OT, but can someone explain why this won't instantly be sued into oblivion by the former employers? It seems like some of the Otto team will be using knowledge they gained at their last job on what seems like a competing product.
Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
11–20 of 141 posts
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#12"Many of Otto's founders have done well for themselves over the years, and it shows: the company is entirely self-funded right now without any external investment. (In the wake of the reported $1 billion Cruise Automation sale to General Motors, I ask Ron if the plan is to get acquired, but he's insistent that they're focused on bringing a product to market.) Even George Hotz's scrappy upstart Comma.ai has recently t…
I wanted to ask the same thing: did they quit because they didn't get enough money/stocks at the companies that they were at, or were not working on important enough stuff, or just wanted more risk for the sake of getting into more risk? Or do they think that their business model is so much better than Google's? (facilitating drivers to drive even longer without sleeping) The salary of a truck driver is about $50000,…
I would imagine the first self driving trucks would be for opencast mines and similar sites not on the public highway uses.
Milatery supply trucks would be another area and as Google seem to have the vapours over anything milatery or dual use - this maybe why they are doing this.
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#13OT, but can someone explain why this won't instantly be sued into oblivion by the former employers? It seems like some of the Otto team will be using knowledge they gained at their last job on what seems like a competing product.
Depends CA is quite liberal in terms of non competes and I suspect they woudl argue that self driving trucks is sufficiently different from self driving cars.
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wanted to ask the same thing: did they quit because they didn't get enough money/stocks at the companies that they were at, or were not working on important enough stuff, or just wanted more risk for the sake of getting into more risk? Or do they think that their business model is so much better than Google's? (facilitating drivers to drive even longer without sleeping) The salary of a truck driver is about $50000,…
I would imagine the first self driving trucks would be for opencast mines and similar sites not on the public highway uses. Milatery supply trucks would be another area and as Google seem to have the vapours over anything milatery or dual use - this maybe why they are doing this.
Pretty sure those have already been deployed.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/rio-tinto-using-self-driving-t...
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#15Sending a truck down an interstate for 20 hours has to be the lowest hanging fruit for self driving vehicles. When was the last time an entire category of jobs became obsolete fast enough that laid off employees blamed the technology? When long haul truckers are out of work, how will municipal bus driver unions react?
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#16This makes a lot of sense. Given how rule-based the trucking industry is (max 11hrs/day; 30min break after x amount of driving etc., strict speed limits, complete in lane driving with little overtaking etc.), self driving trucks could gain very strong adoption given they could follow the road rules in place predictably and will not have any time based restrictions wrt driving thus saving a lot of cost.
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#17refueling?
All the out of work truck drivers can become pump attendants waiting to fill up their former vehicles as they pull in for more fuel.
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#18Already being tested in North West Europe : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kANWFKKT1AA
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#19refueling?
can be automated as well eventually ? will need more complex robotics though...
Re: Google veterans head off on their own to work on self-driving trucks
#20Sending a truck down an interstate for 20 hours has to be the lowest hanging fruit for self driving vehicles. When was the last time an entire category of jobs became obsolete fast enough that laid off employees blamed the technology? When long haul truckers are out of work, how will municipal bus driver unions react?
by acting rational and find another job