122: Looking Back At 2016, Plus Hotz On Pronto
As another year winds to a close, we look back not just on the last year but on the changes that have swept the autonomous drive technology space from 2016 through 2018. Two years ago, self-driving cars were at the peak of their hype and as we examine the past we discuss what we've learned along the way. Plus, the one and only George Hotz joins in to discuss the return of Mr 2016 himself, Anthony Levandowski, who is back with another autonomous drive startup apparently built (at least in part) on Hotz's open-source technology.
As another year winds to a close, we look back not just on the last year but on the changes that have swept the autonomous drive technology space from 2016 through 2018. Two years ago, self-driving cars were at the peak of their hype and as we examine the past we discuss what we've learned along the way. Plus, the one and only George Hotz joins in to discuss the return of Mr 2016 himself, Anthony Levandowski, who is back with another autonomous drive startup apparently built (at least in part) on Hotz's open-source technology.
121: Oliver Cameron of Voyage
It's not often that the entire Autonocast crew gets fanboyish, but when it comes to Voyage we tend to lose our cool a little. That's because Voyage has built a business that takes into account both autonomy's greatest opportunities to help people and a realistic view of its limitations. By deploying autonomous vehicles in retirement communities, Voyage keeps its system operating in a limited domain while helping people who aren't well-served by cars be more mobile. On this week's show, we are joined by Voyage co-founder and CEO Oliver Cameron, who explains how Voyage grew out of the online university Udacity, how it identified retirement homes as an ideal domain for AVs and where the company is headed.
It's not often that the entire Autonocast crew gets fanboyish, but when it comes to Voyage we tend to lose our cool a little. That's because Voyage has built a business that takes into account both autonomy's greatest opportunities to help people and a realistic view of its limitations. By deploying autonomous vehicles in retirement communities, Voyage keeps its system operating in a limited domain while helping people who aren't well-served by cars be more mobile. On this week's show, we are joined by Voyage co-founder and CEO Oliver Cameron, who explains how Voyage grew out of the online university Udacity, how it identified retirement homes as an ideal domain for AVs and where the company is headed.
120: Assessing Uber and Lyft's Upcoming IPOs
After catching up on their latest travels and briefly discussing the launch of Waymo One and the release of some intriguing new Waymo research, Ed and Kirsten are joined by Nathaniel Horadam of the Center for Transportation and the Environment to discuss his perspective on the upcoming Uber and Lyft IPOs. A lot is riding on these public offerings, which could be some of the biggest ever seen in the technology world (let alone mobility technology) but which also face some tough questions. Nathaniel walks us through some of his questions about their business model, in particular the issues related to a tightening labor market and rising interest rates, as we try to anticipate the issues that these highly-anticipated IPOs could raise.
After catching up on their latest travels and briefly discussing the launch of Waymo One and the release of some intriguing new Waymo research, Ed and Kirsten are joined by Nathaniel Horadam of the Center for Transportation and the Environment to discuss his perspective on the upcoming Uber and Lyft IPOs. A lot is riding on these public offerings, which could be some of the biggest ever seen in the technology world (let alone mobility technology) but which also face some tough questions. Nathaniel walks us through some of his questions about their business model, in particular the issues related to a tightening labor market and rising interest rates, as we try to anticipate the issues that these highly-anticipated IPOs could raise.
119: The Magic Schoolbus Tour of Argo AI's Software Stack
Buckle up, kids! We're about to go on an educational journey through an autonomous drive software stack, with a little help from Argo AI. We talk to members of each of Argo's major teams—Mapping, Perception, Prediction, Planning—and learn about how each of them contribute to the autonomous drive system. Along the way we'll learn a little bit about some of the people who are making self-driving cars happen, and what it's like working on this fascinating problem.
Buckle up, kids! We're about to go on an educational journey through an autonomous drive software stack, with a little help from Argo AI. We talk to members of each of Argo's major teams—Mapping, Perception, Prediction, Planning—and learn about how each of them contribute to the autonomous drive system. Along the way we'll learn a little bit about some of the people who are making self-driving cars happen, and what it's like working on this fascinating problem.
118: Inside Argo AI
On our recent field trip to Pittsburgh's Robocar Row, we were welcomed into the inner sanctum at Argo AI (which is still redolent of "new startup smell") for a frank discussion with the up-and-coming full-stack developer's top brass. CEO Bryan Salesky, President Peter Rander and VP of Robotics Brett Browning took time from their busy schedules to discuss their development and testing regime, building a workplace culture that keeps complex development work moving together, the challenges and opportunities of testing in Pittsburgh and Miami, their conversations with potential partners and much more. Enjoy this exclusive look inside the nuts and bolts of robocar development and stay tuned for an upcoming episode in which Argo takes us on a tour through its stack, from mapping to perception to prediction to planning.
On our recent field trip to Pittsburgh's Robocar Row, we were welcomed into the inner sanctum at Argo AI (which is still redolent of "new startup smell") for a frank discussion with the up-and-coming full-stack developer's top brass. CEO Bryan Salesky, President Peter Rander and VP of Robotics Brett Browning took time from their busy schedules to discuss their development and testing regime, building a workplace culture that keeps complex development work moving together, the challenges and opportunities of testing in Pittsburgh and Miami, their conversations with potential partners and much more. Enjoy this exclusive look inside the nuts and bolts of robocar development and stay tuned for an upcoming episode in which Argo takes us on a tour through its stack, from mapping to perception to prediction to planning.
117: Catching Up For Thanksgiving
On the latest episode of The Autonocast: Ed is back from his around-the-world car factory tour, Kirsten is about to head to Berlin and Alex is busy reading... Business Insider? The crew gathers around the table for a feast of discussion, ranging from the state of automation in modern car factories to Uber Advanced Technology Group's apparent dysfunction and Elon Musk's new brick business. Plus we preview an upcoming conversation about what's changed in the AV space over the last two years and our visit to Argo AI in Pittsburgh.
On the latest episode of The Autonocast: Ed is back from his around-the-world car factory tour, Kirsten is about to head to Berlin and Alex is busy reading... Business Insider? The crew gathers around the table for a feast of discussion, ranging from the state of automation in modern car factories to Uber Advanced Technology Group's apparent dysfunction and Elon Musk's new brick business. Plus we preview an upcoming conversation about what's changed in the AV space over the last two years and our visit to Argo AI in Pittsburgh.
116: On Aurora Island
Ed, Alex and Kirsten sit down with four engineers at Aurora Innovation, who give us (and you) an inside view at the startup's culture, what they're working on and how they shut out all the distractions and noise while they try to solve and ultimately deploy self-driving vehicles.
Ed, Alex and Kirsten sit down with four engineers at Aurora Innovation, who give us (and you) an inside view at the startup's culture, what they're working on and how they shut out all the distractions and noise while they try to solve and ultimately deploy self-driving vehicles.
The Aurora team on this episode:
Davis King - Software Engineer
Clint Liddick - Software Engineer
Ethan Eade - Software Engineer
Dima Kislovskiy - Technical Program Manager
115: A Field Trip to the Robot City
The Autonocast heads to Pittsburgh to get a first-hand look at robot city — the home of Carnegie Mellon University and numerous autonomous vehicle test programs, including Aptiv, Argo AI Aurora and Uber ATG. In the first in a series of episodes on Pittsburgh, Ed, Alex and Kirsten recount their impressions and their first ride on public streets in Argo AI's autonomous vehicles.
The Autonocast heads to Pittsburgh to get a first-hand look at robot city — the home of Carnegie Mellon University and numerous autonomous vehicle test programs, including Aptiv, Argo AI Aurora and Uber ATG. In the first in a series of episodes on Pittsburgh, Ed, Alex and Kirsten recount their impressions and their first ride on public streets in Argo AI's autonomous vehicles.
114: What We Learned At Securing America's Future Energy's Innovation Summit on Autonomous Vehicles
The Autonocast was recently asked by our friends at Securing America's Future Energy to participate in their Innovation Summit on Autonomous Vehicles and Next Generation Transportation in Miami, Florida. The event, which SAFE put on in collaboration with Nexus Global, was a whirlwind tour of the most important issues surrounding autonomous vehicles and the future of mobility featuring a wide variety of voices including Uber, Voyage, Cruise Automation, Ford, the Department of Labor, the World Institute on Disability, transportation managers from Seattle and Long Beach, a pollster from the Mellman Group and more. At the end of a full day of insight and conversation, we recorded a discussion that opened with SAFE founder and CEO Robby Diamond and then brought in a variety of the people we'd heard from to summarize the most important issues that had surfaced throughout the summit. The result is a very special episode, covering a wide range of voices and ideas, that we hope brings you a taste of what was a very special event.
The Autonocast was recently asked by our friends at Securing America's Future Energy to participate in their Innovation Summit on Autonomous Vehicles and Next Generation Transportation in Miami, Florida. The event, which SAFE put on in collaboration with Nexus Global, was a whirlwind tour of the most important issues surrounding autonomous vehicles and the future of mobility featuring a wide variety of voices including Uber, Voyage, Cruise Automation, Ford, the Department of Labor, the World Institute on Disability, transportation managers from Seattle and Long Beach, a pollster from the Mellman Group and more. At the end of a full day of insight and conversation, we recorded a discussion that opened with SAFE founder and CEO Robbie Diamond and then brought in a variety of the people we'd heard from to summarize the most important issues that had surfaced throughout the summit. The result is a very special episode, covering a wide range of voices and ideas, that we hope brings you a taste of what was a very special event.