a16z Podcast Autonomy Across Air, Land, and Sea
53 snips
Nov 4, 2024 
Joining the discussion are Macario Namie, CMO of Skydio, who talks about the shift of drones from consumer to enterprise uses. Vijay Patnaik, Head of Product at Applied Intuition, shares insights on tools for developing autonomous vehicles. Peter Bowman-Davis, an engineering fellow, dives into maritime autonomy challenges. They explore advancements in air and land technologies, discuss the economic and geopolitical effects of autonomous systems, and highlight the importance of regulatory frameworks in the fast-evolving landscape.
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Drones for Inspection
- Skydio drones transitioned from consumer to enterprise/government use due to safety concerns.
- Crashing a drone inspecting an energy substation could cause widespread power outages.
Maritime Autonomy Challenges
- Maritime autonomy draws inspiration from self-driving cars but faces unique challenges.
- The ocean's uniform appearance provides less information per frame for vision models, making long-term planning crucial.
Simulators for Robotics
- Video generative models now replace traditional simulators like Unity for robotics/autonomy.
- This allows for training and testing algorithms without risking expensive robots, a non-obvious advance.