Engineering a Driverless Future

Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of the self-driving technology startup Aurora, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the state-of-play of self-driving technology, the criticisms the tech must address, and the huge challenges to be overcome before we trust a computer to drive our kids to school.

They also discuss:

• How Aurora’s founders built their “no jerks,” team-oriented culture.
• The importance of new LIDAR sensors (light-radar) for achieving faster speeds with bigger vehicles.
• Why Aurora is skipping the baby steps and heading straight for the prize of fully autonomous driving (in specified locations and conditions).

@azeem
@ExponentialView
@chris_urmson
@aurora_inno

Further resources:

• “The Truth About Autonomy” (Exponential View podcast, 2019)
• “Uber ATG And Aurora Merge To Staggering $10B Valuation” (Forbes, 2020)
• “The Rumored Apple Car Is Bad News for Elon” (Wired, 2021)
• “Meet K.I.T.T.” (Youtube, 1980s TV series Knight Rider)