Sujeet Kashid is a Robotics Software Engineer, currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area working with Woven by Toyota. His expertise is integrating and improving the Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems of autonomous vehicles, and he completed his Masters in Science from University of Cincinnati with a specialization in Robotics and Intelligent Systems. Kashid’s research could help increase the safety of operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in GPS-denied indoor areas, and provides a way for multiple robots to cooperate and distribute tasks. Kashid sat down with us and broke down the evolution of the autonomous vehicles, and more importantly, what the next steps are for the automobile industry.

Imagine a world of driverless cars–it seems somewhat Orwellian, doesn’t it? Like a scene out of your favorite sci-fi movie, where cars zoom around at breakneck speeds, you never fear they will collide, or in the 1990 film, Total Recall, when we see a driverless taxi. With autonomous vehicles already deployed through major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, that sci-fi future is (actually) now.

But the world of autonomous vehicles is not limited to this sci-fi vision, it has implications much more far reaching. To gain a better understanding of how autonomous vehicles will continue to evolve, I was lucky enough to sit down with robotics software engineer Sujeet Kashid, who currently works with Woven, which is leading next-generation cars at Toyota.

Woven by Toyota is leading Toyota’s “transformation into a mobility company,” according to their website. They’re trying to innovate with one of the most staunch and traditional of all Japanese car brands, which has a vision for the future. If you’re planning on saving up to buy a Toyota car anytime soon, they’re working on incorporating autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems. Some of the things they’re working with include OS platform Arene, Woven City, and Toyota's new “test course” for mobility.

He is situated at the crossroads of the industry, and gives us a clear picture of not only where we are today, but what the future holds.

The Road to Automated Vehicles is Paved with Good Intentions

According to Forbes Advisor, in 2022, a total of 42,514 fatal car accidents happened on roads across the country. Meanwhile, 1.6 million crashes resulted in injuries and an additional 4.2 million accidents caused property damages. The main cause of car crashes is drunk driving, lack of seatbelt use, speeding and distracted drivers.

Having autonomous vehicles on the roads will go beyond just aiding human error, we’re entering a world where the vehicles themselves can communicate with each other. “In a world where autonomous vehicles can talk to each other, and work cooperatively, they will be able to quickly clear out a way for the emergency vehicles to move faster and uninterrupted to their destination,” said Kashid.

Because let's face it: Autonomous vehicles have the potential to reduce road collisions. They also provide a variety of other societal and environmental benefits. But how much of this is realistic?

“The intention of robotics is to help people and make the world a better place,” says Kashid, when talking about the safety effects of the robotics industry. The industry has made drastic efforts to help improve the wellbeing of individuals both on the roads and at work–it’s safety focused.

“Most road accidents can be attributed to driver error,” says Kashid. “My hope is that autonomous vehicles become ubiquitous making the road a safer place.”

In fact, the implications stretch further than the road, entering into workplace safety and time-saving measures. “My research provides a method to operate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in indoor, GPS-denied environments safely,” says Kashid, diving into another future avenue of exploration. The ability for warehouse vehicles to operate independently will only serve to speed up operations and lower costs.

Having autonomous vehicles communicate with each other can help guard our roads with safety. “They can communicate with each other to reach road help faster and save more lives,” he said. “In a world where autonomous vehicles can talk to each other and work cooperatively, this is totally possible.”

Pedal To The Metal: The Speedbumps Autonomous Vehicles Face

Putting autonomous vehicles on the road is no cheap task. Just look at Waymo, formerly known as the Google self-driving car project, who are trying to make it safe and easy for people to get around with driverless taxis. Waymo has raised over $5.5 billion to get their vehicles on the road in Phoenix alone.

While autonomous vehicles are significantly safer than their manned alternatives, a couple of accidents have set the project back. Meanwhile, Tesla switches gears for their customers.

Most advanced autonomous features available to many consumers, like Full Self-Driving with Tesla, are only Level 2 autonomous vehicles,” says Kashid. Toyota offers Level 2 autonomous vehicle systems as well, one that can control both steering and acceleration, but Level 2 means it still requires a driver.

Right now the issue is twofold before according to the next level. “The next stage in autonomous vehicles is making the functions ubiquitous and affordable,” said Kashid.

The potential speed bumps in the development of autonomous vehicles is simple. “I think it's money and time,” said Kashid. “The first cars invented were battery electric vehicles, but it needed huge technological advancements in batteries to make them hold more energy, last longer and make them affordable.”

Autonomous cars need to become more affordable, too. “We need technological advancements to make autonomous vehicles affordable, and that research and development takes a lot of money now to enjoy its benefits in the near future,” he adds.

Forecasting The Future: Creating Jobs While Innovating With Autonomous Vehicles

The intention of robotics is to help people and make the world a better place, notes Kashid. But some tasks may get phased out as technology evolves, and people might lose jobs. “I believe the biggest area of need is that free and accessible skills education be provided to these work forces, so they can be moved to other kinds of jobs,” said Kashid.

For example, an Uber driver can be taught to be an autonomous vehicle operator for testing and gathering data.” This might not only mitigate job losses in certain areas, but also help the growth of development of autonomous vehicles if that work force is taught how to help, thus achieving a symbiotic relationship,” he adds.

Who doesn’t want to live in a safer world? In order for this vision to be played out there needs to be a massive effort made. This falls in large part on the automobile industry to create affordable autonomous vehicles, but also on the consumers to have faith in the product.

Change is scary and often met by resistance. In this case, change should be met with open arms. The future is not far away and thanks to the efforts of those like Kashid, it might be here sooner than we think.