PAVEcast: A conversation about autonomous vehicles

Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun launched her AV company in 2021 with the vision to bring a next-generation self-driving solution to the market with interpretable AI and sophisticated simulation.   For the 100th edition of our PAVE virtual panel series, Raquel will join PAVE Executive Director Tara Andringa for a fireside chat to reflect on her 20-year career in artificial intelligence, to share her predi...

As connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies evolve, these vehicles will become increasingly common in our communities, and the public will have an opportunity to experience the technology first-hand. And Canada is getting ready: all levels of government, industry and the public are planning for this transportation future.    But the introduction of this new technology raises many questi...

Last April, we assembled a panel of AV leaders to discuss what the transformative power of AV technology could mean for promoting racial equity in transportation.  Six months later, we are re-assembling our all-star panel for a deeper look at this critical conversation.    In Part 2, our panelists will go beyond identifying race-based inequality as an issue and focus on strategies and tactics the...

The safe deployment of autonomous vehicles requires exhaustive testing — more testing, in fact, than any product in history. And public confidence in AVs will be greater if people are aware of this intensive testing process and can see the millions of miles traveled, the edge cases considered, and the countless simulations run. So we want to take a look into AV testing: How are vehicles tested? Wh...

The evolution of automated vehicle technology continues to grow by leaps and bounds. AV technology is diverse, complex, and constantly changing but for all the promises that an autonomous vehicle future holds, we have ways to ensure that the technology is operating how it should. Having a clear window into AV operations is critical for both the safety of the technology and for building public trus...

PAVE members believe that public trust is necessary for AVs to reach their potential.  But what does the public currently think about AVs?    PAVE teamed with J.D. Power and MIT’s AgeLab for the second annual Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study to explore consumer readiness and understanding of automated vehicles. In this panel, we talk to two leaders of the study, Lisa Boor from J.D. Power and...

October is #PedestrianSafetyMonth, so it is a great time to look at how AV technology can make the roads safer for everyone, both in and out of the vehicle.  Like drivers, automated safety features in vehicles rely on quick access to information about the environment in order to make driving decisions. Many PAVE members create products that collect, analyze, and interpret data to help vehicles dri...

Autonomous Vehicles require new technologies, and those new systems require workers with new skills and expertise. Across the country, colleges and universities are developing programs to help prepare students for these jobs in the constantly-expanding AV ecosystem. We wanted to know: What are the skills required for these new jobs? And what kinds of programs best prepare students for the AV workf...

Peachtree Corners, Georgia, is one of the United States’ first 5G smart cities powered by real-world connected infrastructure, and its Curiosity Lab is an innovation hub for real-world testing with intelligent mobility and smart city technology. What exactly does a smart city look like? What are the biggest challenges? And what lessons have they learned that can help other communities on this jour...

Autonomous vehicle technology is growing around the world. In China, many innovative companies are developing AV technology to address the growing demand for modern, safe mobility solutions. The complex urban centers and diverse landscapes of China offer endless possibilities for the testing, development, and deployment of AV systems. DeepRoute.ai is the perfect example of a successful Chinese AV...

In a global economy, goods travel across borders from manufacturer to market faster than ever before. While intermodal transportation has been key to the modern system of freight movement, the recent challenges with international supply chains have shown that gaps remain. Automation, digitization, and data analytics are evolving to make shipping even more efficient by reducing transition times, en...

Many vehicles today have partially automated features, which can increase vehicle safety and provide conveniences for drivers.  These systems are often seen as the “middle ground” for automation in vehicles, but how do drivers feel about the technology as it becomes more common and increases in capability? Also, what are driver attitudes about automation in terms of driver control versus vehicle s...

In many states, the AV industry and elected officials are working together to make the In many states, the AV industry and elected officials are working together to make the future of transportation a reality. When creating laws that allow vehicles with higher levels of automation to take to the roads, leadership in state legislatures is important. On November 1st, a newly signed law will take eff...

Traditionally, the word “infrastructure” conjures images of highways, bridges, and railroad tracks. Although it seems less visible than sidewalks and orange traffic cones, our digital infrastructure impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As automated vehicles become increasingly sophisticated, what does that mean for our digital infrastructure?  Dr. Dan McGehee from the University of Iowa...

How much does the public know about autonomous vehicles?  Does the public trust AV technology? PAVE teamed with J.D. Power and MIT’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium to conduct a survey of the Canadian public’s knowledge of AV technology (an identical study of the U.S. population will be released later this year). In this virtual panel discussion, we will look at the survey’s findings and di...

Automated vehicles are a global phenomenon, with global impacts and global challenges. Around the world, countries are contemplating how to introduce AVs into the transportation system in a way that ensures the technology creates change for the better, and they’re taking different approaches to AV regulation, testing and deployment, and integrating the technology into public transit systems. In a...

During May, PAVE’s panels are focused on how autonomous vehicle technology can serve the public good. While AV deployments in urban environments get lots of attention, our next panel will examine important work in the State of Ohio on how AV technology can serve rural communities. Funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation ADS Demonstration Grant,  DriveOhio, the state’s AV initiative, is testi...

During the month of May, PAVE’s panels are focused on places where AVs are in action, being tested and deployed to serve the public good. Nuro is building and operating electric, autonomous delivery vehicles. Since 2019, Nuro has completed deliveries in Houston of groceries, prescriptions, and hot food in partnership with Kroger, Domino’s, CVS, and the Houston Food Bank. Increasing food insecurity...

Autonomous vehicle technologies offer incredible potential: they could make our highways safer, they could offer new mobility options for people who can’t drive, and they could help create a more equitable transportation system for those who are not well-served by our current system. During the month of May, we are highlighting places where AVs are in use — today — being deployed, tested, and used...

Autonomous vehicles hold the promise of the greatest transformation of American transportation since the dawn of the auto age. One test of that promise: Can the AV industry avoid, or even counteract, the ways in which the current transportation system has allowed and even accelerated racial inequality and injustice, from under-served rural communities to city centers divided by expressways?  In th...

Autonomous vehicles may bring about many changes in society, but one question we hear frequently is what this technology may mean for the job market. Students wonder what classes they need to take to be prepared for AV-related jobs, while current workers may worry that their job could be altered or eliminated by automation. In this PAVEcast episode, we’ll talk to people across the industry to hear...

Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft have taken the mobility world by storm since 2010, greatly expanding traditional taxi services that have been operating for decades. As autonomous vehicle technologies enter the scene, what does that mean for ridesharing? In this PAVEcaset episode, we discuss the impact that AV technology might have on the future of ridesharing. Our panelists will talk about...

As autonomous vehicle technology becomes an increasingly visible piece of the transportation future, states are actively preparing for an autonomous future. There are countless questions they need to answer: What do these new technologies mean for infrastructure, first responders, or public transit systems?  What new policies or regulations are necessary? We’ve invited officials from Maryland and...

PAVE and the University of Michigan’s Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) share a common goal of providing education on automated vehicles. We are excited to have Dr. Henry Liu, Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan and the Director at the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) join us for this exclus...

Do you have a question about autonomous vehicles you want answered? Maybe you’ve seen examples of self-driving cars on tv and want to know how realistic they are? Or you want to know if there are places where you can get pizza delivered in an autonomous pod? PAVE has assembled some leading experts to answer all of your questions. In this episode, we’ll ask our panelists to address some of the most...