Ariel Wolf, General Counsel, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss misconceptions in the marketplace as it relates to AV technology.The conversation begins with Ariel discussing the rebranding of the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.[The brand] showcases the evolution of both the AV industry and the organization’s role with policymakers and the public. – Ariel WolfAs AV technology advances, building and maintaining public trust is critical to the adoption of autonomous vehicles. In addition to public trust, there is a need for a National Autonomous Vehicle Framework that promotes the safe and swift deployment of autonomous vehicles in the United States.In the market, there are misconceptions around what an autonomous vehicle is as some consumers are mistaken that ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) equipped vehicles are indeed autonomous vehicles.One of the key challenges is the confusion in the public between the features and benefits of driver-assist technology and autonomous vehicle technology. – Ariel WolfThe Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association has called on Congress, policymakers, journalists, and the industry to clearly distinguish between ADAS and autonomous vehicles. When the terms are intermingled, it leads to confusion in the market and erodes public trust.When you look at the perception of AV technology, it’s influenced unfortunately by unrelated ADAS technology and that leads to a diminishment of consumer trust that is really unjustified. – Ariel WolfOn February 2, 2022, Ariel testified during The Road Ahead for Automated Vehicles hearing, part of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in Congress. During his testimony, he highlighted the important safety benefits of autonomous vehicles.Deploying AV technology to make the roads safer should be part of a holistic solution. – Ariel WolfAV technology will not just make the roads safer, the technology will create jobs and shore up the supply chain. A steady supply chain that is complimented with AV technology will help to lower inflation. With a 40-year high inflation rate in the United States, Grayson and Ariel discuss autonomous trucks and the benefit the technology will have on the U.S. economy.According to recent data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate for overall trucking costs is 17%. For the long-haul trucking sector, the annual inflation rate is 25%.With record-high inflation, Grayson asks Ariel why the United States is not embracing autonomous trucking as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce inflation. The autonomous trucking industry is willing to step up, but there is a need for a national framework and engaging conversations between the Government and the industry.Conversations also need to take place between the Ports and the autonomous trucking industry as the costs to ship goods have gone up due to the supply chain crisis. At the Ports of LA and Long Beach, it can take anywhere from 28 to 52 days to ship a pair of shoes produced in China from Shanghai to Los Angeles, up from between 17 and 28 days before the pandemic. And the total cost has gone up by $1.77 per pair. Yet the Ports will not engage with the autonomous trucking industry.Today, autonomous trucks can not test and/or deploy in California due to the regulatory environment. This is having a negative impact on not only the citizens of the State of California but all Americans, as 31% of all imports to the U.S. enter the country through the Port of LA and Port of Long Beach.Autonomous trucking is going to be a positive for everyone involved. – Ariel WolfThe California Alliance for Freight Innovation (CAFI) was founded to transform how freight moves across the State of California to the benefit of everyone. With the future of autonomous trucking unsure in California, the industry has opened operations in Texas and is actively hauling freight in the State.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Ariel discuss the environmental benefits of autonomous trucks.Recorded on Friday, February 4, 2022--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sean Ackley, eMobility Segment Lead, Americas, Hitachi joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why the electric vehicle industry is at the peak of the new gold rush.The conversation begins with Sean discussing how he first became interested in electric vehicles. From building a performance golf cart to electric race cars, he shares insight into how his passion for racing turned into building his own EVs and eventually a career.From passion to a career, Sean has incredible real-world insight into EVs. With this insight in mind, Grayson asks Sean what his thoughts are on the current state of the electric vehicle market.It’s exciting. It’s certainly at a fever pitch of attention globally, both from people who are looking at it as an opportunity to invest in new commercial models, companies looking to dabble in new technologies. I almost feel like we are at the peak of the new gold rush. – Sean AckleyWhile the EV market is at the peak of the new gold rush, what happens next?There is going to be a lot of winners. There is going to be a lot of people striking gold. – Sean AckleyWith a gold rush underway, there are still hurdles that have to be crossed and one of those is the inconsistency in EV charging. There are numerous complaints from EV owners about chargers being broken when they need to charge.A broken charger does not necessarily reflect poorly on the charging company, the majority of the time it reflects negatively on the car company. This is a problem that needs to be solved in order for EV market share to grow.There is a lot of frustration in what you might call uptime and reliability of charging infrastructure. – Sean AckleyConsumer frustration with EV charging infrastructure is creating new opportunities for traditional oil and gas companies to enter the space. Shell is beginning to explore charging infrastructure with plans to operate over 500,000 chargers by 2025.Users expect a parity to their experience to a petrol car or a gas engine vehicle. – Sean AckleyWhile the ability to quickly charge today is limited, does this create an opportunity for convenience stores to install EV charging stations? Grayson and Sean discuss what would have to happen from an infrastructure perspective to make EV charging at convenience stores a reality.As more electric vehicles come online along with EV charging infrastructure, the grid will have to be upgraded to support the additional load demand.We need to continue to invest in a robust and resilient grid and then supplement it where time is a critical factor with grid edge technologies. And then build out from there as technology continues to grow in efficiency. – Sean AckleyFor EV owners who live in dense urban environments, access to EV charging can be challenging. Grayson and Sean discuss what the future of EV charging in cities might look like.Wrapping up the conversation, Sean shares his vision of what the future of electrification looks like.Recorded on Tuesday, January 25, 2022--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, covering self-driving tech and the future of mobility, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Ford and the electrification of an iconic brand.The conversation begins with Grayson and Pete discussing the incredible performance of Ford under CEO Jim Farley in the public markets. As Ford electrifies their brand, the company has implemented a savvy strategy built around iconic Ford brands: F-150 and Mustang.As car companies such as Ford begin to electrify their lineup of vehicles, it’s important not to lose sight of the circular economy. Ford clearly understands the positive impact that the circular economy will have on the EV supply chain and the environment as Ford is an investor in Redwood Materials (a battery recycling startup).Everybody suddenly sees the writing on the wall that the chip shortage of 2020 to 2023 is going to quickly turn into the battery supply shortage of 2024 to 2028. – Pete BigelowWhile the supply chain will pose long-term challenges for automakers, the model of selling vehicles to consumers is changing. Consumers are demanding a direct-to-consumer model and shying away from dealers due to the overall buying experience.The dealership networks of today are not well set up to sell electric vehicles. They are an obstacle in a lot of ways. They are not incentivized to sell electric vehicles. It’s a whole different thing where you are selling an ecosystem and you need to answer questions about utility bills and getting a charger installed in your home. – Pete BigelowAs certain car dealers look to charge more for a vehicle due to demand, it ends up having a negative long-term effect on the automaker’s brand, not the dealer. It’s important for car companies to take a stand and protect their brands. Ford is doing this by not allowing dealers to mark up the vehicle due to demand.Startups such as Rivian (which Ford owns 12%) do not have dealer networks. Does this create an inherent competitive advantage? Grayson and Pete discuss the pros and cons of the Rivian brand and the appeal of outdoor (Patagonia, The North Face) brands. Grayson raises the question: Does Rivian’s van business devalue the brand’s overall value?Competition in the electric van market is heating up with GM’s Brightdrop, Stellantis’ Ram ProMaster, and Ford’s E-Transit vans coming online in the near future. Could these vans become autonomous in the future?Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Pete discuss the airport opportunity for autonomous vehicles and why the future of autonomy might not be shared.Recorded on Monday, January 17, 2022--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jason Eichenholz, Co-Founder & CTO, Luminar joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss optoelectronics, lasers and seeing around corners.The conversation begins with Jason telling the story of how he first became interested in imaging systems and optoelectronics during a physics demonstration he witnessed in high school.I vividly remember the day that I saw that laser beam going across. And I was like OK, I want to do this and learn everything I can about lasers and optics and imaging and the things we could do. I thought there were all sorts of applications. Little did I know that [this event] would shape the direction of my career, that I would be using lasers to make autonomous vehicles safely operate on highways. – Jason EichenholzFast forward from high school to a career and Jason is following his lifelong passion by commercializing optics and photonics as Co-Founder & CTO of Luminar.From Day 1, we wanted the technology to be deployable, scalable, and we never sacrificed on the technology-based upon what was available. We made the technology work to enable the application. – Jason EichenholzLuminar has a commercial partnership with Volvo where Luminar LiDAR will be standard on Volvo’s to be announced all-new electric SUV and an upcoming autonomous driving subscription called Ride Pilot. This partnership validates Luminar’s technology and looks to usher in the future of transportation.I look at the automotive industry and I look at the ability to bring technology and innovation forward. The overall industry is going through a transformation. I think it is the single largest transformation to transportation since the Model T. – Jason EichenholzAt CES 2022, Luminar demonstrated its Proactive Safety system to great success. The system was able to detect a safety dummy crossing the road and came to a complete stop. In the other lane, a vehicle that was not equipped with the Proactive Safety system ran over the safety dummy. Grayson and Jason go on to discuss the system as to how it was able to detect the safety dummy.Proactive Safety is about preventing accidents, not mitigating or minimizing them. It’s about preventing them. – Jason EichenholzFor the last 25 years, Jason has served as a volunteer firefighter in Orange County, Florida. During his service, he has seen sights and heard sounds that stop and make you realize how truly dangerous the roads of America can be at any time of the day. Continuing the safety conversation, Jason discusses the safety benefits of LiDAR and how Luminar tests for edge cases in all conditions.Wrapping up the conversation, Jason shares a personal story about why autonomous vehicles are so important for society and what he is doing to enable the future of autonomy.Recorded on Tuesday, January 11, 2022--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Finch Fulton, Vice President of Policy and Strategy, Locomation joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the current state of autonomous trucking policy and why narratives shape reality.The conversation begins with Finch sharing his outlook for 2022 and what he is expecting to see in the autonomous trucking industry. The potential impact of the April 2021 Executive Order Establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment on autonomous trucking.With rising inflation, labor politics, and a lack of truck drivers, Grayson and Finch discuss how autonomous trucking can shore up the supply chain and lower the costs of goods delivered to consumers. From an investment standpoint, investors in the public markets are starting to look at the autonomous trucking industry as an investment opportunity due to the technology’s ability to shore up the supply chain and its environmental benefits.The transportation sector as a whole represents 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy-duty trucks account for 23% of that. – Finch FultonLocomation’s ARC (Autonomous Relay Convoy) technology will allow its customers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22%. This reduction in greenhouse gases will have a positive environmental impact. The environmental benefits and the shoring up of the supply chain are two of the major benefits of autonomous trucking.When U.S. Labor Secretary Walsh was Mayor of Boston he fully embraced autonomous vehicles when he signed an executive order in 2016 welcoming autonomous vehicles to Boston. Over the last six years, has his stance on autonomy changed. Grayson and Finch discuss Secretary Walsh’s changing approach to autonomy and the impact these changing views might have on the autonomous trucking industry.The reality of what [truck drivers] face today is different than what the perceptions are. So we really have a lot to do to inform and educate [truck drivers] on what this technology can do to make their jobs better. – Finch FultonTo start this process, the industry has to build trust. The trust has to be built with truck drivers, politicians, regulators, and the public. Grayson floats the idea of the industry partnering with Disney to create a new Pixar movie about autonomous trucks that could help develop public trust in the technology. Finch fills in the storyline with real-world data.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Finch discuss the positive economic impact that autonomous trucking will have on the U.S. economy.[The United States] lets innovators innovate and we do not start with no. – Finch FultonRecorded on Monday, January 3, 2022--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dustin Koehl, Senior Vice President Of Sales, U.S. Xpress joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss why U.S. Xpress is doubling down on innovation and what the future of the trucking industry looks like in the coming years.The conversation begins with Dustin sharing an overview of U.S. Xpress and why the company is constantly doubling down on innovation. From Variant which is reengineering the truck diver experience for the better to autonomous trucking which will shore up the chain, U.S. Xpress is constantly focused on the future of trucking.With a pending truck driver shortage of over 80,000 drivers, the trucking industry will change dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years. One of the major changes that will affect the industry is the focus on sustainability and what the industry will do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Our trucks travel over 600 million miles a year and over 1.2 million deliveries are made per year. It’s a great opportunity to be good stewards of our environment. – Dustin KoehlU.S. Xpress’ commitment to sustainability extends to the local community as the company gives back by rolling up its sleeves and participating in the Chattanooga Preparatory School mentor program. The Chatt Prep mentor program could eventually pave the way for students to enter the trucking industry.The trucking industry is currently in a phase of optimization to improve performance and dwell time.With a driver, they have a fourteen-hour day or an eleven-hour clock that they drive. Well, the industry average is about six and half hours is really all they drive each day. – Dustin KoehlA large part of the discrepancy in time on and driving is due to parking and congestion. With parking being a major issue for trucking, Grayson and Dustin go on to discuss the issue and what can be done to solve the issue and increase hours driven each day by a truck driver.Putting the pieces together, Grayson asks Dustin how the company is preparing for the future of autonomous trucking.U.S. Xpress became one of the first fleets if not the first fleet to say let’s be at the tip of the spear here. We have really pressed in from a regulatory space, we have pressed in from an operational playbook. – Dustin KoehlExpanding the conversation, Grayson and Dustin talk about how the industry at large is preparing for the future of autonomous trucking.States are also preparing to welcome autonomous trucking, but California is not allowing the technology to operate on public roads in the State. Brulte & Company and U.S. Xpress are both founding members of the California Alliance for Freight Innovation which is working to foster innovation and advancement in freight transportation.While the autonomous trucking technology is being developed in California, it is being deployed in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. California is missing a large positive economic impact by not embracing autonomous trucking deployments as the State acts merely as Texas’ R&D lab as companies are actively deploying autonomous trucks in Texas.Autonomous trucking can spur on $111 billion in aggregate investment across the U.S. economy. – Dustin KoehlWrapping up the conversation, Dustin discusses U.S. Xpress’ 2022 technology investment plans.Recorded on Friday, December 17, 2021--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Russ Mitchell who covers the rapidly changing global auto industry (with special emphasis on California, including Tesla, electric vehicles, and driverless cars) at The Los Angeles Times once again joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss what is self-driving.The conversation begins with Grayson posing the question to Russ: are we in an electric vehicle bubble?Yes, we are in an EV bubble, but that’s part of a greater stock market bubble. – Russ MitchellThe conversation evolves into the electric vehicle charging market and if that market is in a bubble. The conclusion is yes. Staying on the economics theme and price performance of companies and markets, Russ discusses Tesla’s current public market valuation.A large portion of the general public believes that a Tesla is a self-driving car due to the vehicle’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature. This feature has created scenarios that are dangerous and have led to crashes as members of the public are overly confident that their Tesla will drive them home safely. While in fact, a Tesla is not a self-driving car (today).Regulators and politicians are beginning to take notice and ask questions about whether Tesla’s FSD system is a self-driving vehicle or if it’s a Level 2 ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) that requires drivers to be fully engaged at all times.California Senate Transportation Committee Chair, Lena Gonzalez recently sent a letter to the CA DMV questing the CA DMV’s approval in allowing Tesla to operate vehicles with the FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature enabled on public roads in California.The letter from California State Senator Gonzalez raises the question does the CA DMV even has the legal authority to impose regulations on FSD since it’s technically an ADAS system and not a self-driving vehicle.As an example, there have been multiple police reports of Teslas with FSD engaged being involved in crashes and nothing happens from a regulatory standpoint. When Pony AI, which is authorized to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in California, got into a crash on October 28, 2021, the company had its testing permit suspended by the CA DMV.With multiple regulatory bodies vying to regulate autonomous vehicles in California, will passenger AV companies look to follow non-AV businesses by relocating to Texas and Florida? It’s possible, but Russ brings up the point that engineering talent is located in the Bay Area.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Russ discuss what the AV industry will look like in California over the next 10 years and what consumers can expect in the market.People shouldn’t assume that any car for sale right now can drive itself because it can’t. – Russ MitchellRecorded on Monday, December 16, 2021--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss commercializing autonomous vehicles and the growth of the electric vehicle market in the United States.The conversation begins with David sharing his thoughts on the current state of the autonomous vehicle industry.Right now you are kind of seeing a race to get some sort of autonomous business to market. – David WelchAs autonomous vehicle companies prepare to commercialize their service, Grayson and David discuss the strategic advantages that Cruise has with GM/Honda and Argo AI has with Ford/VW. Cruise and Argo AI have the advantage of having a traditional automaker to help them build and test their AVs for safety requirements.As a competitor, Waymo does not have the traditional automaker relationship, but it does have Alphabet’s cash. The question is, how long will Alphabet continue to invest in Waymo without seeing a return on capital?I do not think they have unlimited time and unlimited money to do this anymore. The parent company, Alphabet has basically said that they do not want to forever pump billions of dollars into science projects. [Waymo] has to start earning its way over time. – David WelchAs AV companies prepare to commercialize their service, Grayson asks David why the industry has an obsession with launching in San Francisco as the City is hostile to the technology. As David explains, it all comes down to the engineering talent that is lives in and around the City.Cities are a great place to deploy autonomous vehicles if the City is welcoming to the technology and if the infrastructure is properly developed. Sports stadiums will have to update their infrastructure as well to ensure that the fan experience is convenient and frictionless.Today, fans do not like walking long distances to find an Uber or Lyft and in the future, they will want AVs to pick them up at the front gate without having to walk to a remote lot. The future of passenger autonomy will be defined by convenience and the overall passenger experience.The adoption and growth of electric vehicles will come down to convenience and how easy it is to charge the vehicle without downloading multiple apps.I do not think people want 27 apps for charging on their phone. – David WelchIs this a problem for Apple to solve? Could fixing the EV charging problem be one of the things that Apple is working on as part of Project Titan? Possibly, but most likely Project Titan will be than just EV charging.With a shortage of semiconductors and an unstable supply of minerals for electric vehicles, Grayson and David discuss what can be done to shore up the U.S. supply chain for EVs. While the supply chain is a work in progress, there are still questions around how the minerals for electric vehicles are mined and refined.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and David compare and contrast GM’s and Ford’s vision for electric vehicles.Recorded on Monday, December 13, 2021--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dirk Smillie, Author, The Business of Tomorrow: The Visionary Life of Harry Guggenheim: From Aviation and Rocketry to the Creation of an Art Dynasty joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Harry Guggenheim and the role he played helping to usher in the future of aviation.The conversation begins with Dirk discussing who Harry Guggenheim was and the role he played in transforming the Guggenheim family business. As Harry became established in business, he was appointed Ambassador to Cuba and had personal relations with five U.S. Presidents.As the co-owner of Newsday on Long Island, Harry’s political ideologies often clashed with those of his wife, co-owner, and publisher Alicia Patterson. When John F. Kennedy received the Democratic nomination for President, Newday endorsed Kennedy while Harry wrote an op-ed for the paper endorsing the Republican nominee Richard Nixon.This was not the first nor last time that Harry and Alicia would disagree on issues that were important to them. One such issue was an airfield on Long Island that Harry wanted to see transformed into an airport, while Alicia wanted it closed. Due to her savvy move in having Newsday endorse John F. Kennedy for President, she was able to persuade then-President Kennedy to shut down the airport over a private lunch.Aviation was deeply personal to Harry as he viewed it as the business of tomorrow. His relationships in the emerging industry ran deep as he developed a life-long friendship with Aviator Charles Lindbergh. Harry and Charles met before his famous Spirit of St. Louis flight at Mitchell Field on Long Island.Capalitizing on the momentous occasion of the historical flight, Harry organized the Spirit of St. Louis Tour to develop public trust that flying in a plane was safe. The tour had 82 stops in 48 states over the course of 3 months.The idea [of the tour] was to prove that the flight from New York to Paris was not a fluke. It was a function of the fact, generally speaking, were reliable and safe. Lindbergh sought to prove that by landing at a different city every day at exactly two-o’clock and then he would go through the same kind of protocols where he would make a speech and then maybe there would be a dinner and a parade and then he would get back in the plane and got to the next city. – Dirk SmillieAs the relationship between Harry and Lindbergh matured over the years through countless days at Falaise (Harry’s estate on the Gold Coast of Long Island) and through innumerable letters, Lindbergh introduced Harry to Robert Goddard. Robert was a professor studying rockets in Massachusetts who would later go on to become known as “America’s Father of the Space Age”. It was the introduction by Lindbergh to Harry that paved the way for the rocket age, as the Daniel Guggenheim Fund funded Goddard’s work.One could make the assumption that if it were not for the visionary Harry Guggenheim, aviation could possibly have been slower to take off and liquid-cooled rockets might have been developed years later.It was the kind of spark plugs that Harry put into place that accelerated the sector. – Dirk SmillieThe other accelerator of aviation was the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics which funded programs focused on aviation engineering and education. The fund had a limited term as it was set up to accelerate the emerging aviation industry.The idea was, put the spark plugs in place and then let industry take over. – Dirk SmillieWrapping up the conversation, Dirk and Grayson discuss what they think will be the businesses of the future.Recorded on Monday, December 6, 2021--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ellen Carey, Global Head of Sustainability, Circulor joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss the global supply chain and the importance of tracking commodities in real-time.The conversation begins with Ellen and Grayson discussing the sustainability of the global supply chain.We are thinking about our supply chains at more levels and more deeply than we have ever before. – Ellen CareyExpanding the supply chain conversation from Christmas toys to electric vehicles, Grayson asks Ellen when do we get to the point where there is clear transparency on how the raw earth minerals for EVs are mined and eventually refined? Now.In terms of the market dynamics, customers are demanding that their purchase power goes towards supporting responsible sourcing, sound businesses. – Ellen CareyThe market is past the point of goals and press releases to the point where consumers and investors are demanding to see proof of sustainability on a quarterly basis.At Circulor we like to think of ourselves as the pioneers of proof. – Ellen CareyThis is exactly what Circulor is doing as they are tracking the physical flow of materials in real-time from source to manufacturing. Real-time tracking allows corporations and companies to report on ESG standards and to make smarter decisions.For the tracking of the raw material to be traced, Circulor creates a digital twin of the commodity/material and then traces that digital twin through the industrial process. Looking back at the history of the global commodities market, the move by Circulor to be the pioneers of proof was ground-breaking.Circulor’s system and approach are based on trust and transparency.It has to be a secure system that grows trust and has immutable records of the supply chain so that it enables participation. It enables trust. – Ellen CareyTrafigura, one of the world’s largest commodity trading houses has engaged Circulor to provide traceability and CO2 tracking for their nickel and cobalt trading division.By providing transparency of its cobalt and nickel supply chains and by tracking, dynamically tracking its CO2 emissions throughout, it provides a new value proposition to its downstream customers. – Ellen CareyTransparency is the future. Transparency is coming to all industries across the global economy due to customer and investor demand.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Ellen discuss the future of sustainability.Recorded on Tuesday, November 16, 2021--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™. The company has two businesses: The Road to Autonomy Indices, with Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices as the custom calculation agent; Media, which includes The Road to Autonomy and Autonomy Economy podcasts as well as This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.