Detroit meets Silicon Valley: Boundaries blur as cars and computers converge - Omaha World-Herald
Meanwhile, in a squat, industrial building in suburban Detroit, a short drive from Ford’s headquarters, workers are busy building a small fleet of driverless cars. The convergence of cars and computers is blurring the traditional geographical boundaries of both industries. Silicon Valley is dotted with research labs opened by automakers and suppliers, who are racing to develop high-tech infotainment systems and autonomous cars. Tech companies — looking to grow and sensing an industry that’s ripe for disruption — are heading to Detroit to better understand the auto industry and get their software embedded into cars. For years the fast-paced tech industry showed little respect for the plodding car industry. Google and Palo Alto-based Tesla, with its high-tech electric sedans, helped change that. “People think it’s shiny Silicon Valley versus grungy Detroit, but that’s garbage,” said Chris Urmson, who leads Google’s self-driving car program. Dragos Maciuca, a former Apple engineer who’s now the technical director of Ford’s Palo Alto research lab, said he’s seeing a new excitement about the auto industry in Silicon Valley. For one thing, cars provide a palpable sense of accomplishment for software engineers. Source: www.omaha.com
