By Jemel Derbali, Wise Systems Co-Founder
The Wise team recently attended one of the key auto industry events of the year, the Automobili-D event at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In addition to featuring the much-anticipated lineup of new 2018 vehicles, the event put a spotlight on key topics around the future of mobility and automotive technology. This year, there was a big focus on autonomy and smart cities, including how transportation is evolving.

One of the key conversations happened on the panel, How Autonomous Driving and Infrastructure Changes Will Influence Mobility. Hosted by Irina Sigalovsky of the MIT Office of Corporate Relations, the session featured Wise Systems co-founder and head of technology, Ali Kamil, as well as Alex Gruzen, CEO of WiTricity, which builds wireless charging stations for electric vehicles, and Mike Stanley, the CEO of Transit X, which develops automated solar-powered transportation pods that are elevated above roadways.
In a fast-paced conversation, the panelists explored the ways in which key aspects of infrastructure are crucial to the development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). WiTricity’s Gruzen outlined the necessary connection between autonomy and the development of electric vehicles. He highlighted that since a car can’t easily plug itself in, that without widespread availability of wireless charging solutions, autonomous fleets will not have the range and independence to be as effective as possible. Mike Stanley of Transit X was skeptical of the ability of AVs alone to solve one of the largest challenges of road transportation: congestion. He suggested that the principles of autonomous vehicles can be applied to creating alternative roadways and smaller vehicles that can dramatically increase the capacity of our infrastructure to handle our transportation needs.

Irina Sigalovsky, Mike Stanley, Alex Gruzen, and Ali Kamil on stage at NAIAS 2018.