Autonocast

The Autonocast's cybersecurity week kicks off with another episode recorded while in Tel Aviv for Mobility Week. Featuring Yoav Levy and Dan Sahar, respectively Co-founder/CEO and Vice President of product at the Isreali cybersecurity firm Upstream, we learn about some of the threats facing cars today and how to address them. With 100 million connected cars on the road, many with little to no built-in security measures, the task ahead of automotive cybersecurity teams like Upstream is staggering.

George Hotz might just be the most interesting person in the autonomous drive technology space. The man who once hacked iPhones and Playstations turned to the goal of "winning autonomous cars" in 2015, and ever since he's been making waves with his bold statements and a development style that could hardly be more different than a traditional auto industry approach. Alex, Kirsten and Ed visited Hotz at his home and Comma.ai's headquarters in San Francisco, to discuss his spicy takes on the AV space and to learn more about Comma's recent developments and ultimate goals.

Big Data is one of those buzzwords that can make eyes instantly glaze over, but it's also a topic of massive importance to automakers and tech companies seeking to build out new business models. The opportunities to monetize mobility-derived data are enormous, but so too are the risks involved with handling data that can so easily strip away privacy or be used in invasive and annoying ways. To help walk us through the challenges and opportunities involved with automotive Big Data, we are joined by Yael Rivkind, the Director of Partnerships for one of the pioneering marketplaces for the data derived from connected vehicles: the Israeli firm Otonomo.

It appears that Anthony Levandowski is getting back in the autonomous drive space, according to Kirsten's latest scoop that uncovers his apparent involvement with an autonomous truck company called Kache.ai. We then discuss the good the bad and the ugly in the latest developments of the Tesla saga, and the race between Uber and Lyft to diversify into new multi-modal mobility options. Also, we'll be in San Francisco next week for the Autonomous Vehicle Symposium so if you'll be attending as well and want to meet up be sure to drop us a line.

Los Angeles might be a city built for cars, but it's become one of the first cities where the hot trend of on-demand micromobility has caught on. To help us understand the challenges and opportunities facing electric scooter sharing in LA and beyond, we are joined by David Estrada, the Chief Legal Officer of Bird. Estrada catches us up on the state of play in Los Angeles, where political challenges are leading to solutions that Bird hopes to apply to new cities as they continue their rapid expansion, and explains why some cities seem to embrace dockless scooter sharing more quickly than others. If you've been waiting for The Autonocast to do a micromobility issue, your wish has been granted... and be sure to stay tuned for more episodes on this fascinating new mobility segment.

This week, on the Autonocast's City Series, we look at mobility in one of the great car cities of the world: Los Angeles. We are joined by Seleta Reynolds of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, who is leading the city's efforts to transform from a city built by and for cars into one that embraces the new spectrum of mobility technologies. From traditional modes like public transit to autonomous cars and micromobility, Los Angeles is one of the great experiments for the mobility technology revolution.

The typical guests on The Autonocast is a mover-and-shaker in the auto industry or mobility technology space, often the founder or high-ranking officer of a company in the space and usually a seasoned professional of some kind. But while we were in Tel Aviv for Mobility Week, we came across two young men who do not fit into our typical guest profile but whose understanding of the space blew us away. Avi and Rafi are 13 year old twins, friends of the show (and the sons of a friend of the show), and sharp observers of both cars and mobility technology. Their precocious grasp of the issues and contrasting perspectives on some of the biggest controversies convinced us to record with them, and as you can hear on this episode we all had a blast. It's fascinating to imagine the world of mobility technology in which these young men will find themselves as adults, and based on their keen insights it's hard to imagine them not someday becoming exactly the kind of professional we typically have on the show. Hopefully in twenty years we'll still be recording Autonocast episodes, and these perceptive young men will be able to join us once again.

Sensor week rolls on here at The Autonocast, with an episode featuring Rani Wellingstein and Nate Meir of the lidar company Oryx Vision. From the technical weeds of these complex sensors to the high-level view of the market for autonomous drive and ADAS lidar systems, our guests this week will make you feel like an expert. Our only regret is that you all couldn't be with us at the seaside restaurant in beautiful Tel Aviv where we recorded this memorable episode.

One of the most fascinating things we found while talking to Israeli mobility companies during Mobility Week is that many of them never set out to get into the mobility space. For example, Arbe Robotics originally wanted to make sensors for drones, but found that there were regulatory challenges and that the opportunities in automotive made it an extremely promising sector. Arbe CEO Kobi Marenko sat down with Alex, Kirsten and Ed in Tel Aviv to explain his company's high-resolution radar technology, how "miracles are part of the plan" in Israel and why the future of mobility technology is so bright.

As the dangers and downsides of real-world testing of experimental autonomous drives systems become better understood, companies are turning to simulation to improve the speed and safety of their testing regimes. Helping them with this effort is Cognata, an Israeli company specializing in simulation for autonomous vehicle testing. Alex, Kirsten and Ed are joined in Tel Aviv by Cognata's founder and CEO Danny Atsmon and VP of Sales, Alon Podhurst, to explore and explain the virtual worlds their simulation technology creates.

Alex's mission to talk to everyone with a background in aviation and human-machine interfaces, Dr Missy Cummings joins the show to talk automation, safety and Tesla Autopilot. One of the first women fighter pilots, a former MIT Associate Professor and current Professor at Duke University's schools of Engineering and Brain Sciences, as well as the director of Duke's Humans and Autonomy Laboratory. Her thoughtful criticisms of "semi-autonomous" technology are informed by decades of academic research and deep experience with aviation automation, and they make for a memorable episode of The Autonocast.

As the major autonomous drive stack players focus on geofenced driverless (Level 4) deployments of their technology, it's become clear that a control option will be necessary for situations in which the AI breaks down or can't handle certain obstacles. The search for technology that can plug these holes has led to the rise of Phantom Auto, whose Israeli defense-sector technology allows for remote teleoperation over cellular networks. Phantom Auto's Elliot Katz and Jordan Sanders join the Autonocast to explain how their technology enables truly driverless deployments and who they are partnering with.

You-You Xue took early delivery of a Model 3, and rather than sit around the house for Winter break he decided to drive across the country and share his excitement for his new car. After touring the United States, giving hundreds of test drives to fellow fans and becoming an online sensation, he decided to take his Tesla Road Trip to Europe. But when his car crashed due to what he calls an Autopilot malfunction, suddenly his relationship with the driver assist system, Tesla and its fans became a lot more complicated. On this episode of the Autonocast, You-You explains what happened, how he got there, and what he hopes people learn from the situation.

Maniv Mobility is one of the top mobility-focused investment funds in the world, especially when it comes to identifying the best Israel-based mobility technology startups. On today's episode of The Autonocast, we are joined by Maniv partner Olaf Sakkers who jokes around a bit with Alex, Kirsten and Ed before getting into his perspective on the rapidly-evolving mobility technology landscape.

What is it like running a "full stack" autonomous drive company? What's it like coordinating an AD play with a major automaker? How does an AD company CEO think about "winning the race to autonomy"? On this episode of the Autonocast, the crew is joined by Bryan Salesky of Argo AI, who explains how he got into the space via the DARPA Urban Challenge, and how he and his partners at Ford are moving toward the autonomous future.