252: Presenter (Michelle Chaka)

Date and Time: Tuesday, July 19: 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Garden 1-3

Michelle Chaka

Director of Safety Assurance and Standards, Locomation

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION

Locomation’s Autonomous Relay ConvoySM technology is a human-led convoy of two trucks that are electronically tethered and equipped with Locomation’s autonomous driving technology. This human-guided autonomy solution enables one driver to operate the lead truck while a second driver rests in the follower truck, allowing carriers to safely operate two trucks for 20-22 hours per day, all while remaining in compliance with the federal hours-of-service regulations. Locomation will enable carriers to deliver 2x the cargo, 2x farther, 2x faster, while reducing the per truck greenhouse gas footprint by up to 22%.

This presentation will provide an overview of Locomation's Autonomous Relay ConvoySM technology and our approach to safety which has been grounded in decades of experience in autonomy. Locomation recently issued a Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment outlining how Locomation’s Autonomous Relay ConvoySM technology is safe for pre-deployment testing on public roads and complies with federal and state regulations.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Michelle Chaka is the Director of Safety Assurance and Standards at Locomation, a leading provider of autonomous trucking technology solutions. Chaka also leads the development and implementation of safety standards and procedures.

Prior to Locomation, Chaka was Division Director at the Data and Analytics Division at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) specializing in collaboration with industry, academic, and government partners to translate large-scale data collections into robust and timely guidance and decisions. Her over 25 years of transportation safety experience at VTTI, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors have elevated her to the top of the field and benefited the safety community at large.

Chaka was recently honored by being named as the recipient of the International 2021 J. Cordell Breed Award for Women Leaders by the SAE Women Engineers Committee. She is well versed in the areas of automated driving systems, crash avoidance, occupant protection, regulatory compliance, and safety assurance. She holds an M.S. in Automotive Engineering Technology from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from Michigan State University in Mechanical Engineering.

PRESENTATION FILE