1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Let's bring in Keith not Now. He's Auto editor at 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Large for Bloomberg News, joining us from our Motor City 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:11,400 Speaker 1: Detroit bureau in Southfield, Michigan. So, Keith, what do you 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: take away from what Mark Fields just told our own 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: Emily Chang? Yeah, I think you know, what Mark is 6 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: trying to do is sort of carve a distinct path 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: for Ford. It's been a little unclear, you know, Uh, 8 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: you know what their strategy was, and so they're taking 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,159 Speaker 1: a little bit of everyone else's strategy. They're they're going 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: to go you know, completely autonomous, no steering wheel, much 11 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: like the Google has said they will do with their 12 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: their car. They want to do it though within the 13 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: confines of ride hailing and ride sharing, which is very 14 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: similar to what GM is looking at with with Lift, 15 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: which had invested in UH. And they want to do 16 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: it by one, which is the same time frame that 17 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: BMW has announcer it's driver less car. So they've they've 18 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: taken a little bit of each and UH come up 19 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: with their own plan. UM. You know, it's ambitious because 20 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: they don't have the big partners that GM has or 21 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: even BMW. They've aligned with Mobile I and Intel, UM 22 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: and and they ford tried to align with Google and 23 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: ended up not doing a deal with them, and instead 24 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: Google is partnering with Chrysler. Hey, Keith, can you tell 25 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: us about a company called the Velodine ldar and maybe 26 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: just give us some details about what is it? A 27 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: bus or a mini bus that I believe was showcased 28 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: in India recently using Velodine ldar technology and it's completely autonomous, right. 29 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: You know? The UM the thing that that Valodine does 30 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: for just about everybody UM is is the light our radar, 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: which you know. The way that that works is that 32 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: it kind of bounces light off objects lidar. I'm just 33 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: gonna give you the that's the acronym l I D 34 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: a R light detection and ranging sensors exactly, and so 35 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: UM it gives the vehicle the ability to sense its 36 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: environment in a three sixty degree way UM in conjunction 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: with cameras and traditional radar, so it creates a vision 38 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: for the car UM and and then it can drive itself. 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: It's a very expensive component. They're trying to bring the 40 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 1: cost of it down by getting more and more customers 41 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: because Veladine won't just supply forward even though they have 42 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: struck this deal or by do they're going to continue 43 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: to supply all the world's automakers, um because they do 44 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: sort of have the state of the art light ar 45 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: at the moment. So you know, um Keith, even though 46 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: Mark Fields kind of seem to want to push back, 47 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: like you know, the technology companies they're not just going 48 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: to rush in. Are sure they're rushing in, but the 49 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: car companies forward is here the fact that they're doubling 50 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: their workforce in Palo Alto with the research center. You know, 51 00:02:54,720 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: they're increasing the size this facility hugely sixfold actually according 52 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: to your story, to over three buildings. It does seem 53 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: to indicate that Mark Fields realizes that having a presence 54 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: in you know, in the in the heart that the 55 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: biggest technology center in the country, if not the world, 56 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: is important Afard Now, Yeah, and you know, as I 57 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: was working on this story today, I got a call 58 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: from General Motors to remind me that they have a 59 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: Silicon Valley lab to so you know, all that detroyed 60 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,639 Speaker 1: automakers actoually just say all the automakers in general want 61 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: to have a presence in Silicon Valley, which I think 62 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: demonstrates the importance of that hotbed of innovation. They're trying 63 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: to become a part of it. Um, they are still 64 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: a small part of it when you look at you know, 65 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: what Google and Apple are doing in in that space, 66 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: and and from Wall Streets perspective, you know, whatever Ford 67 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: is doing or GM is doing isn't enough because their 68 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: stock is down despite record profits, and a lot of 69 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: that is anxiety over whether or not the traditional automakers, 70 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: the legacy automakers, can embrace this this changing reality of 71 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: more ability. Keith, before we all jump on the autonomous 72 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: car bandwagon, wondering if you could tell us a little 73 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: bit more about David Hall. He's the head of Velodne Lidar, 74 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: He's the founder, and also maybe just give us a 75 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: little idea of how this technology, like automated technology can 76 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: be used not just in the automobile industry, but in 77 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 1: factory automation as well. Yeah, I mean it's a it's 78 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: a really fascinating technology that is you know, very advanced, 79 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: very expensive, and it does give you this this um, 80 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: you know, vision of all elements of things that are 81 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: around you, behind you, um. And then it enables robots 82 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: to move about in a way that they don't. They 83 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: don't bump into things. They can avoid things. In the 84 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: case of an autonomous car, it's avoiding people and vehicles 85 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: and buildings and uh and it's it's really um it's 86 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: like the central nervous system of an autonomous car and uh. 87 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: And you know it is essential to developing these things 88 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: with with the appropriate safety. How big of an issue 89 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: has it been? Was it when we learned after the 90 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: fact that there had been a crash involving a Tesla 91 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: right where the car couldn't read the fact that there 92 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: was a large truck on the road ahead of it 93 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: because the way the light was bouncing back. It made 94 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: some news. It seems like it's died down. Was that 95 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: a setback? It is just like, oh, well, we're going 96 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: to have a few of those on the path to 97 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: a fully autonomous vehicle, right. I spoke to John Kraftschick, 98 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: Google's CEO of its self driving car program, about this recently, 99 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: and the thing he tries to make very clear is that, 100 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: you know, the autopilot on Tesla is not a fully 101 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: autonomous system. It doesn't have the light hour that we 102 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 1: were just describing. It has cameras, and those cameras UM, 103 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,359 Speaker 1: which were made by Mobile I did not have the 104 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: ability to see cross traffic. That that's something that's not 105 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: going to arrive in their capabilities for another two years. 106 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: So the system was really being pushed beyond its limits 107 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: UM either by the driver, by the company that's in dispute, 108 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: but UM. But that was taking a driver assist technology 109 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: and trying to use it as if it were a 110 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: fully autonomous technology and the results were tragic. And Keith, 111 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: just to give you a couple of seconds here, this 112 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: technology can also be used with unmanned aerial vehicles, right 113 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: like drones. Sure, I mean that's that's the ability of 114 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: this three D surround vision that you can get when 115 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: you deploy these these three technologies. But you know what 116 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: they what they require also is you know, some high 117 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: speed processors, which is why I see Intel involved in 118 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: this UM to really crunch all the data that comes 119 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: in through these sensors and tell drones or vehicles where 120 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: to go. Thank you very much for spending time with 121 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,119 Speaker 1: us and in lightening us. Keith Norton is Auto editor 122 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: at Large for Bloomberg News, telling us about autonomous driving 123 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: as well as new technology to give that three D 124 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: and sixty degree View shares a FOURD down six tenths 125 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: of a percent of twelve dollars thirty five cents. We 126 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: take you through to the close. Next, this is Bloomberg.