Last Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it is establishing a new advisory committee focused on automation across several modes. The committee held their first meeting on Monday, January 16, and they plan to work on and discuss a number of different matters relating to automation and transportation.
The Federal Committee of Automation members include experts from various industries. Many are from the automotive industry and include Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, Robin Chase of Zipcar and John Krafcik of Alphabet’s Waymo. Other members include professionals from Apple, Uber, Lyft, FedEx, and Amazon, among others.
The goals of the committee are to share the best practices, challenges, and opportunities in automation, and open up communication between experts. The committee will work to advance technological innovations that save lives, and prepare for the infrastructure needs of the future. Automated technology is likely to play an influential role in many types of transportation, including cars, buses, truck fleets, trains, planes, and drones, and opening up the communication lines regarding research and regulations will likely only help advance the potentially life-saving technology.
Read more about the new Federal Automation Committee and its 25 members.
Photo credit: USDOT, United States Government Work