Technology

Building AVs for all through accessibility, equity and inclusion – TechCrunch


Developers of autonomous vehicles have long promised that the technology will fundamentally change the way people, packages and freight move around the world.

But will these robotaxis, self-driving trucks and delivery bots be good citizens in the cities in which they operate? And what does a “good AV citizen” even look like?

We’ve invited three experts to our stage to sift through this complex subject and talk about how design, the vehicle’s self-driving system and a developer’s approach to operations can affect the accessibility, equity, safety and usability of AVs.

We’re excited to announce that Argo AI’s chief corporate responsibility officer Summer Fowler, Riccardo Giraldi, who is senior director at Zoox and Alisyn Malek, executive director at the Coalition for Reimagined Mobility will join us at TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 on May 18 and May 19 in San Mateo, California.

This panel discussion will explore issues such as inclusive product design for physical accessibility and operational equity to ensure that both private and public AVs are available in all communities.

Good AV citizenship also means a vehicle that safely interacts with the cyclists, pedestrians and human-driven cars it will encounter every day.

We’ll dig into the challenges in meeting these goals.

Fowler and her team are responsible for community engagement, workforce development, environmental sustainability, philanthropy and volunteerism. She also oversees diversity, equity and inclusion, and she’s dedicated to ensuring that Argo AI remains committed to, and accountable for, the social and environmental effects of its operations.

Prior to joining Argo, Fowler served as technical director of cybersecurity risk and resilience at Carnegie Mellon University’s CERT cybersecurity division, a technical member at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and a software engineer at Northrop Grumman.

Giraldi leads the Zoox Experience team to define the future of autonomous mobility and design an unprecedented experience for passengers and cities. Prior to joining Zoox, Giraldi worked at Microsoft leading the incubation of innovative products, including Microsoft HoloLens, Mixed Reality applications and Surface devices.

He focuses on the evolution of our relationship with technology to invent and design innovative solutions to help improve people’s lives and accelerate our progress toward a more sustainable future.

Malek, a change maker in the mobility and automotive sectors, has led organizations, driven investments and developed products. She focuses on building consensus among automakers, global mobility players and regulators in advancing mobility policy.

From EV product development, corporate venture and strategy at General Motors to developing the first-of-its-kind AV transportation solution as the co-founder and COO of May Mobility, Malek has a deep understanding of the automotive and emerging transportation industries.

Join Argo AI’s Summer Fowler, Zoox’s Riccardo Giraldi and Reimagined Mobility’s Alisyn Malek for what promises to be an exciting conversation about building AVs for all through accessibility, equity and inclusion.

TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 breaks through the hype and goes beyond the headlines to discover how merging technology and transportation will affect a broad swath of industries, cities and the people who work and live in them. Register today before prices increase May15!



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