Hardware Podcasts

Looking Down to Go Forward: Ground Penetrating Radar for Autonomous Vehicles

Moore's Lobby · 18 Jun 2024 · 55m · Episode 12

What this episode covers

Noah Gedrimas, VP of Strategy at Ground Positioning Radar (GPR), discusses using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for centimeter-accurate localization in autonomous vehicles. He details his background at Continental Automotive working on valet parking and semi-trucks, and explains how GPR’s 'WaveSense' system maps sub-surface signatures to navigate in weather or GPS-denied environments like mines and seaports. Gedrimas also critiques sensor fusion complexity, discusses the business case for autonomous trucking versus robotaxis, and offers insights into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving approach.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
GPR, Continental, Aurora, Waymo, Tesla, FLIR, Zendar, Intel, Caterpillar, Komatsu
Products
WaveSense, MapSense
Also
Dojo

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Over the Air · 16m

    Autonomous Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments with Ben Williams, COO at Exyn Technologies

    Ben Williams, COO of Exyn Technologies, explains how his company uses SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) to enable autonomous navigation in GPS-denied environments like mines and caves. He details the engineering challenge of operating in dusty, particulate-heavy conditions, describing how early systems would crash until they developed an action framework to detect and avoid these hazards. Williams highlights the transition from manual piloting to fully autonomous operations, noting partnerships with hardware providers like Boston Dynamics and software firms like Cesium to build a multimodal autonomy ecosystem.

    Embedded firmwareRobotics & autonomy
    6 chapters

  • The Robot Report Podcast · 1h 11m

    Autonomous submarines for ocean exploration; drone autonomy with Exyn Technologies

    Jud Kauffman and Joe Wolfel, co-founders of Austin-based startup Terradepth, discuss their mission to build the 'Google Earth of the ocean' using a novel two-submarine leapfrogging system for autonomous deep-sea data collection. They explain how their Navy SEAL background informs their approach to solving bandwidth and signal attenuation challenges in underwater environments. The episode also features Nader Elm, CEO and co-founder of Exyn Technologies, who details his company's autonomous drones designed for GPS-denied environments like mines, highlighting their software-centric approach and recent product launches.

    Robotics & autonomyStarting a product company
    6 chapters

  • Robot Talk · 30m

    Episode 91: Robot navigation on land and in water - John Leonard

    John Leonard, a Professor at MIT and Technical Advisor at Toyota Research Institute, explains the challenges of autonomous navigation for underwater vehicles and self-driving cars. He details how pose graph optimization and SLAM allow robots to build maps and localize themselves, while discussing the specific difficulties of underwater sonar and perceptual aliasing. Leonard also describes his concept of 'robot dreaming' for lifelong learning and Toyota's human-centric AI approach, which includes autonomous drifting to improve safety systems for human drivers.

    Robotics & autonomySensors & measurement in products
    6 chapters

  • The Robot Report Podcast · 1h 20m

    Autonomous vehicle technology deep dive at John Deere and Zoox

    Jorge Heraud, VP of Autonomy at John Deere, explains how the company leverages its acquisition of Blue River Technology and Spark AI to deploy Level 4 autonomous tractors, using computer vision and machine learning to enable 'See and Spray' and autonomous tillage while managing rural connectivity challenges. RJ He and Ryan McMichael, technology leaders at Zoox, discuss their purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxi recently deployed on public roads in California, detailing a perception stack that integrates cameras, LIDAR, radar, and thermal imaging to ensure safety through redundancy and diversity. The episode contrasts the agricultural application of autonomy, focused on labor relief and precision, with the urban mobility focus of Zoox, highlighting the technical hurdles of sensor fusion, edge cases, and the critical importance of building a robust safety case for public acceptance.

    Robotics & autonomySensors & measurement in products
    8 chapters

  • How I Built This · 41m

    The future of driving is autonomous with Dmitri Dolgov of Waymo

    Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, recounts the company's decade-long journey from a secret Google project to the world's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service. He details the technical evolution from the early DARPA Challenge vehicles to the current Jaguar I-PACE fleet, explaining why Waymo chose a multi-sensor approach with LiDAR and radar over Tesla's camera-only vision. Dolgov also discusses the strategic pivot to full autonomy, the safety framework that underpins their operations, and the business model involving Waymo One, Uber partnerships, and future personal vehicle ownership.

    Robotics & autonomySensors & measurement in products
    6 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Moore's Lobby. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.