Welcome back to The Stack, Argo AI’s monthly newsletter covering our latest autonomous vehicle news, technology explainers, and job opportunities.
Moving forward, The Stack will be assembled by yours truly, Alex Roy. (I promise not to talk about my obsession with elevators too much…this time!)
Let’s get started!
A lot of people talk about autonomous vehicle (AV) safety, but there’s a big difference between window dressing and taking ownership by proactively inviting third parties to assess and validate what one is doing…which is precisely how Argo AI raised the bar twice in the last year.
First was TÜV SÜD’s audit confirming Argo AI meets or exceeds both the Autonomous Vehicle Safety Consortium’s (AVSC) best practices and SAE’s J3018 standard for safe on-road testing. I’m really proud of Argo AI for being the first – and still the only – AV developer to do this.
Now Argo AI has raised the bar once again with our Safety Advisory Council, whose membership includes some of the country’s most experienced safety experts:
It’s hard to imagine a better or more hard-core group of experts across transportation, law enforcement, medicine, and cybersecurity.
Here’s what The Verge said, or read Argo’s announcement for yourself.
I recently attended an event in Miami and found myself in a crowd of people waiting in the sweltering heat for our Uber and Lyft pickups. A neighbor saw my nametag and gave me a very suspicious look.
“Why are self-driving cars taking so long? Why can’t we get one here, right now?”
My car had just appeared, so I didn’t have time to explain that we could get an Argo robotaxi right now…if the event had been on South Beach, where Argo’s vehicles were running at that exact moment.
And then the answer came to me: ice cream. Ice cream was around for centuries, but for most of human history you couldn’t buy it unless you lived near its most essential ingredient: ice. Ice cream was the perfect product, but it could never scale without enabling technologies like refrigeration, internal combustion, electricity, and trucks.
What might the history of ice cream teach us about self-driving cars?
Find out what I learned about ice cream — and the difference between invention and innovation — in my latest column for Ground Truth: Self-Driving Is Arriving Right On Time. Just Like Ice Cream Did.
Every self-driving company talks about improving safety, traffic, and mobility, but what if one could do good while developing autonomous vehicles? Argo AI has partnered with non-profit 412 Food Rescue and Parkhurst Dining to help tackle food insecurity in the Pittsburgh region. Argo will pair autonomous vehicles with 412’s partners to transport meals and supplies, and will also donate and deliver meals prepared by Parkhurst, its food service provider.
This is more than a good deed, it’s part of a broader strategy led by my friend Summer Fowler, Argo’s Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, to put the engagement in community engagement. Shout out to Summer, her team, and the universe of awesome humans who made this happen.
Read the full story @ Argo AI
Last year Argo AI partnered with the League of American Bicyclists to create the first-ever technical guidelines for how autonomous vehicles should interact with cyclists.
But a lot of people have been asking HOW autonomous vehicles distinguish between bikes and riders. This is really important, not only for the safety of people outside AVs, but for those inside too. AVs need accurate predictions in order to make decisions, and there are big differences in speed between a cyclist on a bike, a pedestrian walking their bike, and a stationary bike with someone just standing next to it.
And that’s before considering all the different types of micromobility out there, from unicycles to tandem bikes, cargo trikes, and 9-seater Miami party pedal cars.
So my friends over at Ground Truth interviewed Ishan Khatri, a software engineer on Argo AI’s Perception Team, to explain how they do it.
AVs aren’t just about robotaxis. Driver shortages, consumer demand, and economic conditions mean the mountain of last and middle mile opportunities for automation are only going to grow.
Would you like to know more? Download this white paper by Argo AI’s business development team and Supply Chain Brain explaining: Five Ways AVs Might Impact Last And Middle Mile Delivery (Free PDF)
Ready to work in the autonomous vehicle industry? Apply here now for opportunities in the U.S., Germany, and remote — including jobs that don’t require advanced or technical degrees.
It’s been fun pulling this together! Advice? Comments? Suggestions? Email us…or me directly.
Until next time 🙂 Alex Roy
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