Will autonomous vehicles save us from COVID-19? You may have seen some stories that seem to imply that they will, but which fall apart if you poke at them a little. Kirsten, Damon and Ed figure that this is just another part of the broader problems with autonomous drive technology PR, and that how we think and talk about self-driving vehicles need to change. Plus, the Honda-GM EV tie-up occasions the opportunity to discuss what does and doesn't work in auto industry relationships.
On this week's Autonocast discussion episode: Alex denies responsibility for the crash of a tuned supercar in Manhattan, Kirsten reports on mobility tech company layoffs, Ed wonders how many cities are taking this opportunity to reboot their relationships with mobility providers, and Damon maintains his unflappably bemused demeanor.
Because mobility is so foundational to society, rethinking it requires a broad, multidisciplinary approach. As a former EV engineer at GM, a former investor for GM Ventures and the founder and former COO of the autonomous shuttle startup May Mobility, Alisyn Malek has precisely that kind of big-picture perspective. She joins the show to discuss the state of mobility tech, alternatives to VC funding for startups in the space, the challenge of matching product and infrastructure "clock speed" with rapid software innovation and much more.
COVID-19 continues to take its toll, as the gang is a little extra quarantine-drunk in this discussion episode. Alex, Kirsten, Damon and Ed jump around between topics as diverse as: Cannonball Runs in the time of COVID, self-disinfecting bikes, the anti-touchscreens-in-cars backlash, cringey Model Y "off-roading" videos, and the emissions standard rollback. Buckle up!
With so much pessimism in the world of autonomous drive technology, we thought we'd highlight a company that has built a solid, customer-focused business around automated vehicles. Nancy Post is the Director of John Deere's Intelligent Solutions Group, and has been working on the agricultural machinery giant's automation systems for decades. She explains how John Deere's automation efforts started, how they have evolved, and where they are going now.
The collapse of Starsky Robotics has been the subject of rumor and speculation in the autonomous drive technology world for months, but now founder Stefan Seltz-Axmacher is ready to set the record straight. He joins The Autonocast to discuss his recent blog post on The Fall of Starsky, the lessons learned from his time running a startup, where the autonomy and trucking spaces are going, and what he's doing next.
Founding Autonocast co-host Damon Lavrinc is back from a stint working at a variety of mobility companies, and he's come at a time when there is so much to think about and discuss. On this classic wide-ranging discussion episode, the gang considers the seismic shocks running through the mobility tech world, which companies are surprisingly well-positioned, which need to rethink things, where they can pivot to, and how long some can survive. Plus: what happens to urbanism in a pandemic, how design will evolve, why Waymo's fundraising round matters, what killed Starsky and much more.
Every year, the Navigant Research Autonomous Leaderboard report ranks the various players in the autonomous mobility space and every year it prompts much wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans of companies who trail in the rankings. To help explain the factors that go into these rankings and the methodologies used measure them, we are joined by the report's author Sam Abuelsamid. A widely-respected analyst covering autos and autonomy, Sam was last on The Autonocast back in January of 2018 when he explained that year's Leaderboard in episode #47.
With COVID-19 bringing any sense of normalcy to an abrupt end, the gang pauses their recent parade of high-profile guests in favor of an old-fashioned discussion episode. Between some of the big recent headlines in mobility and the still-evolving impact of certain novel viruses, there's a lot to discuss in this week's wide-ranging conversation. Ed explains how EV technology allows GM to revisit the brand brand strategy that built (and nearly destroyed) its US-market dominance, Kirsten shares her reflections on post-coronavirus "design for operations" for autonomous vehicles, and Alex rants from an undisclosed location, where he is currently in full-blown prepper mode.