Explore the future of autonomous and connected vehicles with industry expert Mykolas Mataciunas as he discusses the rise of his conference series and the role of collaboration in shaping the automotive industry.
Guest: Mykolas Mataciunas, General Manager at Inlinum [@in_linum]
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykolasmataciunas/
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Hosts
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/sean-martin
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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This Episode’s Sponsors
Episode Introduction
In this On Location Event Coverage podcast episode, Mykolas Mataciunas discusses the successful launch of his company's conference series, focusing on the future of autonomous and connected vehicles. Beginning in 2021, the conference has grown rapidly, thanks to its commitment to face-to-face interaction and the desire for professionals to discuss innovative technologies in person. The third edition of the conference promises to be even more special, with top experts from various industries, including OEMs and tier one suppliers like Bosch and Volkswagen, coming together to share their insights on the future of the automotive industry.
The podcast delves into the technological advancements made in the field of autonomous vehicles and the societal implications of these developments. As the conversation unfolds, Mykolas highlights the importance of collaboration between government, OEMs, and suppliers in creating a safer, more connected future for consumers. The introduction of 5G technology and its potential impact on the infrastructure supporting autonomous vehicles is also explored, emphasizing the need for rapid data transfer and communication between various components of the traffic system.
In addition to the technological aspects, the podcast touches on the changing consumer mindset towards car ownership and the rise of shared mobility platforms. With younger generations increasingly viewing cars as a service rather than a possession, the hosts discuss the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles, including increased safety and the efficient use of travel time.
As the industry continues to evolve, this episode provides listeners with an insightful glimpse into the future of autonomous and connected vehicles and the challenges that lie ahead.
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Resources
ICA Summit: https://ica-summit.com/
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Watch the webcast version on-demand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTUoWMGGQHlGVZA575VtGr9
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Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording as errors may exist. At this time we provide it “as it is” and we hope it can be useful for our audience.
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voiceover00:15
Either we're there or not ITSPmagazine still gets the best stories. There are plenty of conferences and all sorts of events that spark our curiosity and allow us to start conversations with some of the world's brightest minds, in person or virtually, we sit down with them at the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society. Together, we discover what the synergy of these three elements means for the future of humanity. Knowledge is power. Now, more than ever
Marco Ciappelli00:52
we go shopping Shawn, why are you in the car?
Sean Martin 00:59
Dreaming about cars? So I'm just hanging out in the car today.
Marco Ciappelli01:03
You want you want it to get in character? I think that's that's what's going on.
Sean Martin 01:09
I've, I felt like I needed to be one with the automobile today for this conversation.
Marco Ciappelli01:16
And so the question come spontaneous. Now, first thing, there's people going to listen to this. So the description, it's easy. If you're not watching Sean is in a car. And we have a guest, which we are about to introduce. And I'm in my same usual office. And for those watching, you can see Shawn is in a car. Because Shawn, tell us why are we in a car? Why are you in a car?
Sean Martin 01:43
Nobody cares why I'm in a car. But we're talking about cars today, for an event that is looking at what all what I'll call the ecosystem of autonomous vehicles and digital systems and vehicles, whether they're autonomous or not. There's a lot of tech in the space of automobiles. And I presume our guests you'll introduce in a second Michael, Marco, was
Marco Ciappelli02:11
Michael, you just did.
Sean Martin 02:15
Lampson stat, I forget how many, it was years ago, how many millions of lines of code was in a Jeep or a BMW or something like that. But anyway, cars are basically computers on wheels, right? And who knows, maybe the wheels or even computers at this point, but we're gonna talk about an event where all this stuff is being discussed. And, and presented and innovation is happening. And, and I'm excited Marco, to talk about cars, I like cars.
Marco Ciappelli02:44
I'm really excited. I mean, you know how many times even when we talk about cybersecurity or advanced technology, that car example always come up even when we talk about security, we always mentioned you know, the seatbelt and how there was a hard to adopt, and all of that. And now, you know, like you said we're dealing with computers, electronics, electronics and, and autonomous cars and so forth. And that's what this event is about. So without further ado, Michael Maciunas. I think I pronounced that correctly, is here with us. And he is going to talk about this event, but first is going to tell us who he is and and why you got involved into this kind of event. How about that? That's a good start. Michael, go for it.
Mykolas Mataciunas 03:35
Marcus. Sean, thanks so much for the introduction. So as Mark mentioned, my name is Michael. I'm the founder and CEO of a company called in Lynam and our company is organizing b2b conferences for automotive industry. So we're mainly doing this for electrical, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and then the production of vehicles. And the event that mark and Shawn mentioned, the ICA summit that will happen next month, and Frankfurt is focusing on everything that makes our cars autonomous, or helps us to drive it on the road. And of course, the connectivity. So not only with our own technology, but as well with infrastructure, roads, road signs, and so on.
Marco Ciappelli04:31
And that's that's a big point. I liked that you already went there, because when we talk about all the cars can do now it's not just the car itself, you need the infrastructure. And that's one of the barriers for example, I know for adoption, large adoption of electric cars, and I'm sure for connectivity as well. And all the IoT that is going on. So that's that's really a good point that I want to make a note because I want to talk about that as we go. But tell me this is the third Time I believe that this event happens. So how has been going so far? I guess good because you're doing it again. But
Mykolas Mataciunas 05:07
yeah, exactly. So pretty much we started the first edition of this event in 2021. And if you, you probably recall that it was still a middle of pandemic. And I think this is what helped us to propel our our conference, because back then, you know, there weren't no conference that would be happening on site, especially in Europe, because we had travel restrictions, we had event restrictions, and was very, very difficult. But our company focused on face to face interactions, even the during these difficult times. And people really appreciate that, because they want to discuss the technologies and innovations onside, they want to feel it see it, and we cannot do that only through a screen. So the next year was even better. So we had minimal restrictions on traveling and honestly events. So we gather even more people in more professionals to discuss it. And now for the third edition, we are trying to make something really special for everyone that will be attending, gathering, you know, top, top people from the industry top experts that will share where we are going with autonomous and connected vehicles.
Sean Martin 06:35
All right, so many paths, I can take care, either the what are some of the things that people want to see and touch versus who are some of the people you're going to have there. And what are they going to talk about, let's go with the who's there and what they're talking about first.
Mykolas Mataciunas 06:53
So pretty much we are gathering OEMs, we are gathering the tier ones. So with the main suppliers, let's say like Bosch, or allow or aptiv. From OEMs, will be pretty much having not only the German brands like Volkswagen or Mercedes Benz, or whatever. But also we have the brands that will you usually don't think about when you speak about connectivity and autonomous vehicles, that would be lotus and one Virginia. They are also have departments. They also have a lot of people working on these things to bring, let's say their, their vehicles to be more safe and more connected for their customers.
Marco Ciappelli07:48
Yeah, I have to say that when we got in touch, and and I looked at the amount, and the big names of speakers that you have there was like, wow, we have to talk about this. I am blown away by the amount of people, as you mentioned, few of them and I can see. You also have to your your have Volkswagen, I mean, you name it containers all and so on. I'm just scrolling through. Is there a theme that it's kind of you think is going to be prevalent during this this year conversation? I mean, I'm sure you know about some of the talk coming up? are they focusing on something specific or it's kind of all over the place?
Mykolas Mataciunas 08:34
Well, the thing is that, especially when we're speaking about autonomous vehicles, we are facing a lot of waterflood, say, pushback from the regulations. And there is all still there is a lot of development to do in terms of technology. Because we all can see some of let's say, crashes or software that is done by the by the vehicles, we need to make sure that they are as safe as possible. Until we have the level five where the car just works on its own. And the moment we're mostly need to have a human interaction, we need a driver. But the progress that was made, since you know 2005, to now it's mind blowing. And the interesting, the interesting part is that the technologies are developing even even more rapidly at the moment, because there's more and more people that are working on this. There are more and more people that that would say have the capacity and understanding how to do things with technology. And I think a very good example of that. Where we are going is let's say when I was a kid, and we were discussing cars with friends, we were speaking about zero to 60 times we were speaking about On top speeds and and things like that I have a nephew that is about seven years old. And when I'm speaking with him about cars, so he's speaking about how he can connect his smartphone. What's the infotainment system? Does it has Android Auto? Or does it have something else, you know, it's a completely different story. And a completely different reasons why people are or take kids are getting excited about the cars. Before it was horsepower sound, and all that. And now it's more about the technology, the amount of work that people put in to create something special that we can use on daily basis.
Sean Martin 10:51
And I can I can relate to the speed and the sound, I've I've built many, many of engines and carburetors when when cars had carburetors. And it was all about getting that little extra horsepower and getting the feel the feel just right. Like, I'm a tech guy, but I can't imagine building a car I almost said computer building a car. Now with all the text in the Senate, can you maybe paint the picture for us in our audience of what the the digital ecosystem looks like, for for a car, maybe some of the components and the sensors, and I was cloud involved? And what was the ecosystem the infrastructure look like.
Mykolas Mataciunas 11:36
Um, so pretty much when we are speaking about the autonomous car, of course, the main, the main things are the systems that see what is happening, you know, around the car. So we have cameras, you have LiDAR, radar, and all that pretty much needs to work in sync to make sure that the car is that the car is able to see what is what is happening around it. And then you go, you know, to the pretty much a computer on wheels, because it needs to understand what what the data, what the what the sensors are showing, and what it needs to do next. And in terms of infotainment. And you know, just looking from that point. Again, there is a lot of software that is being developed from various companies, and everyone tries to see what's the best way to go around this. So it's a lot of work and a lot of different different components that goes in and about which we usually don't even think about, because we don't see them, we just see the end result that let's say, the car can park itself or that we can sit in, sit in a car connected, connect our phone to it. And let's say listen to our favorite podcast.
Marco Ciappelli13:01
Yeah, I'm just like spacing right now because I'm following, you know, growing up and breaking apart vespers and scooters and kick them and and find a way and now I don't even I honestly I never even probably opened the, the my car like the engine compartment of my car, maybe to refill the liquid for for the from the wipers. That's pretty much it. I wouldn't touch anything. And I'm not, you know, but it's incredible. It's incredible. So the relationship with this, with the tools of change, I mean, fine if in a certain way any kind of analog technology, if we want to look back in the past, like you could open a Walkman and break it apart and fix it, maybe, but try to open an iPhone or any other Samsung or Android smartphone and see what what can you do with it? Right. So I'm wondering if if a lot of conversation are actually going in, in that direction, too. I mean, do you have somebody that talks about really the future? Like what where are we going with, we really expecting the car to honestly become our living room where we can just sit in there and all we care is that there is a good TV a good speaker and I can connect my phone. And and I don't care how we're going to get from point A to point B.
Mykolas Mataciunas 14:27
So actually, exactly one of our main panels will be about the future outlook. And in that panel, pretty much we're trying to have government we are trying to have OEMs to once and we'll see smaller suppliers everyone speaking on the topic, where we are going you know from both on the autonomous aspect and also the connectivity aspect of the car. Because without all these players, we cannot we cannot move forward. Everyone needs to be involved. Everyone needs to do their part in making sure that we are moving forward. And pretty much our event is all about that to have the full value chain, and lead these really intelligent people to gather and speak and discuss what needs to be done in terms of, you know, technology, regulation, and all that, to have these amazing things like, as you said, living room on wheels, where we can sit down and just do something else, while we travel from point A to point B.
Sean Martin 15:40
And what about the societal slash cultural aspects? Do you have any conversations, either formal or informal in the hallway, expected to take place I'm thinking there's been, we could probably go back to the broader infrastructure again, as well. It's not just having an autonomous car, that's also electric, you have to have the infrastructure that that supports the car, knowing where it is not just from a GPS perspective of what's around it. Right. And including other cars and other vehicles that may that may be on the road and perhaps even see other people. And then the, the consumer has to understand their role in that new world, right? It's not just having an autonomous car and off you go. What is your role in it? Can you afford it? Can you? How does it fit into the rest of the society? Is it for cities? Is it for countryside? I mean, talk, can you tell us a little bit about that, and if you have any conversations planned to talk about some of that stuff.
Mykolas Mataciunas 16:49
So this is nothing more. This is spoken more about it's a privately between between the parties, when there's the sodality, doing the networking time, and they have they have ability to have the this this conversation with the cultural side and how it's gonna change. But let's say in terms of infrastructure, the introduction of 5g is a huge step forward. Because if we want to have, let's say, a whole whole traffic system that is communicating between each part of it, we're going to need an immense amount of data transferred from one part to the other to the, to another, and so on. In terms of what say the, in terms of people and the consumers. So again, what we see, especially with the with the new generations, that they don't really want to own a car, we really can see that with shared mobility platforms are blowing up and in different different parts of the world. And we have scooters, we have cars, and so on. So the younger generation has Gen Z, and so on. So they don't see a car as a thing that they would like to own, but they see a car, like I think that they would like to use, they don't want to hear they don't want a headache of let's say servicing the car or making sure that it's once they would prefer just to open an app, sit in the car and let the car drive away, I think we still going to have a learning curve in terms of you know, people adapting to this new to this new concept of traveling, because it's really, really going to change a lot. But again, when you look at things like safety, the amount of time that you can use in better purpose, whatever it will be work, relaxation, hobby, whatever the time that you that you travel, you can use more beneficial for yourself or for your family. So I think even though we're going to have a learning curve among the users, in the long term, we're going to use we're gonna see this, this was a the station that we are in right now. Like we are seeing people that were driving, you know, carriages with horses, is going to be the complete, completely same same view that we need to use this just more efficient and more better for everyone involved.
Marco Ciappelli19:37
Wow, that's amazing. I mean, just again, I cannot stop thinking back to the way you know, we grew up our generation and the relationship with the car, and all the things we do but I can see that I mean, even even now I don't care as much anymore. I mean, it'd be nice to have a nice vintage car. That is your lit and that I think that always will be there. They're all was gonna be the people passionate about event that car I don't think that, you know, drivers Formula One and NASCAR and rally are going to stop. I mean, I think there always be that but it's just not going to be probably for everyone. Before we go and talk a little bit more about the the event app one more question I want to pick your brain about and all these things are happening now was the news yesterday for pushing the EPA here in the United States on really pushing two thirds of cars to be electric? By I think 2032, something like that. And of course, there's those that are pushing back, though they're pushing forward is that there's going to be part of the conversation I mean, are you are you have conversation with a government, European community and that kind of level two.
Mykolas Mataciunas 20:53
So we are discussing this more during the Grenada Summit, where let's say we focus on the electrical vehicles and on the infrastructure, because, again, when we are speaking about about electric vehicles, we first of all, we had this range, because when we didn't know that we will, if we're going to be able to make it to the charge point. Now what we see that we have a different different, let's say fear, when coming to the charge charge point, we don't know if it's going to be available, or working. And that's I think, even even even worse. So there's a lot of things that needs to be worked out. But what we see, and in Europe, what we see in us that we have these, these spectacular numbers of charges being stalled, throughout know, throughout the years, and the amount of fast charging stations that are planned to be built and ready to use for the use for for the consumers. It's also also really exciting. It's pretty much the base on which the move is going forward.
Sean Martin 22:15
Yeah, and I think that obviously, that's a big part of the infrastructure, just the power, power supply, and then supply chain in that respect. And speaking of supply chain, I know there's a couple couple talks on software development and sustainability. And I wanted to wanted to pick your brain on the because you mentioned 5g, right, which is all about telco connectivity. And and when you when you connect software to that software, we know is API driven, everything is open, right, you can use the off the shelf components, open source components, commercial components, bring them all together, create something better. And with 5g, and things like open ran, that the hardware space is becoming a lot like that as well in terms of plug and play interoperability for systems. So either connected to the event, or just in general, how do you see the future of kind of the world of openness and plug and play where you have many vendors from the supply chain coming together to really push things forward?
Mykolas Mataciunas 23:26
Well, especially when we speak about connectivity, and let's say if we think about software, and pretty much having these vehicles as as computers on wheels, the main thing is also cybersecurity. Because if we have something that you can hack, or someone will try to hack it, that's that's just how it goes. So that's why we have let's say an expert from a carrier level of Volkswagens software company that we're going to present what what they are planning to do, how how are we going to make sure that these these things are safe. And in terms of let's say, having different suppliers or open open hardware, again, the call it pandemic really showed that we have some some problems in automotive industry and not only in it regarding the supply chain, we need to be as diverse as possible to have as many options as possible. Otherwise, when we have these unexpected events everything we're gonna we're gonna stop and the manufacturers and and suppliers, they cannot allow that they need to collaborate and you need to work this through and the best way is to have an open open source not only for the software, but as well for the for the hardware.
Marco Ciappelli24:56
Yeah, very cool. And as he was looking at all the people that you have on the event they're really going, coming in and connecting, you have an idea of how large and why it is the ecosystem here. Yeah. I think talking about the the complexity again, versus how simple it was many components and coming into play now many more people and company that are specialized in something particular that you need to implement in the car, there's the LiDAR, or is the camera or something else? I just don't see anymore. The the one company make it, make it all right. Yes, it not that I've ever been anyway, but even more. So I would like to leave you the know, a couple of minutes before we wrap these to make a kind of a call to action, if you want to highlight one of the talk that you really are excited for for that to happen and and how can people get involved maybe for the next events, and you mentioned the green, the electric one that you're going to have. So feel free to mention that as well.
Mykolas Mataciunas 26:11
So pretty much for the ICA Summit. Well, I'm not excluding any any of the panels or any any of the speakers, I think of them is going to be really, really exciting. And they're going to bring value in the way that we're going to have different parts of autonomous and connected vehicles presented during the event during the presentations and panel discussions. So let's say people that are working in Aidas can more understand about connectivity, and vice versa. Because again, they need to work together to put everything in one package that then will be given to the consumer. So the event will happen on May 15. And 16th. If someone wants to register, they should go to Ica minus summit.com. And they can see the speakers they can see the program. And if they want to register, we still have a few available tickets for for this event. And in terms of what we're going to be speaking, you know about electrical vehicles. So that's going to be happening in October, on 24th. And 25th. And Stuttgart. So pretty much in in a city where it all started what's in the carbons arena. And we're going to have a lot of a lot of interesting talks not only let's say about electric cars that are battery based, as well on hydrogen, because this is also another solution that can provide a lot of answers in different areas. So for that one, again, we're going to have a executive panel looking, speaking about the future outlook. We're going to have talks about charging and infrastructure. And of course, the latest technologies, what's what's going to happen, and what we have right now on the table. Because because few takes time for what's a from to get from the idea to that idea put in, in the car.
Marco Ciappelli28:21
That's great. And I hope that we get to chat again, maybe before as we get closer to that event. If you want to come back we can have a chat about that specific. And apart from that I really enjoyed it i honestly sure I mean Shawn and I lakes car, but I think this is a conversation that it should interested everyone because either you drive it or you be your passenger, you have a family, I mean, they all they all scenarios is changing in front of us and and with that the landscape of our cities in our street, and I'm kind of looking forward to them living in LA. It's a little too many cars on the road, in my opinion. But that's a different story. So, Michael, thank you so much. Best of luck for the event. For all the people listening, we will have all the URL, they can click and go on the website to learn more. Connect with you if they want to. And we really appreciate it very, very much.
Mykolas Mataciunas 29:26
Thank you, Mara. Thanks, Sean, for having me. It's been a pleasure. And you're looking forward to speaking with you guys again, on different topics in the near future.
Marco Ciappelli29:36
Absolutely. And for everyone, for everybody listening on location
Sean Martin 29:40
at some point as well. Oh, yeah, we
Marco Ciappelli29:42
want to come we'll come for sure. Right. We come often in Europe, so there'll be an opportunity for sure. And for all the listener either you're watching our YouTube hit subscribe if you're listening on our podcast channel again, subscribe because there's a lot of other conversations Coming up, and we hope you find them interesting. I know we did. Right, Shawn.
Sean Martin 30:07
Absolutely. always learning something. Thanks, Michael.
Marco Ciappelli30:10
Thank you. Bye bye
voiceover30:17
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