A deep dive into the race to develop and perfect the driverless car—an innovation that promises to be the most disruptive change to our way of life since the smartphone—by a veteran insider of the automotive and tech worlds
In Autonomy, former GM executive and current advisor to the Google Self-Driving Car project Lawrence Burns offers a sweeping history of the race to make the driverless car a reality. In the past decade, Silicon Valley companies like Google, Tesla and Uber have positioned themselves to revolutionize the way we move around by developing driverless vehicles while traditional auto companies like General Motors, Ford, and Daimler have been fighting back by partnering by with new tech start-ups. It’s not a question of whether the self-driving car will disrupt the automobile industry; it’s a question of when, how, and who will win the race.
With the first driverless car likely to hit markets in less than five years, Burns also looks toward the future and explains how this new technology will impact our lives—from removing the hassles of driving, parking, and refueling our cars, to eliminating 90 percent of road fatalities, drastically reducing our carbon footprint, and automating yet another segment of blue collar industries, putting more workers out of their jobs.
We are on the brink of a technological revolution that promises to fundamentally change how we interact with our world. A chronicle of the past, diagnosis of the present, and prediction of the future, Autonomy is the ultimate guide to understanding the driverless car and to navigating the revolution it sparks.
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“A provocative look at a rising industry that may soon change the nature of the world’s too-busy roadways.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“An authoritative preview of the autonomous age.”
— John Casesa, former group vice president, Global Strategy, Ford Motor CompanyBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Lawrence D. Burns served as corporate vice president of research and development and strategic planning at General Motors, where he oversaw their advanced technology, innovation programs, and corporate strategy. He was also a professor of engineering at the University of Michigan and led the Program for Sustainable Mobility at Columbia University. He has served as an advisor to the Google self-driving car project (now Waymo) since 2011 and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. He lives in Franklin, Michigan.
Christopher Shulgan is a writer who specializes in collaborating with fascinating people who have something important to say. He lives in Toronto.
George Newbern is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a television and film actor best known for his roles as Brian MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II, as well as Danny in Friends. As a voice actor, he is notable for his role as Superman on the Cartoon Newtork series Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. He has guest starred on many television series, including Scandal, The Mentalist, Private Practice, CSI: Miami, and Numb3rs. He holds a BA in theater arts from Northwestern University.