Carol Reiley is president of Drive.ai, a Silicon Valley startup using "deep learning" -- a machine's ability to continuously analyze and adapt to new situations -- to build automated driving systems.
Reiley, who holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins, launched Drive.ai in 2015 after working as an engineer at Intuitive Surgical, which builds the robot-assisted da Vinci surgical system. She made the switch to automotive to continue applying the technology to saving lives.
"One of the biggest problems facing society today is human drivers," Reiley said. "I'm driven by problems that can help people at scale."
Specifically, she says she is working to reduce the number of accidents that young people are involved in. The rate of fatal car accidents for drivers between 16 and 19 is three times as high as the rate for drivers over age 20, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
"If we can save even a small fraction of those lives, it's worth it," she said.
Drive.ai, whose board includes former General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, is developing a kit that can be retrofitted to cars on the road today. The kit uses LED signs and speakers to signal to other cars and pedestrians and will be intended primarily for business fleets.
"We are using deep learning to power everything -- from the sensors to the cameras, to the vehicle's decision-making, to the way the car communicates with people and things around it," says Reiley.
Communication and how it evolves with automated technology will be a key part of the development of self-driving cars, according to Reiley. She said she expects everything from the car horn, to brake lights, to rearview mirrors to be redesigned or deemed unnecessary in the upcoming generation of autonomous vehicles.
