Autonomous Vehicle Visionaries: A Powerful Network Behind AV Development (the Detroit edition)

While browsing online, I came across a fascinating 2012 article by Brian Palmer titled "How Did Detroit Become Motor City?". As someone born and bred in the Motorcity with a passion for cars, the article piqued my interest. Palmer provides a concise yet captivating history of Detroit's automotive industry. What truly stood out to me was the intricate web of relationships and collaborations that laid the foundation of the early automobile sector.

Palmer draws a compelling parallel: “Detroit behaved a lot like Silicon Valley executives today: They regularly switched companies and launched spinoffs and startups. This culture of cross-pollination spread innovative manufacturing and design ideas among the Detroit manufacturers.”

This is happening again with transportation tech with a 21st century twist as the autonomous industry emerges.?

The more I explored the early auto industry relationships in Michigan, the richer the stories became. Even with relatively shallow digging, it seems that the pioneers Ransom Olds, Henry Ford, and William C. Durant, founder of General Motors, inspired and enabled the creation of many new auto companies. The majority of the founders of these emerging car companies had worked with or for Olds, Ford, and Durant. I will not be able to share the full story of these relationships, but here is a glimpse.

A Glimpse into the Interwoven Auto Legends of Michigan:

• Olds was among the 1st to use subcontractors. Some of which started new auto companies. One example, the Briscoe brothers, who played a role in creating Buick. (Palmer 2012)
• The Briscoe brothers were fired by Durant from Buick and formed Briscoe Motor Corporation.
• Jonathan Maxwell, a former Olds Engineer, co-founded Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Corp. with Benjamin Briscoe (remember him?…Olds supplier and Buick leader)?
• Walter P. Chrysler, with his background managing a locomotive plant, took the helm at Buick in 1911. (Detroit News).?
• Chrysler bought Maxwell Motor Co. which became Chrysler Corporation.
• Before founding the iconic brands Cadillac and Lincoln, Henry Leland supplied parts to both Olds and Henry Ford. (Palmer, Detroit News)
• In 1907, Louis Chevrolet showcased his racing prowess for Buick before co-founding Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. (Detroit News). (Another falling out with Durant.)
• The Dodge brothers gained invaluable experience crafting components for Olds and Henry Ford before making their own mark. (Palmer)

What’s the saying, “history repeats itself”? Or should we go with, “It’s human nature”? Both likely apply as we can draw parallels from early Detroit car makers to our emerging autonomous vehicle industry.

I’ve been heavily involved in the AV industry development since 2008-ish and I’m fascinated by the development and the connections of the leaders, especially in and around Detroit.

Here are a few glimpses into the Michigan-centric relationships and only focused on autonomous “people moving” applications:

?Just scratching the surface, here are some fun facts:

• 2009 US Army TARDEC R&D center for ground vehicle robotics (GVR) develops a long-term strategy for AVs.?
• 2010 TARDEC leads MAGIC 2010 (Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge) won by University of Michigan, led by Associate Professor Edwin Olson.
• Edwin Olson (Ed) becomes the founder and CEO of May Mobility. One of the current top AV companies.
• Another AV leader is Dr. Karl Iagnemma , a Michigan native and University of MI grad and later is a co-founder and CEO of NuTonomy, now Motional, another current top-tier AV developer.
• Karl’s undergrad roomate at University of MI was Mitchell Rohde . Mitch (Dr. Rohde) is CEO and co-founder of Quantum Signal AI, a US DOD AV supplier (including TARDEC), was purchased by Ford in 2019.?
• TARDEC collaborated on AV strategy with Larry Burns at GM and his new EN-V program of AV pods.
• After Larry retired from GM, he became an advisor to Google’s AV program which is now Waymo, considered to be the leader in AV tech and deployment. GM is considered #2 with Cruise. Larry’s vision and leadership planted a lot of autonomous seeds.
• TARDEC teamed with one of the 1st commercial AV companies, Induct, using their shuttle for demos at military bases and conferences. Induct founders later formed Coast Autonomous. Another fast growing AV developer now based in the Tampa, FL area.
• TARDEC led an AV pilot at Fort Bragg with Robotic Research, now RR.AI, a huge player in the military AV market and commercial logistics.
• Corey Clothier, former TARDEC AV consultant, started the Local Motors AV program and created Olli.
• The founder of Induct and Coast, Pierre LeFevre, was an advisor in the development of Olli.
• Robotic Research becomes the autonomous drive system partner to Local Motors for Olli.
• TARDEC leads the only AV focused team in the Global City Challenge and collaborates with the UK and London based GATEway project. This leads to a relationship with Aurrigo.
• Aurrigo participates with a MI engineering company, Pratt Miller Engineering to develop and test a wheelchair accessible autonomous pod as part of a Michigan innovation grant program.
• Pratt & Miller continues to lead & support AV projects for a variety of clients including US DOD, start-ups and auto companies.
• Another TARDEC AV consulting engineer, Mark Crawford, formerly a Ford AV engineer, becomes Chief AV Engineer for Great Wall Motors, the #1 SUV manufacturer in China. Mark builds his AV development team in the Detroit area. Mark is now the founder and CEO of Interplai, a robotic delivery start-up.
• ADASTEC comes to Michigan from Turkey to launch their new automated bus and pilot it at Michigan State University.?

And this is just a glimpse into some of the people movers. I didn’t mention Dataspeed, Continental, Roush, Magna, or Edison, each of which are Michigan-based companies working on significant AV programs.?

You know, when we dive into the world of Autonomous Vehicles, it's like opening a book filled with stories of folks coming together, sharing dreams, and pushing boundaries. The story of Detroit is just one chapter. We could find just as many impactful connections from Boston, Pittsburgh, Silicon Valley, UK, France, Israel, Germany, China, Japan, etc. etc. to fill the book. And It's not really about the tech; it’s about the people, the connections, the kind of magic that happens when bright minds collide to change the game. It's a wild ride, full of twists and turns, but at the end of the day, it's a journey we’re all on together. So here's to the dreamers, the doers, and the daring – it's your shared spark that's lighting the way to a future filled with possibilities. I’m proud to be part of it.