SAE International Meetup at PAACAR Innovation Center for stakeholders to Discuss Trucking Automation

SAE International will join with PAACAR, Peloton, Starsky Robotics and IKA to host a Meetup on Thursday, July 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the PAACAR Innovation Center in Sunnyvale, Calif

SAE International will join with PAACAR, Peloton, Starsky Robotics and IKA to host a Meetup on Thursday, July 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the PAACAR Innovation Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Trucking Automation will include brief presentations from host PACCAR Innovation Center followed by Prof. Lutz Eckstein of IKA in Aachen, Peloton Technology and Starsky Robotics. Afterward there will be a group Q&A with the audience.

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Here’s a bit about the presenters:

Paul Konasewich, Director of Business Development, PACCAR Silicon Valley

The PACCAR Silicon Valley Innovation Center is coordinating next-generation research and identifying emerging technologies that will benefit future vehicle performance. Technology areas of focus include advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), artificial intelligence, vehicle connectivity and augmented reality. The Innovation Center is also accelerating partnerships in the development of electric and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, as well as the deployment of big data analytics. Konasewich has over 20 years of business and management experience. He currently oversees PACCAR’s engagement with cutting-edge innovators in the Silicon Valley. Prior he worked for Honda on strategic alliances.

Prof.-Dr. Lutz Eckstein, Director of ika at RWTH Aachen University

The Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika) – Europe’s leading University institute in Automotive Engineering – is deeply involved in public-funded as well as bilateral projects for manufacturers and suppliers in automotive context. Ika was responsible for the technical implementation and operating strategies in the German national project KONVOI, focused on highway truck platooning. In the European funded research project SARTRE for mixed platoons of trucks and passenger cars, ika developed a backend for an external coordination of platoons, interfaces between the HMI and the vehicles. Professor Eckstein was appointed as the Director of the Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika) in 2010. He is chairman of the Advisory Board of fka Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen and fka Silicon Valley . Prior to this appointment, he worked on vehicle dynamics, active safety and driver assistance systems for Daimler-Benz AG and human-machine interfaces for BMW.

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Rod McLane, VP of Marketing, Peloton Technology

Peloton is an automated vehicle technology company hard at work solving the two biggest challenges facing the $700 billion trucking industry: Crashes and Fuel Use. McLane has more than 20 years in high tech marketing across both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. Prior to joining Peloton, Rod led product marketing as Senior Director of Marketing at Ayla Networks, a leading IoT platform start up in the smart home space.

Kartik Tiwari, CTO & Co-Founder of Starsky Robotics

Starsky Robotics is working to make trucks autonomous on the highway and remote controlled by drivers for the first and last mile. Their trucks will make roads safer while giving drivers meaningful work close to their homes and families. Tiwari co-founded Starsky Robotics and currently serves as CTO. Prior, he developed UpDroid with a partner while working on his Master’s Degree in Robotic System Development at Carnegie Mellon University.

When: Thursday, July 12 @ 6:30 p.m. 
Where: PACCAR Innovation Center, 1277 Reamwood Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.

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