Lessons Learned When Robots Fail

Pundits are already speculating that the fatal crash by Uber’s autonomous taxi will set the driverless car industry back decades. As the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) deconstructs the accident to report on the technological breakdown, it is clear that the redundant systems failed – from the safety driver’s ability to react in time to … Read more

Singapore: An Autonomous Innovation Center

Jim Robinson of RRE Ventures said it best last month at the Silicon Dragon Conference when comparing Silicon Valley to New York, “There are two kinds of centers that have a lot of startups and technology, there are technology centers and commerce centers.” New York falls into the later category, while the Valley is the … Read more

Last Mile Delivery Goes To Robotic Mules

Lior Ron has had quite a ride since founding Otto less than a year ago; within three months of his official launch, Uber acquired the autonomous truck startup for more than $680 million. Ron, a former Google executive, told me this week that he started Otto as a socially conscious company to end roadside fatalities. Since trucks are … Read more

2016: The Year of Drones, Cars, Bots (and Less Jobs…)

At a JP Morgan conference this month, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated that “forty percent of New York City’s jobs will be automated over the next 10 years.” This means over 1 million people will be out of work by 2026. Bloomberg’s statistic is even less than the UN Report last November, which stated over two-thirds of the jobs in developed … Read more