Autonomy is Here. The Real Test Will Be Everything Around It.

Autonomous vehicles are already on the road — but the infrastructure, regulation, and operational systems around them haven't caught up. Panelists from I-ACT, Revoy, and TechNexus explore why the next wave of autonomy innovation is a system-of-systems challenge, not just a technology problem.

For years, autonomy has been an exercise in waiting. Tech pundits and prognosticators predicted autonomous vehicles were just around the corner, only to see the timeline get pushed and pushed. The reality now: autonomy is no longer a future prospect. The deployment of Waymo and other autonomous vehicles across city streets proves the once-futuristic technology has arrived. Now, it’s the rest of the world that’s yet to catch up. Autonomy as a System-of-systems Challenge This was the underlying theme in TechNexus Venture Collaborative's April 2nd virtual conversation on Autonomy in The Real Word. Beyond outlining the latest innovations in autonomy, panelists focused on the challenges of deploying autonomous technology in the physical world. What we’re seeing is that autonomy is not a single technology problem—it’s a system-of-systems challenge. And the next phase of innovation in mobility is not just about making systems work—it’s about making them work reliably in real environments. I-ACT: Testing Autonomy Beyond the Lab Imad Al-Qadi, director of the Illinois Center for Transportation and leader of the I-ACT (Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track), pointed out that autonomous trucks, for example, need to follow different paths to minimize road damages. Many autonomous technologies today are validated in controlled settings, with unanswered questions remaining about performance in real-life environments. “When things work in the lab and you get it to real life, you have a little different animal there,” Al-Qadi said. The University of Illinois is building its 238-acre state-of-the-art facility on the former Chanute Air Force Base answers these questions. I-ACT is meant to be a “house for all the technologies” operating autonomously, from vehicles to drones. It offers a place where innovative ideas in smart infrastructure, energy sustainability, secure communication, cybersecurity, and mobility solutions can be evaluated together instead of separately. Located in Ran

By TechNexus Venture Collaborative at TechNexus Venture Collaborative