Welcome back to the latest episode of The Future of Automotive on CBT News, where we put recent automotive and mobility news into the context of the broader themes impacting the industry.
I’m Steve Greenfield from Automotive Ventures, and I’m glad that you could join us.
Two related news items this week.
First up, how autonomous vehicles are bringing out the worst in humans.
As companies like Waymo and Tesla bring self-driving taxis to more cities, the messier aspects of serving unpredictable humans are becoming harder to ignore. Passengers are falling asleep, spilling drinks, dropping food, vomiting, experiencing medical emergencies and, in at least two instances, giving birth in the cars. They stumble out of the vehicles and forget to close the doors, forcing the operators to pay nearby gig workers to do it.
These seemingly minor nuisances are becoming a drain on municipal resources and complicating the rollout of robotaxi service.
So many robotaxi customers have fallen asleep in the midst of a ride that Austin police and firefighters even have a name for the incidents: “sleepers.” The Texas capital recorded 99 such calls in Waymo’s first nine months of service there.
If tired or wasted passengers fall asleep in a traditional taxi or rideshare, the driver can shout or shake them awake. But this isn’t the case in a robotaxi where there isn’t a driver. Remote assistants monitoring the cars try talking through the speakers and checking on passengers with interior cameras. But if they get no response, company protocols often require them to call 911. And first responders have to assume the worst.
In a related story, new legislation has been introduced in the EU that may mandate driver-facing cameras for all new vehicles.
The European Union is now mandating that every vehicle come equipped with an interior-facing camera as part of an “advanced driver distraction warning (ADDW) system” that can monitor when drivers are distracted, drowsy, or otherwise inattentive, and alert them to stay focused.
Back in 2021, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that would require similar technology, including in-car cameras, in new vehicles to combat drunk and impaired driving. Following an extension, that tech is required to be installed in cars beginning next year.
How are these two stories connected, and what does this all mean for the future of automotive?
Cars are getting more technologically advanced. PWC forecasts that by 2030 half of the cost of manufacturing a vehicle will be the electronic components.
As vehicles introduce more technology that protects the driver, think about features like advanced ADAS and emergency braking, the cars are still going to need to be sure that the driver is paying attention, not drunk and definitely not taking a nap.
My view is that humans are inherently lazy, and if the car seems to be in control, we’re likely to fill our time behind the wheel with other activities, like reading, watching videos or even sneaking in a quick nap.
So, I expect there will be increasing tension between cars that protect the inhabitants on one hand, and ensuring the safety systems aren’t turned off or otherwise tampered with and humans are paying attention during those edge cases where the safety systems get confused and may need the human driver to intervene within milliseconds. And if the driver is drunk or asleep, that’s just not going to work. So here come the driver-monitoring cameras!
So, with that, let’s transition to Our Companies to Watch.
Every week we highlight interesting companies in the automotive technology space to keep an eye on. If you read my weekly Intel Report, we showcase a company to watch, and take the opportunity here on this segment each week to share that company with you.
Today, our new company to watch is RockED.
Automotive dealerships are using RockED to level up their teams with automated dealership training.
RockED is the premier people development platform for the automotive industry. Training Dealerships, Automotive Vendors, and OEMs to reduce lost revenue.
RockED provides 2,500+ guides updated every month.
They offer a Mobile-first experience to support your people on the go.
And 2-min micro-lessons to learn in the flow of work and not disrupt the employee’s day.
RockED is designed for your frontline employees, managers, and for owners.
If you’d like to learn more about RockED, you can check them out at: www.RockED.us
So that’s it for this week’s Future of Automotive segment.
If you’re an AutoTech entrepreneur working on a solution that helps car dealerships, we want to hear from you. We are actively investing out of our new Mobility Fund.
Don’t forget to check out my two books, The Future of Automotive Retail and The Future of Mobility, both available on Amazon.com.
Thanks (as always) for your ongoing support and for tuning into CBT News for this week’s Future of Automotive segment. We’ll see you next week!
