We are excited to announce the launch of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, our new video and audio podcast channel now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.In our first episode, Introducing Teleoperation for Industrial Vehicles, host Tyler Kern talked with Jordan Sanders, Vice President of Business and Marketing for Phantom Auto. The duo discussed how teleoperation is powering industrial vehicles in material handling environments to increase safety, productivity, and labor accessibility.Phantom Auto provides remote operation software for all types of vehicles. Their software allows humans sitting 10, 20, 100, or even 1,000 miles away to drive a vehicle. Think drone pilots, but for vehicles. Currently, Phantom works with a variety of clients and can remotely operate a variety of vehicles. The current list includes forklifts, yard trucks, robots, taxis, and other passenger vehicles. “Across all those applications, what our software really delivers for customers is transforming and virtualizing their operations,” Sanders said.With the advent of autonomy in consumer and industrial environments, the technology and resources needed to enable remote operation of vehicles are now widely available. With the reduced cost of hardware such as sensors and semiconductors, teleoperation has become a cost-effective option for the industry. Another major driver for the adoption of teleoperation has been the current labor shortage, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted supply chains and has highlighted the need for increased operational resilience.“Those two major trends are driving the adoption of our technology,” Sanders said.You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.

In the newest episode of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, Issues Facing the Autonomous Technology Supply Chain in 2021 and Beyond, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Solution Development & Strategic Sales Manager for Phantom Auto. Join their conversation as they discuss current and potential issues affecting the global supply chain along with the steps that Phantom is taking to help provide solutions to logistics and supply chain providers. Today's supply chain faces several compounding issues that were difficult to predict only a year and a half ago. There are numerous short and long-term effects of COVID to deal with, increasing pressure from growing consumer demands, challenges in implementing autonomous technology, and, perhaps most imminently, a hiring shortage.On this episode of Click Connect Drive, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Strategic Sales Manager at Phantom Auto, who's been in the industry for more than 10 years, about current issues facing the supply chain. While there are short-term issues relating to the current hiring shortage, there are also more significant long-term issues looming in the manufacturing sector.New research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute shows that as many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled through 2030, which would end up costing the U.S. economy $1 trillion through that year. This will have a domino effect that will eventually lead to customers waiting on goods, and ultimately affecting their wallets, according to Rago."Whenever you can't find labor, your throughput decreases, your operation slows down, you become less efficient and you have to raise costs," Rago said. "Ultimately, [the labor shortage] is going to raise costs and create longer lead times. In today's consumer-driven market, that's really not feasible."With companies not able to fill positions, the possibility of relying on autonomous technology will move to the forefront. Companies are seeking more flexible options when it comes to employment, including the introduction of new innovative technologies, which will help safeguard them from labor shortages and prepare them for future pandemics and other crises."A lot of companies are turning to automation, and they're turning to different innovative technologies," Rago said.You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.

In the latest episode of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas & Phantom Make Forklift Driving a Desk Job, host Tyler Kern talked with Brian Markison, Senior Manager of AGV Partner Sales for Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas, and Elliot Katz, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer for Phantom Auto. We join them as they describe how Phantom Auto and MLA have formed a partnership that is transforming the face of the industry and the ways employees interact with forklifts.Phantom Auto and Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas have formed a partnership that will "offer forklifts that can rove around a warehouse in California, controlled by workers sitting at a desk a continent away."A common skepticism expressed about the new concept of remotely operating material handling equipment is whether forklift operation can really become a job that is done from behind a desk. According to Markison, the team at MLA, who owns UniCarriers, a popular manufacturer of material handling equipment around the world, believes the answer is a resounding yes.Host Tyler Kern and the duo dove headfirst into the nature of the partnership and discussed how teleoperation is being implemented onto the warehouse floor, where it’s set to drastically revolutionize the way organizations operate across a wide range of industries. The topics covered ranged from safety to labor retention and the driver shortage problem that is broadly affecting the logistics industry since the start of COVID-19.“We are honored to be working directly with Mitsubishi Logisnext,” Katz said. “[We’re going to] integrate our software, leverage their dealer network for service and maintenance, have Phantom-powered forklifts built and shipped straight from the Logisnext factory floor, and deploy our solution to existing Mitsubishi Logisnext customers. “Our customers are chomping at the bit to get involved.”You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.