In the face of darkness, the leaders and people of Ukraine are inspirational. Time will tell if we are seeing a modern David versus Goliath story. Amazingly, the Internet continues to function, allowing the entire world to see history unfold in real-time. And with Elon Musk turning on the Starlink network and sending terminals to Ukraine, it will be even more difficult to shut down communications to the outside world.
ITNCountry and ISPs – A Conversation about Better Mobility & Building Community for Rural America
Affordable mobility is a huge challenge, particularly for seniors. It is even a bigger challenge for seniors living in rural areas. In this interview, Kathryn Freund of ITNAmerica and Patty Boyers of ISP Boycom discuss these challenges as well as how rural ISPs can be part of a solution.
Orchestrating Multiple Transportation Modes in Boring Places and Familiar Streets, Paths, & Sidewalks
Transportation and communications networks are really one and the same. Instead of transporting invisible bits like telecom, mobility networks have to carry bottoms and boxes. Another parallel between these two types of networks is the need for orchestration to manage the different types of traffic and, potentially, different service providers. Bern Grush, Executive Director of the Urban Robotics Foundation, points to the LVCC Loop as an example of how orchestration will be critical to prevent congestion and facilitate the movement of people. and, potentially, goods.
Moving Forward with Trenton MOVES
Dr. Alain Kornhauser’s vision of bringing equitable, sustainable, and affordable mobility to the people of Trenton took another step forward with the February 9th, 2022 announcement (Facebook) of a $5 million NJDOT Local Transportation Planning Fund Grant for the Trenton Mobility & Opportunity: Vehicles Equity System (MOVES) Project (PDF). Kornhauser and his Princeton team, through the CARTS initiative, have managed to bring together a wide group of public agencies that are embracing the idea of creating a holistic solution centered on autonomous mobility in a location that otherwise might be overlooked by private providers.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts
- @TomBamonte “Targeting the average urban trip of five miles or less, Faction Tech and Arcimoto believe that right-sizing AVs/EVs will significantly boost efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and offer significant cost savings over existing transportation solutions.” Great to see the progress Mark and his team have made since this 2018 ViodiTV interview at CES.
- Faction Tech signed on with ElectraMeccanica for a similar autohonomous delivery pilot. Viodi caught up with ElectraMecannica prior to their commercial release.
- Good explanation from Oliver Cameron of GM’s Cruise on the potential impact of their new vehicle, “The Origin has no steering wheel, no pedals, no mirrors, basically nothing that’s needed for a human to drive a car. It’s simply an amazing space for our riders to spend time focused on their family or friends—and not on the road—while moving from A to B.”
CES Download: Sustainability, Health Tech, Mobility & Better Tools – A Viodi View
Although CES is less than two months ago, it seems like ancient history. There is simply too much to see at his enormous event. It was an honor to join Tom Coughlin of Coughlin Associates and Joseph Wei of Technology Ventures Group, LLC a virtual presentation to the IEEE SCV CTSoc Society Chapter.
There are over 30 Viodi interviews waiting for editing and publication. The presentation is split into four categories, sustainability, health tech, mobility & better tools.
