TechMobility Topics

Could passenger trains be making a comeback in America? With Amtrak reporting rising ridership, expanding service, and upgrading its equipment, rail travel is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to driving or flying.In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I examine the renewed interest in passenger rail and what Amtrak's growing popularity tells us about changing American travel habits. From improved equipment to new routes and expanded connections, passenger trains are offering travelers more reasons to reconsider how they get from one place to another.I also share a few passenger train journeys on my personal bucket list—and why experiencing America from the rails still holds a special appeal.With more Americans climbing aboard, could passenger rail finally reclaim a meaningful place in our nation's transportation future?

License plate cameras are supposed to help law enforcement catch criminals. But what happens when the people entrusted with that surveillance technology abuse it?During this episode of TechMobility Topics, I examine troubling reports about Flock Safety's automated license plate reader network, including cases where former law enforcement personnel reportedly kept access to sensitive databases and ran unauthorized searches.These incidents raise serious questions about oversight, accountability, and the potential abuse of surveillance technology. Who is monitoring the people accessing millions of license plate records? What prevents someone from using that information to track a former spouse, a neighbor, or an innocent motorist? And when access privileges are abused, who is held responsible?I explore the vulnerabilities surrounding database access, audit trails, data retention, and the lack of transparency that can leave ordinary citizens unaware their movements are being monitored.When technology designed to protect the public can be exploited by those entrusted to operate it, who's protecting the public from the watchers?

Driverless trucks are no longer a futuristic concept. They're already hauling paying customers' freight on public roads—and the race to scale up is accelerating.In this episode of TechMobility Topics, I examine autonomous trucking company Gatik's latest $200 million funding raise and what its completed driverless deliveries reveal about the future of commercial transportation.With autonomous trucks potentially operating nearly around the clock, traditional freight economics could be turned upside down. Faster deliveries, more frequent routes, higher fleet utilization, and reduced labor constraints could give retailers and logistics companies a powerful competitive advantage.But as autonomous trucking gains momentum, what happens to the human drivers—and the transportation industry built around them?

What could AI do with a sense of smell? In this episode of TechMobility Topics, we explore electronic nose research and the possibilities it opens—from detecting hazards and monitoring air quality to breath-based health screening and even fragrance creation. It's a different side of artificial intelligence, with potential applications spanning public safety, health, and creativity.But the possibilities come with a practical challenge: building reliable scent data. We examine why teaching AI to interpret smells is more complicated than the phrase "electronic nose" might suggest — and why dependable results matter as researchers explore these uses. Can machines turn a new way of sensing the world into something people can actually trust?

A driving record on another planet offers a fresh perspective on mobility here at home. For this episode of TechMobility Topics, we explore NASA's Perseverance rover's 28-mile driving milestone on Mars and its autonomous navigation, described as "thinking while driving." It's a space-exploration story tied to an everyday transportation question: what can a vehicle navigating another world teach us about self-driving technology on this one?We bring the conversation back to Earth to consider the lessons Perseverance's experience offers for autonomous vehicles. Mars and everyday traffic present different challenges, so the rover's achievement isn't a shortcut to proving that self-driving cars are ready for every situation. Instead, it offers another perspective on the possibilities — and limits — of autonomous navigation. From the Red Planet to the roads closer to home, we examine why this milestone matters beyond the space program.