Autonocast
248 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★ - 105 ratingsA weekly show discussing the future of transportation Alex Roy, Edward Niedermeyer, and Kirsten Korosec
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
#254: Gary Marcus
June 22, 2022 20:51 - 54 minutes - 50 MBWith the internet abuzz over the firing of a Google engineer who came to believe that a company chatbot is sentient, AI expert and deep learning skeptic Gary Marcus joins Alex and Ed to discuss the state of artificial intelligence. From LaMDA's alleged sentience and the problems with the Turing Test to Gary's proposed bet with Elon Musk and AI's role in autonomous driving, this wide-ranging conversation explores some of the most interesting topics in technology.
#253: Avinash Rugoobur of Arrival
June 02, 2022 16:01 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBArrival is a fascinating company on the brink of putting its bold vision of "microfactory"-made vans, busses and ridehailing vehicles into production. President Avinash Rugoobur joins the show to explain how its 10,000 unit/year microfactories upend the established rules of automaking, how the products enable these dramatic changes and where the whole thing is headed.
#252: Taylor Ogan of Snowbull Capital
May 27, 2022 14:46 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBThe Autonocast gang were all together at Kirsten's TechCrunch Mobility Sessions event recently, where they finally met Taylor Ogan of Snowbull Capital in person. On this week's episode Taylor joins Alex, Kirsten and Ed to discuss the event, the autonomous vehicle renaissance in San Francisco, Snowbull's unique engagement in the online Tesla discussions and more.
#251: Twilight Of The Stonks
May 06, 2022 13:37 - 47.9 MBWith "growth tech" stocks falling generally, and mobility tech companies like Tesla, Lyft and Rivian specifically down since the start of the year, the gang discusses the changing economic conditions for the sector. Plus, everyone is excited to get back together in person and Ed (and only Ed) is excited about nomenclature standardization.
#250: Sarah Kaufman on AVs and Urbanism
April 22, 2022 16:08 - 53 minutes - 49 MBThe ability to drive in Manhattan has long been an informal benchmark for autonomous driving. But as the first AVs begin testing in the Big Apple they face an even bigger challenge: proving that they genuinely enhance mobility for everyone. This week Sarah Kaufman of NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation joins the show to discuss her work to ensure that AVs are good citizens of this great city.
#249: Patrick McGinty's Test Drive
April 08, 2022 13:31 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBGiven the technology's transformative potential, there is a surprising dearth of quality Science Fiction written about autonomous vehicles. Into that breach steps Patrick McGinty, whose upcoming novel "Test Drive" explores important themes related to AVs as it follows the lives of three test drivers in a climate crisis-stricken Pittsburgh of the near future. McGinty joins the gang to discuss his excellent new fiction, discuss a wide variety of topics, and make the case for renaissance in AV-r...
#248: Jason Torchinsky of The Autopian
March 24, 2022 16:33 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBJason Torchinsky is a true auto media Renaissance Man, covering everything from the weirdest cars you've never heard of to human factors in driving automation and the cosmology of the Pixar Cars franchise cinematic universe. Jason joins the gang this week to discuss all of these things and much more, including his incredibly exciting new website The Autopian (www.theautopian.com).
#247: David Zipper on AVs, Rising Road Deaths and More
March 17, 2022 12:52 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBFriend of the show and mobility pundit David Zipper makes his third appearance on The Autonocast to discuss his recent Washington Post OpEd on self-driving cars (see episode #245 for previous discussion). From there the conversation goes into hype cycles, economic development, the cause(s) of rising road deaths, the lack of results from "Vision Zero" plans in the US and more.
#246: Why The Rafaela Vasquez Story Matters
March 10, 2022 14:37 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBRafaela Vasquez, the woman behind the wheel during the 2018 crash of an Uber autonomous vehicle prototype, is facing criminal charges for her role in the industry-shaking incident. As we approach the 4-year anniversary of the event and restart of Vasquez's trial, Alex, Kirsten and Ed discuss WIRED's new reporting on the story, and why it is one of the most important stories in AVs and technology more broadly.
#245: Alex At The Wheel
March 05, 2022 16:22 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBThe one and only Alex Roy was fired up this week, leading the latest discussion episode through a whirlwind of meaty topics. From Kyle Vogt's return as Cruise CEO to the importance of community engagement for AV companies, and even the question of whether we should be developing driving automation technology at all, there is plenty to sink your teeth into this week.
#244: Jason Devitt and Tarani Duncan of Compound Eye
February 18, 2022 14:46 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBThe asinine "camera vs lidar" debates are blown apart into several, far more interesting pieces in this week's episode, as the gang is joined by longtime friend of the show Tarani Duncan and Jason Devitt, co-founder and CEO of Compound Eye. Discussion covers the multiple approaches to camera-based depth perception, the evolutionary vs ground-up approaches to autonomous vehicles, and a little lidar shade as a treat.
#243: Cruise Goes Live, Trust vs Trade Secrets, and Kirsten Goes To The Dogs
February 10, 2022 14:55 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBOn this week's episode The Autonocats dig into topics so meaty that even a dog shows up! From Cruise opening driverless operations in San Francisco and what that means for the sector's business prospects to Waymo's lawsuit against the DMV to protect trade secrets and what that means for the sector's pursuit of public trust, there's a lot to bark at here... and that's before we even get to Tesla programming FSD to run stop signs!
#242: CES Roundup and 2022 Predictions
January 27, 2022 15:45 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBThe Autonocats did not make it to CES in person this year, and were forced to cancel the triumphant return of their annual party there, but they still have hot takes a-plenty! Alex, Kirsten and Ed chop up the big news from the big show, and then dive into their traditional annual predictions.
#241: Anna Haupt
December 30, 2021 16:50 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBAnna Haupt is a mobility tech renaissance woman, having worked in everything from the development of the Hövding inflatable bike helmet to the transition at NEVs toward a robotaxi strategy. Now a venture capitalist at Industriefonden, she joins The Autonocast to discuss her wide range of interests, with a special focus on robotaxi design and strategy.
#240: Brad Brownell
December 02, 2021 15:59 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBAutomotive enthusiasm was once thought to be on the glidepath to extinction, but in recent years the automotive internet has enjoyed a renaissance of car appreciation. Brad Brownell has been at the center of much of that resurgence, helping found paradigm-shifting events and communities like Radwood and now Autopia. Brad joins the show to talk cars, the reinvention of what it means to be a car fan, and the core value of inclusion that ties it all together.
#239: Should The AV Sector Drop The "94%" Statistic?
November 04, 2021 13:31 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBFor years there have been complaints about misuse of a statistic showing that humans error is the last link in an often-complex causal chain in fatal crashes. Those complaints have risen to a crescendo in recent weeks, as more prominent voices have risen to denounce the number as a distraction from solutions beyond automation. On this week's episode, the gang discusses the infamous statistic, why it's so divisive, what it says about the sector's relationship with other road safety movements, ...
#238: Missy Cummings Goes To Washington
October 25, 2021 16:48 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBTesla's confrontation with US auto safety regulators continues to ratchet up, as the automaker pulled a stealth OTA recall of an Autopilot issue that was under active NHTSA investigation. Meanwhile, the respected and outspoken critic of Autopilot safety (among many other topics) Missy Cummings was announced as special safety advisor to NHTSA, prompting an online harassment campaign by Tesla fans. The gang sorts through these developments, while leaving a little time for Alex to report on the ...
#237: Autonocast On The Move
October 08, 2021 14:00 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBThe gang is getting back out from behind their computer screens, bringing back tales of test drives and conferences for the latest discussion episode. Kirsten has been the busiest of the bunch, as her first drives of the hot new EVs from RIvian and Lucid (and a factory tour of the latter startup) prompt discussion of their execution and manufacturing. Ed's also just back from Micromobility America, where he notes on some of the changes in that scene, and Alex would tell you what he's been up ...
#236: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy
September 22, 2021 21:57 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBWhen the recently-confirmed NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy tweeted about listening to The Autonocast, the gang had to reach out and ask if she would be willing to make time for her own appearance on the show. Having responded in the affirmative, Chair Homendy has now become the first sitting auto safety official to appear on The Autonocast. From NTSB's evolving mission in the driving automation era to the board's findings in a series of Tesla Autopilot crashes, this sweeping conversation introdu...
#235: Nakul Duggal of Qualcomm
September 14, 2021 14:27 - 27 minutes - 25 MBCars and mobility might not be the first thing you think about when you hear the name Qualcomm, but like other high tech titans the chip maker is betting big on the automotive market. Nakul Duggal is Qualcomm's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Automotive, and he joins the show to discuss his strategy to put the firm's technology at the foundation of next generation vehicles. From the differences between smartphones and cars to Qualcomm's bid for the supplier Veoneer, this week's D...
#234: Mahmood Hikmet Takes Up The Autonowashing Cause
August 31, 2021 15:02 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBIn only its second year of existence, Autonowashing continues to make inroads on the public consciousness in part due to the work of people like Mahmood Hikmet. The Kiwi AV engineer made an incredible Youtube video breaking down the complex issues around partial automation and autonowashing like nobody had before, and he joins the show to discuss his work, and what he's trying to accomplish with it.
#233: Olaf Sakkers Disrupts Mobility
August 19, 2021 00:59 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBflight attendant: is there a doctor on this flight? dad: that should have been you me: not now dad dad: not asking for a meme plagiarist are they me: dad, Elon Musk plagiarizes memes and he saved those cave kids and ventilator patients dad: wow this meme format is hilarious
#232: Alex Nesic of Drover
August 06, 2021 20:08 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBIf the last decade or so of mobility technology tells us anything, it's that putting a camera on a vehicle unlocks a whole world of new opportunities. Our guest this week, Drover AI co-founder and Chief Business Officer Alex Nesic, did precisely that with on-demand scooters and he joins the show to explain the new possibilities his company has unleashed. From regulatory compliance to safety-enhancing ADAS-like features, we discuss the ways that a camera can address some of the biggest challen...
#231: If You Can Make It In New York...
July 29, 2021 18:48 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBBig moves raise strategic questions this week, as Mobileye starts testing in New York, Aurora heads to Wall Street by way of Reid Hoffman's SPAC, and a Financial Times trend piece raises questions about the relationship of ADAS to AV strategy. From the traffic impact of privately-owned AVs to the public's ability to invest in the technology and the wisdom of calling automated driving systems a "driver," Alex, Kirsten and Ed chew through some of the sector's biggest questions in another classi...
#230: Toyota on Teammate
July 20, 2021 15:51 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBPublic perceptions of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems have been dominated by Tesla's Autopilot, which presents itself as the most advanced Level 2 system by virtue of being more automated than others. But is more automation always better for driver assistance? Seeking answers, Alex and Ed sit down with Nick Sitarski and Derek Caveney of Toyota Motor North America, to understand how Toyota's long-standing principle of jidoka, or human-centered automation, has taken its Teammate ADAS design ...
#229: The No Girls Allowed Discussion Episode
July 13, 2021 15:03 - 39 minutes - 36 MBWith Kirsten out exploring the western wilds, Alex and Ed run amok and revert to their old habits of spending way too much time discussing Tesla. First up, the lads review the latest NHTSA order to report all ADAS and AV-involved crashes, which doesn't mention Tesla specifically but is clearly very much aimed at that company. Further discussion ensues about Andrej Karpathy's recent CVPR talk, the new Plaid Model S's absurd performance and even more absurd user interface.
#228: Nathan Picarsic on China's Mobility Tech Strategy
July 02, 2021 13:54 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBEveryone has a strategy for the electric, autonomous mobility era, and the gang regularly discusses private sector strategies, but what about nation state competition for the future of transportation? Alex, Kirsten and Ed are joined by Nathan Picarsic of Horizon Advisory to dissect the evolution of China's industrial strategy, from traditional automotive to EVs to AVs and beyond. From Tesla's unique factory deal and recent publicity issues to China's domination of the EV supply chain, geopoli...
#227: SPACs, Startups, And Other Signs Of The Autonomous Times
June 11, 2021 17:39 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBThe gang discusses a couple of Kirsten's recent scoops that speak to the complex business challenges the autonomous vehicle space is currently negotiating. From Raquel Urtasun's new startup to Aurora (and others) plans to go public, the big players are making some very high-stakes bets about how the sector will shake out. Plus: Tesla loses a top executive, Alex is fair and balanced, and everyone hates the phrase "solving autonomy."
#226: Nathaniel Horadam on Automated Transit
June 03, 2021 16:28 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBTransit advocates have made autonomous vehicles something of a boogeyman lately, framing the emerging technology as a way to perpetuate the car's mobility monopoly and starve public transit of funding. In reality, transit is one of the most compelling applications and automation is a huge opportunity to dramatically improve public transit. To help explain this opportunity, Nathaniel Horadam of the Center for Transportation and the Environment joins the show to discuss a light-rail style autom...
#225: JJRicks Rides With Waymo
May 28, 2021 14:37 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBJoel Ricks Johnson (aka JJRicks) had already gained a sizable audience for his regular videos of Waymo rides when he took a ride that would capture the public's attention. Joel joins the show to walk the gang through that memorable ride, what went wrong, and how it compares to the more than 1,000 miles of Waymo rides he has experienced so far. If you'd like to check out more of Joel's videos for yourself, just surf over to jjricks.com for links to all of his content.
#224: Adventures In Autonowashing
May 17, 2021 19:39 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBEven as more misuse of driver assistance systems, and the subsequent crashes and deaths are reported we still see Autonowashing popping up everywhere. From Tesla to TikTok, and from Elon Musk to the mainstream media, people continue to ignore the tragic cost of overstating the capabilities of automated assistance systems. This week the gang discusses a few of the most recent examples, explores a misperception at the heart of some more innocent autonowashing, talks Elon Musk on SNL and pitches...
#223: Lyft Gets Out Of AV Development
May 06, 2021 16:53 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBBy selling its "Level 5" AV development operations to Toyota's Woven Planet Holdings, Lyft has followed its ride-hailing rival Uber out of the AV development business. Founder John Zimmer joins the show to explain the move and what it means for Lyft's evolving relationship with self-driving vehicles.
#222: The Case Of The "Driverless" Tesla
April 27, 2021 13:53 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBThe internet is in an uproar about the latest fatal Tesla crash, in which two men were found burned alive with nobody in the driver's seat. Though the investigation has only just begun, the evidence available suggests a troubling new twist on past Autopilot crashes. As the gang sorts through the available facts, they attempt to answer the bizarre question at the heart of this case: what would make someone operate a driver assistance system as if it were fully driverless?
#221: Colin Barnden of Semicast Research on Driver Monitoring
April 05, 2021 14:30 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBThe gang has discussed driver monitoring on many past shows, but like much of the mobility tech media we don't always give this topic the attention it deserves. That changes this week, as Ed and Alex welcome Colin Barnden of Semicast Research to the show and grill him with questions about the technology that keeps drivers in the loop. Whether you're curious about where camera DMS comes from, how it works, who develops it or where it's going as a business, Barnden (and this episode) has the an...
#220: Full Self-Driving Isn't, and Other News
March 23, 2021 14:59 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBTesla's "Full Self-Driving Beta" is in the news again, as correspondence between the automaker and the California DMV stating that the current "Full Self-Driving Beta" is Level 2 driver assistance and always will be. Alex, Ed and yes, even Kirsten, break down what it means and where it leaves Tesla, before discussing Luminar's plan to bring lidar to production cars, the Lordstown Motors expose and more.
#219: Omer Keilaf of Innoviz
March 11, 2021 14:09 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBLidar and autonomous vehicles have gone hand-in-hand since the DARPA Grand Challenges, propelling the self-driving stack into the modern era. But turning a new kind of sensor into an automotive-grade qualified component that can hold up to real-world road conditions and be made at scale is an entirely different challenge than inventing something new. This week the gang dives into the nature of that challenge with help from Omer Keilaf, CEO of the lidar maker Innoviz Technologies, who explains...
#218: Ben Bear of Spin
March 02, 2021 16:07 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe gang dips back into micromobility this week, welcoming Spin's Chief Business Officer Ben Bear to the show. Ben explains Spin's exciting new developments in teleoperation and even driver assistance systems for its scooters, and how these new technologies are impacting the business. Plus: the importance of city relationships, how Spin has benefitted from being part of Ford, the seasonal nature of micromobility, and the direction that long-term new product planning is headed in.
#217: The Stream Of Consciousness News Discussion Episode
February 22, 2021 21:30 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBWe've been so busy with big guests so far in 2021 that we've barely had time to sit down and discuss the news of the day in a trademark Autonocast discussion episode. We're making up for that with our latest episode, which is even more stream-of-consciousness than usual. From Super Bowl ads to driver monitoring, from disengagement reports to the Apple Car, this is the rambling Autonocast discussion episode you’ve been waiting for.
#216: Selika Talbott
February 11, 2021 17:12 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBWith so much focus on the technical progress of autonomous vehicle technology, it's easy to miss an important truth: the AV's slower-than-expected maturation is an opportunity to prepare our society for the transformative potential this technology holds. That opportunity is where Selika Talbott hopes to make a difference: in her teaching at American University and her writing at Forbes, Talbott examines the political economy, regulation and equity issues around AV technology. In her first ful...
#215: Don Burnette of Kodiak Robotics
February 03, 2021 15:14 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBDon Burnett has followed a familiar path into autonomous vehicles, as an early member of Google's self-driving car program and the Otto trucking startup that formed the core of Uber's early foray into the technology. Now, as the founder of the autonomous trucking startup Kodiak he's up against some of the biggest names in the business as competition converges on the promising but challenging trucking business. Burnett joins this week's Autonocast episode to discuss what he's learned about the...
#214: The 2021 Live Predictions Episode
February 01, 2021 14:38 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBEvery year at CES, the Autonocats invite hundreds of their closest friends in the AV and mobility tech world to a party of epic proportions. Since a party wasn't in the cards this year (thanks for everything, COVID!) we went for the next best thing: a live recording session for our annual predictions episode. If you missed it, don't worry: here, with minimal editing, is that "live" episode featuring a review of last year's predictions and a heaping serving of new predictions for 2021.
#213: Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson of Zoox
January 15, 2021 21:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBZoox's 2020 journey embodied the recent highs and lows of the AV space, entering the year under a cloud and hunting for cash but ending the year revealing an amazing AV under the protection of Amazon's ownership. We were joined by both Zoox's CEO Aicha Evans and CTO Jesse Levinson for a full hour discussion, looking back at Zoox's wild ride, reflecting on the the AV space's tumultuous past few years and looking ahead as Zoox starts rolling out rides. You won't want to miss this fascinating di...
#212: Laura Major of Motional
January 14, 2021 14:13 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MB2020 saw the launch of the Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture Motional, and the announcement of its plans to start a driverless service in Las Vegas. To discuss these happenings and more, we are joined by one of the most thoughtful CTOs in the space: Motional's Laura Major. The author of "What To Expect When You're Expecting Robots," and the only female CTO of a major AV player, Major's reflections on her career, AV development and the technology that holds it all together make for an episode you wo...
#211: Austin Russell of Luminar
January 11, 2021 20:30 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBFirst up in our series of new year conversations with select leaders in the AV space, Austin Russell of the lidar company Luminar. In a year full of challenges, Luminar cemented its status as a major player by securing production contracts for its advanced sensors, went public using a SPAC reverse merger, and inked a major deal with Intel. Alex, Kirsten and Ed sit down with Russell, the latest AV-sector billionaire, and reflected on a wild year and the road ahead.
#210: Aurora Buys Uber ATG as the Autonocast Looks Back on 2020
December 16, 2020 15:06 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MB2020 is closing out with one of the biggest AV business stories of the year, first broken by our very own Kirsten Korosec: Aurora is buying Uber's ATG operations, ending the ride-hailing giant's tragic development effort. The gang discusses what this consolidation means for the sector, and looks back at some of the biggest AV-related trends of 2020.
#209: David Zipper on Regulation Tesla's Automated Driving Aberrations
December 10, 2020 16:07 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBDavid Zipper set out to understand what areas of automated driving were most in need of regulation under the new Biden administration, and his research led him to a single answer: Tesla. Zipper joins the show to discuss why Tesla's approach to automated driving is so aberrant, why it should be regulated and how the Bident could rein it in. If you want to go deeper into Zipper's popular Slate piece on this topic, you'll want to listen to this episode.
#208: Anthony Townsend on Ghost Road
December 03, 2020 15:22 - 1 hour - 64.6 MBIt's rare for Alex, Kirsten and Ed to agree on anything, but they're unanimous on one point: Anthony Townsend's Ghost Road: Beyond the Driverless Car was the best AV book of 2020. This week Townsend joins the show to discuss his book, which looks at how urban, economic and political development could be transformed by autonomous drive technology. If any of these topics interest you even a little bit, you'll want to make sure to catch this episode and pick up a copy of Ghost Road.
#207: Swamy Kotagiri of Magna
November 19, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBAt a time when the auto industry is seeing an influx of new startups like it hasn't seen in a century, one of the most interesting companies to watch is Magna International. Not only does Magna supply everything from an in-house EV platform and ADAS to body-in-white and drivetrains, they also provide the engineering and validation expertise to turn startup dreams into reality... and they can even contract manufacture the final result. To understand how a "full-stack" automotive startup enable...
#206: Right To Repair, Funding Rounds and Safety Cases
November 16, 2020 15:53 - 53 minutes - 48.6 MBIn the wake of the election, the gang discusses the potential implications of the newest Massachusetts "Right To Repair" law, the return of successful funding rounds to the AV space, and the rising importance of the safety case.
#205: Why Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" Beta Is Dangerous
October 29, 2020 15:20 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBTesla's deployment of a "limited beta" version of its "Full Self-Driving" software to public roads raises a number of important issues around how and why AV developers test safely on public roads. With Kirsten just getting back from vacation, Alex and Ed walk her through the most immediate concerns... plus, Alex shares what it's like to be trained as a professional AV safety driver.