So we didn’t have flying cars in 2015 like Back to the Future II predicted. But even Marty McFly and Doc couldn’t imagine a future with self-driving cars.
But that’s exactly what the near future holds, and Akin Shoyoye is at the center of this self-driving car revolution.
Are you a bit skeptical? Or even terrified at the thought of a Dodge Ram barrelling down the Garden State Parkway unmanned? Well, if you think about it, about a decade ago, businesses would have little to next trust in technology, let alone use it to progress their business. Things are different now, though. Technology has proven that if used smartly, not only can it elevate the quality and standard of business operations, but cut costs largely too. Currently, Businesses are incurring significant costs in complex software and cloud-based solutions, but does that mean you can capitalize your ERP system? According to FASB, yes it can. The point is, the idea of newer and more advanced can scare the best of us until we learn more about it. This was the same or Akin as well before he immersed himself in autonomous vehicle technology.
“I was naïve to it originally, but then I started thinking logically about it and rationally about it and thought, ‘This does make sense, and there are applications for this,'” said Akin, co-founder of DriveAI.
For the record, Akin isn’t focused on self-driving passenger vehicles-the self-described car enthusiast likes being behind the wheel, and he also very much enjoys shopping around for the best auto insurance policy on the market to ensure that he has the relevant coverage for any eventuality. You can read something like these national general car insurance reviews if you want to get a taste of what is out there. With that being said, he and his organization are part of an emerging autonomous vehicle industry.
Companies like BMW, Mercedes, and Tesla already have cars with self-driving features, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently declared that Google’s self-driving car could be considered a driver under federal law.
But DriveAI is different from those companies in a couple of ways (aside from not being a billion-dollar business):
- DriveAI focuses on developing low-speed autonomous vehicles that travel only 20-25 mph
- It is a non-profit research organization developing open-source software so anyone can build an autonomous vehicle using the platform and data
“Companies right now, the way they are going about it is very proprietary, and while we understand it’s for profit, it doesn’t really help most of society,” said Akin, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Newark. “With autonomous vehicles, everything needs to be clicking on all cylinders and everyone needs to be communicating and needs to be on the same page.
“So when you make the data open source, everybody can look into it so nobody repeats the same mistake.”
“You can also use the data to reduce the cost of policies. For example, sr22 insurance is expensive because the driver poses a risk. But with self-driving vehicles? That risk is greatly reduced”
THE PURPOSE OF SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES
Akin is an unlikely ambassador for autonomous vehicles. He’s not an engineer, and he doesn’t have a tech background. The 24-year-old majored in Journalism at Rutgers-Newark. He’s covered the tech industry as a reporter and sees himself as someone who bridges the gap in public understanding of advanced technology, such as autonomous vehicles.
He and four others started DriveAI a year ago to build a community of passionate makers dedicated to finding the best possible solutions by using the least amount of resources. They see autonomous vehicles as a new way to improve communities.
“We decided we wanted to shoot for the simplest problem first, and that’s neighborhood electric vehicles. And if we can solve that problem, we can essentially tackle larger ones,” Akin said. “We’re focusing on low-speed vehicles that travel within a 10-mile radius.”
So how can a self-driving vehicle help a community?
For example, Akin says there is a UPS facility near his parents’ home in Newark, but it often takes all day for packages to get delivered. If the company had an autonomous vehicle, UPS could dispatch it to deliver packages within the 10-mile area while using its larger, human-driven trucks for deliveries outside the area.
According to Akin, towns could use self-driving vehicles for small waste management and a myriad of other uses. Self-driving cars might also appeal to the elderly and disabled to ease their transportation issues. However, people might be unsure about the expenses involved in the purchase and operation of an EV. These doubts could be cleared by using online tools similar to a car operating cost calculator australia (or one from any other country), to get an overview of energy costs along with applicable taxes and fees involved in buying an electric automobile.
“That’s exactly why we’re making (the technology) open source because we’re not going to think of all the uses,” Akin said. “We’re lowering the barrier to entry for other researchers so that they can move forward quickly with their projects.”
SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
For Akin, this isn’t just some advanced project for techies to build something cool. He sees it as something transformative that everyone should get involved with.
“Today is the most important time to get involved with an organization like ours and build because this is an opportunity we all can have to shape the world we want to see,” he said. “I believe this is how future world issues will be solved, more as a team rather than the traditional silos of research and development departments or depending on only one or two organizations.
“I feel if we all have a hand in solving these issues, then things will get solved a lot quicker, and we can shape the world how we want to see it and how we want it to move forward.”
In Akin’s eyes, the future is less about the advanced technology we’ll create, but more about how we’ll create it-collaboratively. And that will be the focus of his talk, “It’s Time We Build” at TEDxNaveskink Makers in April.
“I want (the audience) to be inspired. Educated, but inspired more than anything,” Akin said of his talk. “If you feel that you want to do something or there’s a project you want to build yourself or you want to impact your own community, then don’t feel like you can’t. You can start something today or join a team today and get started. Don’t look at a challenge and say, “Oh, I don’t know if I can do that.’ Just always asks yourself how you can do it.”
To hear more about self-driving vehicles and how open source technology can provide solutions for communities, come to the TEDxNavesink Makers conference April 9. Akin and other local makers will share inspiring ideas you won’t want to miss! Get your tickets today.