Autonocast

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.

For much of the last few years, autonomous robotaxis were simply presumed to be a technological problem whose economics would be easily competitive. Now, with human-driven ridehailing still struggling to turn a profit, more and more companies are realizing that the robotaxi business won't necessarily be an easy one. Perhaps the best view of the robotaxi's economic challenge comes from Ashley Nunes, a Harvard researcher whose study of autonomous taxi economics in San Francisco revealed that the massive margins once anticipated will be tough to deliver on, and that maximizing utilization will be the key to a viable business. Nunes joins the show to explain his research, explore the underlying assumptions and discuss the business case challenges ahead for autonomous ride hailing.

Joshua Schachter is well-known in the mobility tech world as a savvy angel and venture capitalist, but not everyone knows that he (more specifically, his "Self-Racing Cars" event) played a major role in making The Autonocast happen. On today's episode, we discuss the mobility tech investing environment, how Joshua analyzes potential investments and how Self-Racing Cars came to be the AV sector's punk rock event. For more information on how to attend this year's Self Racing Cars, check out selfracingcars.com.

Teleoperation used to be seen as the autonomous drive sector's dirty little secret, the kind of capability that stoked suspicion about the readiness of the technology. Ironically, as AVs get closer and closer to maturity the need for teleoperation capabilities is becoming increasingly normalized as a fundamental part of the stack. At this year's CES, Ed spoke with the leadership of Phantom Auto, a leader in the teleoperation and remote guidance space, to find out how their business is evolving.

Fresh off the heels of tumultuous hype cycles in both shared electric scooters and autonomous vehicles, the idea of "riderless scooters" can seem like the immaculate hypeball. But, as today's episode shows, the ability to move shared scooters remotely is actually a meaningful potential solution to the operational challenges facing shared scooter companies. Dmitry Shevelenko of the scooter teleoperations company Tortoise joins the crew to explain the economic and technological opportunity underlying his vision of riderless scooters.

David Estrada has been on the cutting edge of new mobility tech regulation for years, handling legal and government affairs duties at companies like the Google Chauffeur project, Lyft, Bird and now the autonomous delivery company Nuro. Estrada joins the show this week to discuss his history in the space, where autonomous drive regulation is headed and his latest achievement: an FMVSS waiver for Nuro's R2 delivery bot.

During a recent trip to the Bay Area, Ed got a ride in a Zoox development vehicle and came away surprisingly impressed with its autonomous driving capabilities in a tough domain. Immediately following the ride he recorded a conversation with Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson about the challenges of developing an AV in San Francisco, the technology that enables his stack's impressive performance and his improvisational piano skills. Alex and Kirsten also grill Ed about his Zoox ride and the gang discusses the challenges Zoox faces despite all its technical prowess.

If you know anything about autonomous drive technology, you probably know the name Chris Urmson. From Carnegie Mellon's DARPA Grand and Urban Challenge teams to head of Google's Chauffeur program (now Waymo) and now as co-founder and CEO of Aurora, Urmson has been in the thick of AV development since its earliest days. He joins The Autonocast for the first time, recorded live as the annual CES party gathered steam, to discuss what he's learned at the forefront of this new technology and where he sees it going.

Cruise's mysterious "Beyond The Car" event turns out to have been the reveal of its first dedicated robotaxi, the Origin. Both Ed and Kirsten were on hand for the reveal, and share their impressions and analysis of the first production-intent autonomous mobility device by a major Level 4 AV developer. Alex provides the critical perspective (disclosure: he works for a competitor), prompting a lively debate about AV strategy, positioning and communication.

As Aptiv's President of Autonomous Mobility, Karl Iagnemma now finds himself at the head of a massive $4 billion joint venture with Hyundai Motor Company. The former NuTonomy founder is one of the quiet heroes of self-driving, having spearheaded the first AV deployment in Singapore and led Aptiv into an industry-leading position. Joining the show from the Autonocast suite prior to their CES 2020 party, Iagnemma discusses everything from AV development to his turn as an author and novelist.

Having worked in everything from manufacturing and engineering to marketing, John Krafcik saw the auto industry from almost every possible angle before becoming the CEO of Alphabet's Waymo division. Now, as head of one of the leading self-driving technology outfits, he's taking on a whole new set of challenges. In an extended conversation recorded just before The Autonocast's 2020 CES party, Krafcik talks moonshots, business models, partnerships and much, much more.

With the Autonocats still recovering from the annual grindfest that is CES, they discuss the most important trends and developments highlighted at the show and preview the episodes that will be running in the coming weeks. Topics range from the infamous annual party, which produced conversations with top AV leaders like Waymo's John Krafcik, Aptiv's Karl Iagnemma and Aurora's Chris Urmson, to Rivian's surprising popularity, and the importance of ADAS and teleoperation. If you missed CES this year, this is your chance to view it through the eyes of The Autonocats.

With a new year upon us, Alex, Kirsten and Ed pull out their crystal balls and try to predict what might play out during 2020. From the continued rise of ADAS and commercial applications of autonomous drive technology to potential acquisitions, a deployment "land grab" and yes, the "million robotaxis" thing, the gang maps out what they see coming in the world of automated driving. Get your timestamps out, and we'll see you back here next year to see how many of these predictions actually panned out.