COVID-19'S IMPACT ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES [1]

A Dec. 1, 2020, article by McKinsey & Co. tells the other side of the robo-taxi story: private autonomous vehicles. "Many companies recognize AD’s (autonomous driving's) enormous potential and are forging ahead," the article states. "But in addition to technological hurdles, they face many uncertainties, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exact regulatory requirements that will be established, and customer willingness to pay. These could affect both the availability and adoption of AD features." Click for article

5 Trends That Will Disrupt US Logistics Companies [2]

As logistics goes digital, changes are coming to industry structure, operations and profits. In the first of a series, Aisha Chottani, Greg Hastings, John Murnane and Florian Neuhaus, of McKinsey & Co., examine the impact of autonomous trucks. “What is happening is fairly well understood, if initially underestimated,” the authors write. “Digitization and other technological advances are exposing the vulnerabilities in every industry, particularly retail. And now, logistics companies are starting to feel the heat. Our new research has turned up five trends that offer startling indicators of impending change for the trucking, rail, warehousing, and logistics companies that move America’s merchandise.” The five trends are: Autonomous trucks E-commerce Automation Asset sharing Data analytics Click for article

SELF-DRIVING UBER KILLS PEDESTRIAN ... FUTURE STILL SAME [3]

Remember that short time span in the early 20th century when vehicle accidents went from zero to more than 10,000? The technology won then, and the same will happen with autonomous vehicles, writes Adie Tomer for Brookings. Click for article

Automakers Offer Subscriptions [4]

Simplicity and convenience are perks of the new subscription model of car ownership, but will younger drivers balk at the higher price? Click for article

TED TALK: A DRIVERLESS WORLD [5]

Wanis Kabbaj, UPS Wanis Kabbaj, director of global strategy for health care logistics at UPS, gives an 11-minute talk that has been viewed more than 2 million times since September. Watch the Ted talk