, they discuss what LA will look like in the future and the role Urban Air Mobility will play in moving goods and individuals around the city.
With the 2028 Summer Olympics coming to LA, they discuss what transportation will look like for spectators who come to LA to enjoy the experience of watching the Olympic Games in-person.
Wrapping up the conversation, John shares his vision on the future of mobility and cities.
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James Wu, CEO & Co-Founder of DeepMap joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss mega-trends, high-precision maps, and DeepMap’s privacy-first approach to HD Maps.
In this episode, Grayson and James discuss HD mapping and how HD maps are enabling all SAE Levels of autonomy. The conversation starts with James discussing why he founded DeepMap with Mark Wheeler in 2016 and the opportunity they saw in the market to increase HD map efficiency.
The self-driving car problem is really hard. Hardest of all is driving without a map. It is an unsolved problem today. - James Wu, CEO & Co-Founder, DeepMap
Without a highly accurate map that updates in real-time, self-driving cars do not have a prior understanding of the environment. Self-driving cars use HD maps to increase efficiency and safety.
A 2019 Harvard Business School Case Study on DeepMap detailed the following:
Self-driving is not just a technology challenge. It’s also an economic challenge, an infrastructure challenge, a public safety challenge, and a marketing challenge.
This challenge is shared amongst every organization working on self-driving technology. DeepMap is betting big on the trend towards a self-driving future. We firmly believe mapping is critical for increased safety and reliability, at an affordable cost.
James Wu, CEO & Co-Founder, DeepMap as featured in the Harvard Business School Case Study: DeepMap: Charting the Road Ahead For Autonomous Vehicles (2019)
It is not just Harvard Business School that is taking notice, Wall Street is also paying attention. Goldman Sachs invested in DeepMap as part of its Series B round in 2019. James speaks about what it is like to have Goldman Sachs as an investor.
[Goldman Sachs] is able to offer us a broader of the global market for autonomy. They also provide support for strategic partners. - James Wu, CEO & Co-Founder, DeepMap
The investment in DeepMap was not Goldman Sachs’ first investment in autonomy. In 2007, Goldman invested $100 million in Mobileye. Mobileye was later acquired by Intel for $15.3 billion in 2017.
DeepMap’s mapping service provides a solution for all levels of autonomy.
We must get L2 + right if we are going to reach Level 4 or 5. - James Wu, CEO & Co-Founder, DeepMap
HD Maps enhance the safety and reliability of Level 2 autonomy for drivers around the world. The conversation then naturally evolves into how to create an HD map and how the map updates in real-time.
Bringing the conversation back to the business of mapping, Grayson asks James why he made the decision to focus on privacy by allowing DeepMap’s customers to own the data generated by DeepMap’s HD mapping service.
Closing out the conversation, Grayson asks James what the future holds for DeepMap.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer, TuSimple joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss TuSimple's culture of safety and innovation.
In this episode, Grayson and Chuck start by discussing the economics of applying autonomy to fleets of trucks. Grayson asks Chuck if TuSimple ever considered creating a self-driving car.
In the founding of TuSimple, Chuck discusses why the founding team focused solely on trucking from day one. The team saw a difference in the economics of self-driving trucks.
We did see a difference. We saw that there were specific economic pain points in trucking. Robotaxis were solving a problem that didn't appear to exist.
It was a fantasy, it was science fiction. It was a future were cities did not have to have individually owned cars. Where parking issues would be resolved. This is a grand vision without clear economic drivers. - Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer, TuSimple
The conversation then veers into the universal driver debate and the great pivot to self-driving trucks from self-driving cars. Chuck shared his open and honest opinion on the universal driver.
I do not believe there is such a thing as a universal driver. It's a marketing term. - Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer, TuSimple
Wrapping up the conversation around the economics of self-driving trucks and why the universal driver is not the correct approach, the conversation shifts to TuSimple's culture of safety and innovation.
TuSimple has a corporate culture of safety which they call 'SafeGuard". SafeGuard applies to every single employee in the company no matter what their job function or title is. From the individuals working on the trucks to the engineers writing the code to the executives leading corporate strategy, each and every employee is measured on their contribution to safety.
What Did You Do To Contribute to Safety? - Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer, TuSimple
Safety is built into every aspect of what the company does, from the office to the depots to the on-road deployments. Drivers and safety engineers (Left and Right Seaters) go through six months of formal training before they are even able to touch the autonomy in the truck. Each and every safety driver goes through a drug test prior to being allowed in the vehicle.
TuSimple treats it's drivers as Blue Angels as the company requires them to operate at the highest ability at all-times. When drivers and safety engineers leave the depot, they are monitored in real-time with in-cabin monitoring and drive cams to ensure the highest level of safety.
The culture of safety and innovation is attracting partners such as UPS, Penske, U.S. Xpress, and McLane Company Inc. to work with TuSimple. As TuSimple scales, the company is working with Navistar to develop SAE Level 4 self-driving trucks at the factory which are safety certified.
Rounding out the conversation, Grayson and Chuck talk about the economics of self-driving trucks and how TuSimple Self-Driving Trucks can show an ROI after the first 24 months of purchase.
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Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, Automotive News, and Host of the Shift Podcast joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss brands, experiences, and the future of mobility.
In this episode, Grayson and Pete explore how autonomous vehciles will create new opportunities for brands to develop and curate bespoke frictionless experiences.
From sports to outdoor adventures to luxury experiences, in the future, you will no longer have to worry about forgetting to pack an item for your trip.
If you are taking a branded self-driving car to a football game, the vehicle will be stocked with all of the items you need for tailgating experience. No more worrying about who will be the designated driver, no more worrying about traffic or who is going to go to the store. The entire experience will be managed by the sports team.
Continuing on the brand theme, Pete and Grayson discuss how FCA created shareholder value by spinning out Ferrari as a publicly traded company. The conversation then veers into the value of the JEEP brand and if FCA might spin JEEP out as a separately publicly traded company as well.
Could FCA make the decision to spin-out JEEP and then announce and all-electric JEEP to capture the market’s excitement for electric vehicles and better position the company to compete with Rivian?
The conversation then evolves into a deep dive discussion around electric vehicles, the EV supply chain and the current state of the EV market. What automaker will make the most strategic move to capture market share? Did GM outmaneuver Ford on electric vehicle strategy? Pete and Grayson debate and discuss EV strategies and how these strategies will effect the future of autonomy.
Rounding out the conversation, they discuss the industry’s desire to have passengers face each other in SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles. Where the autonomous vehicle industry is heading and what the future holds for autonomy.
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Mike Murphy, Political Strategist and Co-Host of Hacks on Taps joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the political implications of California's Prop 22 on the rideshare industry and the gig economy.
In this episode, Grayson and Mike dive deep into California politics, as Mike pulls back the curtain on how a referendum campaign is managed. While trends fashion trends might start in California, political trends also start there and spread across the globe.
With the introduction and passing of AB5 in 2019, politicians in California declared war on jobs and the gig economy. Prop 22 is on the ballot for November 2020, which would define rideshare and delivery drivers as independent contractors.
As we dive deep into policy, Mike discusses how political consultants are in the back-channel discussion business. The fine line they walk before scrambling to launch a political initiative.
This is why it is always a smart idea to play tough from the beginning. It saves, time, headaches, and money.
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Jody Kelman, Director of Product Management, Self-Driving Platform, Lyft joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why self-driving cars are creating a better world.
In this episode, Grayson and Jody discuss curiosity and how it led to Jody securing an internship in the Irish Government during college. After graduating from college, Jody packed up once again and headed to Uganda to join a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
From a global curiosity conversation to a United States Presidential Transition, Jody has a deep understanding of global affairs and society in general.
Bringing the conversation full-circle, we shift into why it is important to take the first meeting with interesting individuals and how that openness led to Jody and Grayson’s friendship.
The conversation then shifts to a hyper-local conversation focused on self-driving developments. As Lyft beings to roll-out self-driving technology, the company is working to ensure a safe, clean ride experience.
From the student who can now visit a museum to an entrepreneur who opens an autonomous in-vehicle nail-salon. The possibilities of what self-driving cars can enable are endless.
For children, self-driving cars can unlock unlimited possibilities to experience new learning environments leading to a life long love of learning and curiosity.
Curiosity can take you around the world. Curiosity can take you to the ocean to study marine biology. Curiosity will take you anywhere you want to go. The Lyft self-driving network will make unlocking curiosity possible for millions of individuals around the United States.
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Jonny Morris, Head of Policy at Embark Trucks joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the intersection of policy, regulation, and technology.
In this episode, Grayson and Jonny discuss the regulatory environment and the misconceptions around self-driving trucks. Jonny discusses the hurdles that need to be overcome before trucks are regularly driving autonomously on public roads around the United States.
Building upon Jonny's background in The White House we dive into policy and discuss how self-driving trucks will create new jobs. With Embark's transfer hub strategy, Embark is creating new jobs in the trucking industry.
The Embark model is a transfer hub model that combines the strengths of the traditional truck driver with the strengths of an automated driving system. The automated driving system does not get distracted and can drive long periods of time. When the self-driving truck arrives at an Embark transfer hub, a traditional driver takes the load for the final mile of delivery.
Innovation is a Good Thing. Innovation is a Job Creator.
- Jonny Morris, Head of Policy, Embark Trucks
Embark is solving a problem by playing to strengths of the current state of automation. Continuing the conversation, Jonny and Grayson discuss the jobs that will be created by self-driving trucks. Why the industry has historically not attracted women and the economics of self-driving trucks.
Closing out the conversation, Jonny offers his advice on Self-Driving Trucks to Democratic Presidential Nominee, Joe Biden.
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Gopal Rajegowda, Senior Vice President at Related and a Managing Partner of Related Urban-Southeast joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss how Related is developing for an autonomous future. In this episode, Grayson and Gopal discuss reimagining City Place in West Palm Beach, FL into Rosemary Square and the future of retail experiences.
Gopal touches on the work Related did with Gehl to reimage public spaces, optimize green spaces, walkability all the while ensuring that the environment is welcoming and approachable for all ages. Continuing the conversation, Grayson and Gopal discuss the rumor that City Place was one of Rick Caruso’s inspirations for The Grove in Los Angeles, CA.
Following up on this, they dive into the trend of walkable mix-use developments that incorporate great retail brands, culinary experiences, and hotels into developments. Building on their discussion around culinary experiences, they take a step into the past as Gopal tells a story about negotiating with Chef Thomas Keller to open Per Se at The Shops at Columbus Circle.
Stepping into the future, Grayson leads the conversation towards turning culinary experiences upside down by bundling a mobility service with a fine-dining experience and why that could happen in Florida at a Related development. Enhancing the customer experience by bundling a mobility service with fine-dining is extreme hospitality. Benefiting both the owners and customers.
Highlighting the experience at Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago, Grayson ponders what the experience would be like if Chef Achatz could curate the experience in an autonomous vehicle before a guest even steps foot in the restaurant. Closing out the conversation, Gopal discusses the common notion that you never have a second chance to make a first impression and how art has transformative powers in communities.
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Russ Mitchell who covers the rapidly changing global auto industry, with special emphasis on California, including Tesla, electric vehicles and driverless cars at The Los Angeles Times joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the business of self-driving cars.
In this episode, Grayson and Russ discuss the business of self-driving cars, Tesla’s bulls vs bears and Waymo’s recently announced $2.25 billion investment round from outside investors. As the funding conversation evolves, they touch on the possibility of Alphabet breaking out Waymo revenue and spinning out Waymo as a new publicly-traded company.
Concluding their conversation, Grayson and Russ discuss the self-driving car industry at-large being based in California and the reluctance of officials in California to embrace the business side of self-driving cars. They also touch on the TSLAQ debate and the industry’s pivot to trucking and how self-driving trucks will transform the shipment of goods.
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Christopher Emmanuel, Director of Infrastructure & Governance Policy and Director of Autonomous Florida, Florida Chamber of Commerce joins Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast following an afternoon spent at the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, FL.
On the inaugural episode of The Road To Autonomy, Grayson Brulte sits down with Christopher Emmanuel, Director of Infrastructure & Governance Policy and Director of Autonomous Florida to discuss the innovations that Henry Morrison Flagler developed with The Florida East Coast Railway/Florida East Coast Hotel Companies and the impact that Flagler’s legacy has had on Florida.
Building on Flagler’s Florida legacy (which was mainly focused on hospitality and tourism) the conversation evolves into what many consider the modern-day The Florida East Coast Railway Company - Brightline (Virgin Trains). Concluding their conversation, Grayson and Christopher discuss Disney and the value of the Disney brand as it directly relates to the future of mobility in Florida.
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