How far in the future might our concept of transportation be completely different?

Mobility is being reimagined in seemingly all corners of the world – especially here in Southern California.  From start-ups to established companies; how we humans and are stuff gets from points A to B is evolving and everyone is getting in on the action.

In a prime example of old meeting new; The Petersen Automotive Museum recently partnered with Japan House, a new cultural center here in Los Angeles, for an evening event titled Reimaging Mobility in Los Angeles.  iDriveSoCal’s Professor, Clinton Quan, and I both attended.

Learn what might be in store for the future of mobility here in Los Angeles, and urban areas around the world, in this iDriveSoCal Podcast.  And check out those crazy contraptions in the picture gallery – whoa!

***Transcript***

Recorded August 21, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA

Automotive History & The Future of Mobility

Tom Smith: It's a futuristic looking, three-wheeled reverse tricycle that who knows what pieces and parts of that will actually make it into anything that's mass produced but an interesting piece of possible future mobility. Moving on to the next gadget.

Clinton Quan: Think of it as a circular suitcase that just follows you wherever you go.

Tom Smith: The last little piece of robotic technology innovation prototype that they had.  If you can picture a cross between a skateboard and a robotic centipede, that's what this thing is.

Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal the podcast, all about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States - Southern California. Tom Smith here with the good Professor, Mr.

Clinton Quan. Say hello, Clinton.

"Think of it as a circular suitcase that just follows you wherever you go."

Clinton Quan: Hi, Tom.

Tom Smith: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Today's podcast, Reimagining Mobility For Los Angeles with Japan House, hosted at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The good Professor and I attended this event just a few days ago and it was an interesting event because you think the Petersen Automotive Museum and obviously you think about cars and the history of cars and they have some phenomenal exhibits there, world-renowned. Literally, Petersen is one of the top automotive museums on the planet.

And so, and I did a podcast - if you haven't checked it out, check it out sometime, with the Executive Director, Terry Karges almost a year ago now.

But, we just kind of did an overview but Terry touched base on how The Petersen is really embracing not only the past and what automotive has been but the future and what mobility might become.

And they're doing that in a number of different ways, hosting this event in association with the Japan House is one of them.

The Petersen Museum Hosts Future Tech

The Professor and I attended the event and it was interesting, it was in the evening and they had a few different presentations and then a panel of discussion by the presenters. And the Japan House has, the Japan House is a new, well I guess it's a cultural center, right?

Clinton Quan: Yeah, you could call it a cultural center.

Tom Smith: And it's at Hollywood and...

Clinton Quan: A cultural center and I guess, a retail shop. At Hollywood and Highland.

Tom Smith: Okay, and they are, and there's three of them so far and the country of Japan, the Japanese Embassy, I guess, has to do with it. And they have one here in Los Angeles, they have one in Sao Paulo, Brazil and they have one in London.

Skateboard Meets Robotic Centipede

A couple of the speakers were on hand and they were Japanese. One of them we could hardly understand,