Panel Discussions
Panel Discussion
Self-driving vehicles represent a transformative shift in transportation. This technology promises to dramatically reduce injuries and fatalities, reduce traffic congestion, improve access to mobility for those who currently cannot drive due to age or disability, and open the doors to passenger economy. However, self-driving vehicles face significant challenges, including technological limitations, regulatory hurdles, and societal acceptance. This panel will explore the complexities of integrating self-driving technology into everyday transportation. It will examine why, despite advancements in aviation autopilot systems, self-driving vehicles are a more recent and challenging innovation. Key topics include whether self-driving cars need defensive driving rules akin to human drivers, and how they should handle urban environments where social interactions with pedestrians and cyclists are critical. Panelists will also address concerns about potential adversarial behaviors toward self-driving vehicles and the necessary infrastructure—both physical and digital—required to ensure the safe deployment of these technologies. The discussion will emphasize the importance of governance frameworks and city planning in ensuring that self-driving vehicles are adopted in a manner that benefits society while minimizing risks.
Amir Khajepour
Moderator
Alaa Khamis
AI & Smart Mobility Technical Leader at General Motors, Canada
Opportunities and Challenges of Smart Mobility in the MENA Region
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a diverse region with a large young population and rich natural and financial resources. In this region, there is a growing population shift from rural to urban areas driven by social and economic needs. This urbanization led to massive people and cargo mobility challenges and several negative impacts in cities related to road safety, congestion, and emissions. Several smart mobility technologies and business models are emerging to deal with these negative implications. These technologies include, but are not limited to green mobility, shared mobility, connected mobility, assisted and automated mobility, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), micromobility and last-mile delivery. Several smart mobility services are enabled based on new business models such as sharing economy, gig economy and passenger economy. This panel discusses the opportunities and challenges of emerging smart mobility technologies and business models in the MENA region. The panel also addresses how government, city planners, and technologists can work together to respond to changes in people and cargo mobility systems and services in the MENA region.
Moderator
Arun Adiththan
Senior Researcher, General Motors, USA
Moderator
Ramesh S
Senior Technical Fellow, General Motors, USA
Across the globe, there are tens of companies pursuing the development of automated driving systems (ADS), ranging over SAE Driving Automation Levels 3-5. There are several open engineering challenges of ADS software – particularly in development and validation of ADS operation in challenging weather conditions, critical corner cases, dealing with a variety of pedestrians and traffic conditions, and cooperation with human operated vehicles. Many standards (e.g., ISO 26262, ISO 21448) are emerging providing guidelines to ensure safety of ADS under the intended operating conditions.
On the other hand, there are societal concerns that technological advancements such as ADS and robotics might bring in, e.g., people being out of work, competing with automation etc.. Initiatives like Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) aim to alleviate such concerns by educating public and policymakers on pros and cons of automated driving systems.
This panel discussion will focus on ADS engineering and societal adoption challenges and offer some possible solutions.
Mansoor Alghooneh
Senior Solution Leader, General Motors, Canada
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