SAE Tomorrow Today

Honeybees. Ants. 18-wheelers. What do they have in common?

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The first two operate as data-sharing collectives a la a hive mind to improve efficiency and achieve their goals, and now 18-wheelers are joining their ranks. Thanks to the advent of game-changing autonomous technology enabling hive-like communications, companies can create a network of vehicles that transform how they move freight across the United States.

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A “queen bee” in this effort is TuSimple, an autonomous trucking enterprise operating the world’s first autonomous freight network. With an ecosystem of industry leading partners including DHL, Goodyear, Penske, McLane, and the US Postal Service, coupled with a laser-focus on trucking, the use of camera-driven perception systems and real-world data, TuSimple is leading the way towards a self-driving infrastructure that enables greater efficiencies and lower operational costs for transporters.

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Case in point: Since 2019, TuSimple has driven 160,000 autonomous miles for UPS' North America Air Freight division and achieved a 13% fuel savings at highway speeds.

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In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer of TuSimple, spoke about what the company has learned after collecting 5.5 million miles of on-road data and how it’s informing the company’s approach to safety, road conditions and AI system training.

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The average 18-wheeler on America’s roads is an engineering marvel, roughly 17 tons (not including freight) of transportation muscle that powers our economy and our way of life. As the old saying goes, “If you bought it, trucks brought it.”

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Picture in your mind one of these behemoths barreling down the highway—with no driver.

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Can you imagine a world where that’s the safest vehicle on the road?

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Daimler Truck can, and they’re working night and day to deliver on the vision of fully autonomous trucks transforming the industry, while improving the health, safety, and quality of life of truck drivers and creating new career paths in the mobility sector.

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To explain how we’ll get there, SAE Tomorrow Today spoke with Dr. Rainer Müller-Finkeldei, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Technology at Daimler Truck North America. As the global market leader in heavy duty trucking with 40% market share in the US, Daimler Truck literally is trucking’s heavyweight champion of the world. Now they’re setting their sights on the future of trucking – autonomy, electrification, zero emissions, and the development of hydrogen fuel cells for the long haul. In this episode, Dr. Müller-Finkeldei elaborates on these efforts, as well as the work that Daimler Truck is doing with development partners Torc and Waymo, and what the company is doing to promote sustainability and more.

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Stay up to date on the latest news from Daimler Truck North America.

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We’d love to hear from you. Share your comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests to [email protected]. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today (and give us a review) on your preferred podcasting platform.

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From Ransom Olds of Oldsmobile fame inventing the automotive assembly line all the way back in 1901 to Berry Gordy flipping the switch on Motown in 1960, Michigan has a storied history of marrying power and technology to achieve awe-inspiring results.

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But as home to scenes of unrivaled natural beauty, it is also a place whose citizens know the importance of sustaining the environment. That’s why it’s no wonder that Michigan is the epicenter of the burgeoning electric vehicle revolution and its emphasis on clean, green mobility.

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In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, Quentin L. Messer, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), discusses the work his organization is doing to promote business growth within the state. As a public-private partnership, the MEDC seeks to expand upward economic mobility for all Michiganders by working with employers and educators to promote STEM, talent development and continued innovation, following in the state’s rich tradition of inventiveness.

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A recent transplant from New Orleans, Messer, Jr. also shares some perspectives on what it’s been like to relocate from the Big Easy to the Great Lake State, and what others looking to do business in Michigan might expect.

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To learn more about why Michigan is an ideal place to start and grow a business, visit http://www.michiganbusiness.org.

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We’d love to hear from you. Share your comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests to [email protected]. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today (and give us a review) on your preferred podcasting platform.

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Few moments provide greater clarity on what’s really important than when a loved one is involved in a serious automotive accident.

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Ten-year-old Omer Keilaf painfully learned that lesson when his older sister was victim of a terrible car crash. Fortunately, she survived, but the event set Omer on a trajectory to try to solve the toughest automotive safety problems using advanced technology.

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“Many people have tried to convince me that it’s an impossible mission, but that only made me more excited about it,” said Omer, now the CEO and Co-Founder of Innoviz Technologies, a leading manufacturer of solid-state LiDAR sensors and advanced perception software for the autonomous vehicle industry.

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In the latest episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, Omer recounts how he is using the motivation of his early life experiences as well as his tenure as an intelligence officer in the technological unit of the Israel Defense Force as the impetus to make LiDAR cost efficient, more compact and much more prevalent in the mass production market. Omer also shares how his company is contending with the current supply chain challenges, as well as insights learned from working with Innoviz Technologies’ partner-customer BMW.

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Stay updated on the latest in autonomous driving from Innoviz Technologies.

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What do you think? Share your comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests to [email protected]. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today (and give us a review) on your preferred podcasting platform.

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With their invention of the graphics processing unit, they transformed the video game market, championed the advent of parallel computing and along the way became known worldwide as a leader in artificial intelligence.

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Now, as software capabilities and in-car concierge experiences are fast becoming primary considerations in car buying decisions, global AI powerhouse NVIDIA is accelerating the digital approach to vehicular luxury—and they’re attracting the attention of the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi, who are no strangers to high-performance mobility.

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In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, Grayson Brulte sits down with Ali Kani, vice president and general manager of NVIDIA Automotive, to discuss the work NVIDIA is doing to deliver the twin pillars of safety and security, how simulation and real-world testing together are needed to realize the promise of self-driving cars, and how fewer in-car computers (not more) can lead to greater confidence in autonomous responsiveness.

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Keep up to date on NVIDIA at www.nvidia.com

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What do you think? Weigh in with comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests with a quick email to [email protected]. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today (and give us a review) on your preferred podcasting platform.

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When it comes to autonomous vehicles, public trust in the tech is integral to success. As a popular rideshare app, Lyft Autonomous is uniquely positioned to develop this relationship and bring self-driving rides to the masses. Lyft has conducted over 100,000 paid rides with AVs — and there’s more to come.

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Jody Kelman, General Manager, Lyft Autonomous shares her vision for the future of self-driving fleets. Calling Lyft the “connective tissue” between this revolutionary tech and the rider, Kelman discusses how they’re able to build trust with passengers, their exciting partnership with Argo AI and Ford, and how they can bring a human touch to each AV ride.

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Learn more about the self-driving rides offered by Lyft: https://autonomous.lyft.com/

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Like the episode? Drop us a review and follow SAE Tomorrow Today on your favorite podcasting platform. Help us become even better by sending ideas for future guests and topics to [email protected].

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Radar systems that use AI to dynamically and adaptively scan the environment based on changing conditions have been science-fact — not science-fiction — for more than a decade. But the current systems are just scratching the surface.

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Spartan Radar’s Tyler Rather, Chief Technology Officer, and Robert Brown, Chief Strategy Officer, discuss their team’s work to develop high-resolution radar AI that emulates human perception models and achieves lightning-fast processing and focus—and a revolutionary sensor fusion technology they believe could be as influential as Ford’s Model T.

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Stay updated on the latest software innovations from Spartan Radar: spartanradar.com

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Like the episode? Drop us a review and follow SAE Tomorrow Today on your favorite podcasting platform. Help us become even better by sending ideas for future guests and topics to [email protected].

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In emergency situations, every second counts — but long distances to rural areas and congested city traffic often increase the time it takes to transport a patient to a hospital. Jump Aero is mobilizing eVTOL aircraft as a solution to cut emergency response time in half and save thousands of lives. 

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Co-founders Carl Dietrich, President/Chief Designer, and Katerina Barilov, Head of Business Development, discuss their passion for the Jump Aero mission. Hear more about how electric aircraft can reduce the time it takes to get a responder on the scene, why their EMTs are required to learn how to fly an airplane, and how their commitment to engage with EMS communities builds partnerships and trust.

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Stay up to date on the latest news from Jump Aero: www.jumpaero.com

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Like the episode? Drop us a review and follow SAE Tomorrow Today on your favorite podcasting platform. Help us become even better by sending ideas for future guests and topics to [email protected].

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The future of mobility is all about resiliency. How can we ensure that we have the energy capacity to sustain a fully electric future? Can solutions transfer across aerospace, passenger and commercial vehicle industries? SAE is in the middle of it all.

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Frank Menchaca, Chief Growth Officer at SAE International, says the industry is at an inflection point. In part 2 of the SAE series, Menchaca discusses the multi-phase set of initiatives the new Office of Sustainable Energy will tackle, including EV charge point payments, cybersecurity, regulation and range, and SAE’s role in mobilizing a sustainable future.

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Think you know SAE? These episodes will have you thinking again.

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Intrigued? Meet Pete. Meet Skylar. And meet Violet.

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Like the episode? Drop us a review and follow SAE Tomorrow Today on your favorite podcasting platform. Help us become even better by sending ideas for future guests and topics to [email protected].

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Follow SAE on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Follow host Grayson Brulte on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Think you know SAE? These episodes will have you thinking again.

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The next mobility revolution is upon us. Connected, automated and electrified transportation can provide equity of access to jobs, education, health care and beyond — but the future comes with challenges as innovators consider sustainability, resiliency and scalability of production.

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In part one of this special two-part series, SAE International’s own Chief Growth Officer, Frank Menchaca, discusses the ways SAE is meeting the changing needs of 21st-century transportation and mobility, the organization’s partnership with Argo AI and Clemson University that built the new Robotics Bootcamp, why SAE’s J3016 Levels of Driving Automation was created, and the launch of SAE’s Office of Sustainable Energy.

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Intrigued? Meet Pete. Meet Skylar. And Meet Violet.

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Like the episode? Drop us a review and follow SAE Tomorrow Today on your favorite podcasting platform. Help us become even better by sending ideas for future guests and topics to [email protected].

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Follow SAE on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Follow host Grayson Brulte on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.