There remains a steep and tortuous path to realizing the concept of deploying a commercial fleet of safe, fully autonomous robotic axles. Google’s self-driving project, launched in 2009 and renamed Waymo in 2016, has sparked a wave of developments in AV technology. But until recently, most autonomous vehicles were in test mode with a human driver behind the wheel.
We have come a long way to this point, and there is still a long way to go. Successful implementation requires solving a number of tasks: technical, operational and social.
Yes, safety first. But safe AV technology alone won’t lead to mainstream success—it requires the attention of the entire ecosystem. This includes designing a car that people actually want to drive; Creating an intuitive application that easily handles tasks such as customer support and incident response; As well as solving logistical challenges, such as how to load vehicles and deploy them where they are needed most.
How companies are bridging the gap between research and development and the adoption of robotic axes that will be adopted and used by millions is both challenging and exciting. That’s why we’re excited to have Oliver Cameron, VP of Product at Cruise, and Laura Meyer, CTO and VP of Product at Motional, take the stage at the TC: Mobility session in San Mateo on May 18-19.
Oliver Cameron is joining Cruise (GM’s self-driving subsidiary) after the company acquired Voyage in 2021, an autonomous vehicle startup that Cameron co-founded in 2017. San Jose, California and The Village, a Florida nursing home of 125,000.
Now, as VP of Product, Cameron has been tasked with thinking through every customer touchpoint for Cruise’s self-driving driving service, and he has many more customer touchpoints to go: the company launched its self-driving service in February. open a taxi robot driving service. Public in San Francisco.
As CTO of Motional (an Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture), Laura Major leads hundreds of engineers developing unmanned technology systems. The company has partnered with Lyft to launch its first fully self-driving taxi service in Las Vegas in 2023.
Before joining Motional, she was Senior Vice President of Engineering and then CTO at Aria Insights, where she was involved in the development of autonomous aircraft.
Major began his career as a cognitive engineer at Draper’s lab, where he spent 12 years developing decision support devices for American astronauts and soldiers, and also led the company’s information and knowledge department. She co-authored the book What to Expect When You’re Waiting for Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration.
Cameron and Major Evie bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear his thoughts on the process, challenges, and opportunities to turn an R&D lab invention into an innovative, scalable product that people want to use in everyday life.