The Road Ahead for Autonomous Driving | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Autonomous vehicles are already on the roads today, with companies like Aurora and Nuro making significant progress in the industry.

Key Insights

• 👋 Autonomous vehicles are already operating on the roads and offering rides or delivering goods.
• 🦺 Safety is a top priority for both Aurora and Nuro, with each company implementing unique features and comprehensive safety measures.
• 🚙 Engaging with regulators and policymakers is essential for the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles and ensuring safety standards.
• *️⃣ Balancing commercial relevance with acceptable levels of risk is key to the scalability and success of autonomous vehicles.
• 😒 The use of advanced sensors and sensor fusion, such as lidar, cameras, and radar, enhances safety and enables better perception of the environment.
• 🥺 Autonomy in different geographies may be balkanized due to political and national security reasons, leading to the emergence of a few dominant companies in each region.

Transcript

and so now I'm delighted uh to invite two other friends up on stage you guys should start coming um uh uh CEO and uh co-founder of Aurora Chris roomson and CEO and co-founder of neuro uh Jay-Z uh two of the folks who I also learned from right thank you part of the the our selection of the folks that we would have come join us are people that we lea... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the current state of autonomous vehicles on the roads today?

Companies like Aurora and Nuro have already deployed autonomous vehicles that offer rides and deliver goods, showcasing the progress in the industry.

Q: How do Aurora and Nuro prioritize safety in their autonomous vehicles?

Aurora focuses on ensuring safety in trucking by embedding safety into their culture and sharing a detailed safety case framework. Nuro designs their vehicles to optimize safety for other road users and leverages unique features like external-facing airbags.

Q: What role do regulations play in the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles?

Both Aurora and Nuro have been engaging with regulators and policymakers since the beginning to help them understand the promise and challenges of the technology. They advocate for informed decision-making, nationalized harmonized regulations, and protections against litigation in order to maintain technological advancements and safety standards.

Q: What are the challenging aspects of navigating various environments in autonomous vehicles?

Aurora faces the challenge of driving trucks at high speeds and ensuring safety by having a wide field of view. Nuro tackles the unpredictability of low-speed neighborhoods where avoiding accidents involving children and other unexpected agents is crucial.

Summary

In this video, Chris Urmson (CEO and co-founder of Aurora) and Jiajun Zhu (CEO and co-founder of Nuro) discuss the current state of road autonomy and the challenges they are navigating in the self-driving space. They touch on topics such as the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles, the importance of safety and regulation, the use of sensors and sensor fusion, and the benchmarks for safety and efficiency. They also discuss the global implications of autonomous vehicles and the potential for a small number of companies to lead in different regions.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the current state of road autonomy and how much has already been achieved?

The self-driving space has moved from initial optimism to skepticism and now to a realistic view. Today, self-driving vehicles are already on the road and being used for various purposes. For example, ride-sharing companies like Cruise and Waymo offer autonomous rides, and companies like Nuro deliver goods using autonomous vehicles. Companies like Aurora also have autonomous trucks driving between cities. While there is still work to be done in terms of safety and scaling, road autonomy is already a reality.

Q: How do Aurora and Nuro prioritize safety in their autonomous vehicle architecture?

Nuro focuses on goods transportation, which allows them to design their vehicles from the ground up with safety in mind. They optimize for safety by creating neighborly-friendly vehicles that can avoid accidents and have external-facing airbags in case of collisions. They also prioritize safety by decelerating the vehicle more aggressively than a passenger vehicle would. Aurora, on the other hand, embeds safety in their company culture and mission. They have developed a structured safety case framework that addresses the technical aspects of safety as well as the organizational and process-related factors. Safety is a fundamental consideration from the beginning of their vehicle development process.

Q: How do Aurora and Nuro work with regulators to ensure compliance and advance the autonomous vehicle industry?

Both Aurora and Nuro have been engaging with regulators at the federal and state levels from the early stages of their development. By working closely with policymakers and regulators, they aim to help them understand the promise and challenges of autonomous vehicle technology. They seek to establish regulations that maintain the country's competitive advantage while ensuring safety. Aurora emphasizes the importance of having consistent rules and safety expectations across the country. Nuro has had success in obtaining exemptions and commercial deployment permits, but they also identify areas where regulations could be improved to better align with the unique requirements of autonomous vehicles.

Q: What are the sensor fusion approaches of Aurora and Nuro, and why do they believe in using multiple sensors?

Nuro and Aurora both prioritize sensor redundancy for maximum safety and effectiveness. Nuro uses a combination of sensors, including laser, radar, cameras, and thermal cameras, which allows them to optimize for safety and handle unpredictable situations in real-world environments. This approach is especially crucial for their focus on goods transportation and avoiding accidents with other road users. Aurora also believes in leveraging multiple sensors, including lidar, to improve perception and decision-making capabilities. They use a special kind of lidar called First Light, which provides a longer range and faster measurement of objects' movements. Multiple sensors and sensor fusion enhance safety, perception, and reaction times.

Q: What should be the benchmarks for safety and efficiency in self-driving vehicles?

The benchmarks for safety and efficiency need to be commercially relevant and not unreasonably risk-averse. Both Aurora and Nuro aim to achieve performance that is comparable to a good human driver. Aurora uses guiding principles to determine the correct and safe actions for the Aurora driver in various scenarios. They focus on responding appropriately to potential accidents and maintaining an acceptable level of risk. Nuro believes that building a robust foundation, from requirements to validation, is crucial for ensuring the safety performance of autonomous vehicles. The challenge lies in quantifying and measuring safety to establish confident deployment thresholds.

Q: When can we expect to see self-driving vehicles deployed as a business on public streets in America?

Self-driving vehicles are already operating on public streets in California. Companies like Nuro and Aurora are conducting commercial deliveries and offering rides in autonomous vehicles. However, widespread deployment as a business will likely happen within the next two to three years. Nuro anticipates scaled commercial operations in multiple cities in that timeframe, while Aurora is targeting the end of 2024 for the launch of fully redundant autonomous trucks.

Q: How do Aurora and Nuro see the global expansion of autonomous vehicles?

Both Aurora and Nuro anticipate that autonomous vehicle deployment will be relatively small and balkanized. Factors such as national security concerns and regulatory differences between countries make it challenging for companies to operate globally. There may be a small number of dominant companies in each region, including the US, Europe, and China. However, over time, as autonomous technology becomes more mature and affordable, it may lead to leapfrogging innovations in developing countries as they build new cities and infrastructure.

Takeaways

The current state of road autonomy includes self-driving vehicles already on the road for commercial use. Safety is a fundamental consideration for both Aurora and Nuro, with each company adopting different approaches to ensure safety from the ground up. They engage with regulators and policymakers to shape regulations that balance safety and competitiveness. Sensor fusion, using a combination of sensors, is critical for maximizing safety and perception capabilities. Benchmarks for safety and efficiency should be commercially relevant, not unreasonably risk-averse, and comparable to good human drivers. Self-driving vehicles deployed as a business on public streets in America will likely happen within the next two to three years. The global expansion of autonomous vehicles will likely be small and region-specific, with dominant companies emerging in different parts of the world. As the technology progresses, it may also contribute to leapfrogging innovations in developing countries.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Aurora and Nuro have vehicles already on the road, offering rides and delivering goods in a meaningful way.

• Safety is a fundamental aspect of their architecture, with both companies prioritizing it from the ground up.

• Engaging with regulators and policymakers is crucial for the advancement of autonomous vehicles, and both companies have been actively working with them.