Episode 42: Autonomous trucks for first-mile, last-mile and 18,000 miles, feat. Kodiak and StreetDrone

Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast

GUESTS: Mark Preston, StreetDrone; Dan Goff, Kodiak Robotics; Lukas Neckermann, PAVE Europe & Neckermann Strategic Advisors
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Autonomous passenger cars are just one aspect of autonomous vehicle development. The autonomous vehicles we discuss in this episode are autonomous trucks pulling heavy loads.
Martin and guest co-host Lukas Neckermann chat to Dan Goff of Kodiak Robotics and Mark Preston from StreetDrone about the use of AV technology in first-mile, last-mile, and long-haul freight and logistics.
StreetDrone develops technology for autonomous logistics applications, with vehicles using its solutions for first- and last-mile short-distance heavy load haulage on private and off-highway roads in industrial compounds such as ports, notably the Port of Rotterdam, and factories, such as Nissan's Sunderland car factory.

It's from Kodiak Robotics that we get the 18,000-mile reference in the title; the "Kodiak Driver" enables autonomous long-haul highway driving for Class 8 trucks - that is, US big-rig 18-wheelers. And it does this on an 18,000-mile network of highways that covers almost a fifth of the US Interstate System, taking in 14 states and spanning four time zones.

ABOUT THE GUESTS
Mark Preston is Co-Founder and CTO of autonomous truck systems supplier StreetDrone, and Director of Lola Cars Motorsport. He began his career in Formula 1, with stints as Head of R&D at Arrows, Principal Designer at McLaren Racing, and Founder & Technical Director of the Super Aguri Formula 1 team. After F1, he became the most decorated Team Principal in the history of Formula E.
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
Dan Goff is Director of External Affairs at Kodiak Robotics. His career includes time at Accenture, the role of Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce, and the Board of the ACLU of Illinois.
Connect with Dan Goff on LinkedIn
Lukas Neckermann runs Neckermann Strategic Advisors, and is a co-founder of PAVE Europe.
Connect with Lukas on LinkedIn
Picture credit: Marcin Jozwiak

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