Episode 395 | Deploying Autonomous Trucks at NASA Speed

Kelly Smith, Lead Systems Engineer for Autonomy, Kodiak Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss deploying autonomous trucks at NASA speed.Drawing on 13 years of experience engineering autonomy systems at NASA, including guidance software for the Orion spacecraft that flew to the moon and back on Artemis II, Kelly is applying aerospace-grade safety discipline to the deployment of autonomous trucks at Kodiak.NASA’s approach to safety-critical software, including Class A flight software standards, probabilistic risk assessment, redundant flight computers, and dissimilar backup systems, is the same discipline Kodiak is applying to its autonomous operations in the Permian Basin and to its over-the-road deployment on the Dallas Fort-Worth to Atlanta lane.Using a tool called Breakpoint to surface rare, high-consequence failure modes, Kodiak is continuously updating its risk model to responsibly burn down risk and safely scale autonomous trucking.Episode Chapters0:00 AUTNMY AI0:37 13 Years of Autonomy at NASA2:50 Space Latency04:12 Returning to the Moon06:09 Orion's Autonomy Stack10:25 NASA's Mission-Critical Software15:16 Reentry19:35 Fully Autonomous Space Operations24:43 Bringing NASA Rigor to Kodiak28:49 Deploying Autonomous Trucks in the Permian37:06 The Future of Mission-Critical Engineering--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.