A Discussion on Connected/Autonomous Cars

It's impossible to discuss cars today without including connected and autonomous technologies as part of that discussion. For the most part, the experts all seem to believe that the continued integration of these technologies into automobiles is inevitable.

But what are the challenges? Can they really ensure that cars are safe against hacking? Will they really be able to drive autonomously without incident? Are there enough people trained in all the technology fields required to build these types of vehicles available to fill all the open jobs now and in the future? And what will be Michigan's role as the evolution of the connected and autonomous vehicles industry continues?

To help us understand some of these topics, we've invited some of the leading experts in the field:

• Scott McCormick, President, Connected Vehicle Trade Association

• Elaina Farnsworth, CEO, Mobile Comply

Scott will help us understand what needs to happen to enable the realization of connected and autonomous vehicles, including areas such as:

• Software Integrity: What is the scale of issues with security, collisions and bugs

• Data Realities: Ownership, protection and anonymity

• Automation: Why it needs connectivity to achieve predictive safety

Elaina will discuss the challenges being experienced by the automotive industry and technology companies working with automotive technologies as they seek to find employees trained with the skills needed to work in the high-tech automotive environment of today - and tomorrow.

Opening remarks will be from Dr. Barbara Ciaramitaro, Chair of the Decision Sciences Department and Director of the Center for Cybersecurity Leadership at Walsh College.

The event is free to attend but advance reservations are required in order to attend. Refreshments will be served. Free parking is available on the Walsh Campus.

This Mobile Monday Detroit event is being sponsored by the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (http://gomobilemichigan.org) (MTAM) and Walsh College (http://www.walshcollege.edu/).

Speaker Bios:

Scott McCormick

Scott has degrees in Mathematics, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, a Master's in Business Administration, and Doctoral Research in Artificial Intelligence.

In 2004 Scott founded and was named President of the Connected Vehicle Trade Association by the Board of Directors. Previously Scott was the Executive Director of the Automotive Multimedia Interface Collaboration, a non-profit research organization of the world's largest automakers. Prior to this, Scott was General Electric's 'Factory with a Future' Program Manager, implementing over $1 Billion in advanced systems.

Scott is a former Advisor to the United States National Science Foundation and the Industrial Sector Representative to the US Federal Laboratories Technology Transfer Consortium. He is a Member of the US ISO Technical Advisory Group and a Member of the Steering Committee to the Joint Commercial-Military Technology Transfer Committee.

In March 2012, and again in 2014, Scott was appointed by the United States Congress to advise the Secretary of Transportation on matters relating to the study, development, and implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Elaina Farnsworth

Elaina Farnsworth, Mobile Comply CEO, is a recognized expert in the field of connected vehicle education and certification. Elaina has over two decades of experience in supporting technologies and in-field training for emergency responders and transportation safety. Her vision and leadership empowers a unique company that recognizes that the connected vehicle creates an entirely new global paradigm of merging technologies. The connected vehicle bridges the gap between the human experiences in their vehicle and the information that will enrich global communications. Elaina's expertise in training and certification launched the only connected vehicle certification program with SAE International and the Connected Vehicle Trade Association.