Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about the automotive future and helping the industry transition to a new era of vehicles—one that is electrically powered and self-driving.
For decades, I have worked in the automotive industry in various roles, including building my own strategic consulting firm that helps traditional auto companies and tech start-ups navigate the rapidly changing market. Still, few opportunities have excited me more than this one. I am beyond proud to join the collaborative and innovative team at Baraja as their Chief Strategy Officer.
Joining Baraja is more than just a corporate job or a step on the career ladder. It is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of a brilliant, growing team of innovative changemakers and to play a role in presenting the industry with unmatched, revolutionary technology that will enable true Level 4 autonomous driving.
Working with groundbreaking technology
Our Spectrum-Scan™ LiDAR is simply incomparable to other sensors currently on the market and is one of the only LiDAR sensors designed for the reality of true driving conditions in a completely autonomous infrastructure.
With Spectrum-Scan™ technology, autonomous vehicles (AVs) can achieve precise, high-resolution readings of dark objects over 250 meters away — this is the type of vision necessary for AVs to make safety-critical decisions at highway speeds. We have also been able to achieve complete interference immunity, versatility, modularity, and scalability with our design.
One of the more significant technological components of our Spectrum-Scan™ LiDAR — and one that is crucial to meeting the conditions of the real world — is its patented solid-state design. Baraja built its system with virtually no moving parts and developed a design that eliminated the need for mirrors and mechanical parts. This means we are already automotive grade and ultimately, less parts means less cost than competing systems.
This configuration has never been done before, and I believe it is the key that the industry has been looking for to unlock the potential of full vehicle autonomy.
Joining the collaborative culture
When I reflect on what truly distinguishes Baraja as a technology leader, it has little to do with the tech itself. What separates Baraja from the pack, and what I am most excited to be a part of, is the spirit and principles the company was founded on.
In an industry riddled with “trade secrets” and shallow promises, Baraja has stood on its belief that transparency and collaboration are the foundational principles for designing and building truly innovative technology. Not only will I be able to collaborate with the global internal team at Baraja, but we are also creating key partnerships with suppliers and automakers to continue to refine and enhance our technology to meet the evolving needs of autonomous vehicles.
We don’t want to just present a new LiDAR sensor. We want to build technology that equips vehicles with the vision it needs to make safe and accurate driving decisions. Because at the end of the day, our goal is to improve safety and to help more people sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride in a completely reimagined world of automotive.
Driving the future
The automotive industry is under major disruptions, and for years, automakers and tech companies have been working hard to crack the code to autonomous driving. Now, with the help of the hands and heads behind the Baraja team, we are able to present that solution to the market and truly transform how we build, buy, and drive vehicles.
The technology that Baraja has been able to achieve is years ahead of its time and, with the right distribution strategy, will easily emerge as the unmatched leader in LiDAR. I predict that over the course of this decade, Baraja will become a billion dollar, publicly-traded company and will be the technology attached to the first wave of advanced autonomous vehicles. And for the brilliant minds who have worked diligently to develop this technology, they will finally be able to witness the revolutionary impact they have made on the industry.
For the team at Baraja, now is the time to seize our opportunity and harness our collaborative, innovative spirit to present our groundbreaking Spectrum-Scan™ LiDAR to the world. I am honored to join the Baraja team and assist in our efforts to further disrupt the industry and rise as a world leader in LiDAR.
