Built In Motion - Life and Engineering

Self driving car technology has come along way pretty quickly in recent years. In this episode we take a look at how the US military got the ball rolling and how Google got involved.

How would you like to take on a $300 million project that far outstrips the known technologies, while using untested materials and inventing solutions to problems as you go along? Yet you build it, impacting the lives of millions, changing the economy of a country, and pave the way for major industry along the way.

The skatecar was born from a small event held on Signal Hill in 1975 that quickly evolved into a new form of skateboarding.

Henry Ford's first automobile company had just failed and Ford needed a way to restore his reputation. To do this, he built his first racecar.

The Bell UH-1 Huey was the beginning of an era for military helicopters. Starting in Vietnam, the Huey did everything from transporting combat troops and supplies to carrying out air assault missions. It also saved numerous lives by evacuating out the wounded quickly. The Huey was literally a lifeline for thousands of troops in Vietnam and has inspired helicopter design ever since.

This episode is all about consumer drones and a little more. First we hear from Darrell Wilson about both hobby and commercial uses for drones, including how the laws around them are changing. Darrell is a drone enthusiast as well as a licensed private investigator. Then we move to space and hear a story about how drones one day may be used to retrieve things back from the International Space Station.

For the very first episode of Built In Motion, I start with a story that I know all too well. It's my story about what it's like to spend my weekends as a NASCAR pit crew member for the #62 Xfinity Series team driven by Brendan Gaughan for Richard Childress Racing.