percent at U-M, and he praises the deep connection between the two. “At U-M, I work on robots, and at TRI, I work on cars,” he says. At U-M, his work revolves around intelligent robots that can live and work alongside humans. “At both places, we’re trying to solve a lot of the same problems.”
TRI’s approach of closely collaborating with universities like U-M offers several advantages, Eustice says. “The research at universities is longer-term and more speculative,” he maintains. “It allows us to get early access to bleeding-edge technologies and work with students in our internship program.”
Eustice could have chosen to start his own autonomous vehicle startup, as former U-M colleague Ed Olson did with May Mobility, but he says working for TRI appealed to him more. “We’re roboticists all the way to the top at TRI, and that gives us a good understanding of the hard technical challenges and how the technology needs to mature before it can be in cars,” he says. “TRI is much more like a stable startup—we have autonomy in how we operate within Toyota and a fast-paced culture. With a startup, you’re always asking, ‘Will we survive?’ Without a long runway, it’s harder to experiment.”
Another advantage, he says, is the broad look Toyota gets at autonomous technologies under development across different parts of the mobility industry, as various companies approach the automaker about possible partnerships.
However, Eustice says the bottom line is that TRI and Toyota want to make transportation safer and easier. He rattles off an alarming statistic: Every year, there are 1.25 million traffic fatalities across the world.
“We have a very different viewpoint from the industry and our competitors,” he points out, referring to the mobility industry’s tendency to prioritize innovation and market potential over safety. “There’s a huge opportunity to be industry-leading while also making an impact on humanity.”
