How are autonomous vehicles regulated in the United States?  Is it the right approach?  In the inaugural episode of DRIVERLESS, host Zach Adams speaks with product liability litigator Jonathan Feczko and business and transportation lawyer Tod Northman, both partners at Tucker Ellis, about “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicle 3.0.”  The Department of Transportation issued the latest guidance in early October 2018, and the trio dig into the document, establish the regulatory context for the guidance, and evaluate the ramifications of the DOT’s approach.  Drawing from their differing legal backgrounds, Zach, Jon and Tod assess who won with the document, who lost, and what issues were not adequately addressed.  They also discuss why the federal government has taken the approach it has, despite legitimate concerns raised by safety and privacy advocates.

For additional show notes and resources, please visit https://www.tuckerellis.com/driverless.

2 - Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0

Host and litigator Zach Adams, products liability attorney Jon Feczko, and business and transactional attorney Tod Northman discuss what auto accident lawsuits will look like as autonomous vehicles start to share the roads with human-driven cars. In a wide-ranging conversation, each shares his vision of AV litigation.

For additional show notes and resources, please visit https://www.tuckerellis.com/driverless.

3 - Thinking about Potential AV Litigation

Belying whispers of a slowdown in the autonomous vehicle industry – with doubters suggesting that AV’s potential had been oversold and the difficulty of execution underestimated –several news stories about AV companies caught our eye last week.  Host Zach Adams, a litigator at Tucker Ellis, and Tucker Ellis corporate and transactional lawyer Tod Northman discuss the latest news to illustrate the trends they are seeing in the industry.  In short, money continues to pour into the best companies as competitors vie for talent and technology leadership to realize the commercial potential of driverless transportation.

https://www.tuckerellis.com/services/autonomous-vehicles-artificial-intelligence-technologies

10 - Show Me The Money!  Corporate News Takes A Star Turn

25 – Sustainable and Affordable Mobility and Power for All
Host Zach Adams digs into global mobility with Dr. Chris Borroni-Bird, the founder of Afreecar LLC, which aims to provide solar-powered vehicles to African villages.  Dr. Borroni-Bird’s particular interest is the fusion of technology and design, producing for example a “skateboard” vehicle.  This far-ranging discussion covers the future of mobility. Before founding Afreecar, Dr. Borroni-Bird has worked at Waymo as Chief Engineer, Future Programs, and had a half-time appointment at MIT Media Lab, with a focus on the development and commercialization of a solar-powered mobility hub that could be applied to all communities around the world, ranging from sub-Saharan African villages to affluent megacities.  Before that, Dr. Borroni-Bird was Qualcomm's VP of Strategic Development, where he focused on reshaping transportation around the convergence of wireless power and wireless communications.  He also served as GM’s Director of Advanced Technology Vehicle Concepts and EN-V Program (Electric Networked-Vehicle, left). He was named one of Automotive News’ Electrifying 100 in 2011. Before the EN-V, he led GM’s Autonomy, Hy-wire and Sequel “skateboard” concepts.  Before joining GM, he led Chrysler’s gasoline fuel cell vehicle development and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame as a Young Leader in 2000.

Further Reading

https://afreecar.org/about/

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sae/18AUTP01/index.php#/28

https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2016/05/23/the-father-of-the-skateboard-chassis-dr-chris-borroni-bird/#2bc6d9c07b30

https://www.drivesweden.net/sites/default/files/content/resource/files/afreecar_-_chris_borroni-bird__0.pdf

Show Notes

1:00 - Chris’s unexpected path to Autonomous Vehicles. 
3:30 - GM Autonomy, Design in Technology-Fusion, and Chris’s vision for the intersection of technology and design.
6:21 - The potential functional and safety benefits of electric skateboard-type vehicles.
9:15 - Crashworthiness of electric vehicles.  
10:47 - Chris’s time at QUALCOMM and the promise of V2X communications. 
15:51 - The costs and benefits to manufacturers for deploying and subsidizing V2X technology. 
18:21 - Chris’s time at Waymo.
20:01 - The birth of Afreecar. 
24:11 - The “solar kit,” its flexibility and its potential applications. 
29:31 - Realizing Afreecar’s altruistic mission.

25 - Sustainable and Affordable Mobility for All: An Interview with Chris Borroni-Bird

A podcast by the autonomous vehicle team at Tucker Ellis.  Our members practice in litigation, corporate governance, transactions, and intellectual property, and we bring those diverse perspectives to examine legal issues around autonomous vehicles.

25 - Sustainable and Affordable Mobility for All: An Interview with Chris Borroni-Bird

Driverless

Related tracks