Thread by @AVGregR

Thread: Last week I got the chance to travel down to Miami to see @Ford and Argo’s AVs in action. The immersive experience included about an hour of driving on public roads around the city in autonomous mode with two safety drivers.

Here’s what I saw...

First off, we’ve already seen that partnerships are the name of the PR game for AV developers. Until AV tech is sufficiently mature, there won’t be a metric for the real profitability of AV-enabled services.

Nevertheless, companies are exploring & estimating market opportunities

This is what makes @Ford’s AV approach interesting. Argo AI is developing integrated AV systems while Ford plans to provide the cars, the transportation-as-a-service platform, fleet management, and partnerships with large companies (Walmart, Postmates), and local businesses.

Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC is thinking about how to work with cities, state/federal policy makers, communities, riders, and businesses to transport people & goods.

For more, check out my interview with @Ford AV’s CEO Sherif Marakby on @MobilityPodcast

itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

Over the course of four AV rides that totaled ~1 hour in autonomous mode, I was struck by a few things.

1. Argo’s AV system feels somewhat “natural”. It accelerates confidently and safely when appropriate, but is appropriately very cautious around bikes and pedestrians.

2. Y’all know how much I love me some curbs, so it was great to see that @Ford worked with the City of Miami to establish temporary PU/DO zones at each stop to ensure that trips safely began and ended for passengers, cyclists, and other road users. #SUMZones

P.S. can I get one of these for my apartment so that everyone knows that this is where conversations begin and end

Another glamour shot because curbs

3. Disengagements: These were real-world drives on chaotic public roads around Miami, and we were told in advance that there would be disengagements. The test driver and engineer both sat in the front seat and constantly communicated even as we peppered them with questions (1/2)

3. (Cont) Even though they clearly knew there was media listening, it was obvious that this was a habit for them - and it was very important. Things like “it’s detecting this person trying to turn left and yielding because xyz” or “best to disengage to get around this” (2/2)

3. (Cont) The engineer in the passenger seat took notes every time something tricky popped up - whether they had to disengage or not -and described to us what they thought happened.

They were naturally curious about the tech, which is so so important: curiosity breeds ingenuity.

I also appreciated the opportunity to learn about @Ford GoRide, which has partnered with medical facilities to provide non-emergency medical transportation services in Michigan. They can accommodate up to two people in wheelchairs at once and has several seats inside.

A Ford representative then showed us how their AV system could enhance trips for entertainment (concerts) and family (picking up daughter from school and groceries).

They painted a picture of optimizing every aspect of your life. It was cool, but holy data collection, Batman.

We also got to see Ford’s self-driving delivery prototypes for Dominos and Postmates and what they learned.

Turns out that people are okay with walking outside their houses to get deliveries at the curb.

People in high-rise apartments? Not so much.

Another thing to note: take a look at these interfaces and imagine you’re in a wheelchair.

Could you use this? Even if you enter the code on the keypad, would it be dangerous to get down the curb (or find a curb cut) to pick up?

Ford says there’s a team working on this issue