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Virginia may not be a state many people associate with autonomous technology, but it has quickly become an attractive locale for developers of this technology. Several autonomous technology companies have recently seen great advancements in the implementation of their technology in Virginia. WING, for example, a sister company of Google, recently celebrated its first successful aviation delivery of commercial products in Christiansburg, Virginia. The company, which has partnered with Walgreens and FedEx, uses drones to deliver packages to the community. Aurora Flight Sciences, an independent subsidiary of Boeing, similarly completed its first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle prototype in Manassas, Virginia earlier this year. In addition, San Francisco based LM Industries deployed a self-driving vehicle, Ollie, at Fort Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington earlier this year, and Optimus Ride, a Boston-based self-driving tech company, has deployed autonomous shuttles in Reston, where more than 15,000 rides have already been completed. 
Continue Reading Preparing Now for the Road Ahead

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The automotive industry has long been a global market where manufacturers need to constantly monitor international laws and regulations. But as traditional automotive OEMs expand their product offerings to include services such as ride hailing, car sharing, and mapping, the legal risks are becoming increasingly localized.

Cities, states, and provinces have begun to flex their muscle in response to the introduction of new mobility products and services. New York city has placed a cap on the number of vehicles for ride-hailing platforms and will institute congestion pricing in early 2021. Los Angeles has created a tool for data collection and monitoring of private mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) companies. Peer-to-peer car sharing companies that compete with traditional rent-a-car agencies have challenged laws requiring them to pay local rental fees. And mapping services have been forced to navigate legal concerns over which local streets they can route users through. 
Continue Reading Localization of the Mobility Economy