Join Capital Factory and BAE Systems for an evening of discussion and exploration as part of the Innovation at Startup Speed series. The night’s focus will be on Autonomy. Come to hear about not only some of the leading edge work BAE Systems is doing, but also hear from several government, industry, and academic experts pursuing refined technologies in this space. Discover collaboration opportunities and explore strategies for startup engagement in the Austin ecosystem. Interact with potential customers including government agencies in attendance to explore and develop broader opportunities.

Topics will include:

A prime contractor perspective on Autonomy and its market potential in the defense and commercial industry

What can commercial autonomy learn from the experience in defense? What can defense learn from commercial autonomy? How can these two spheres collaborate?

Are self-driving cars and autonomous aircraft and ground vehicles in our near future? What are the key enabling technologies and critical challenges?

What is the relationship between autonomy and artificial intelligence/machine learning?

How can an autonomous system be implemented in such a manner that it can perform as both an autonomous system and one that allows for human override, without “doubling” the complexity?

Which factors will dominate the rate of acceptance of autonomous systems: a) The socio/political concerns regarding application and legality, or b) The technical and cost challenges of product realization?

What are the means to validate the performance of an autonomous system under a wide variety of use cases?

AGENDA

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Refreshments, Networking, and Autonomy Demonstrations

6:00 PM – 6:15 PM BAE Systems Autonomy Introduction: Dr. Matt Henry

6:15 PM – 7:00 PM Autonomy Panel Discussion and Q&A

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Refreshments, Networking, and Autonomy Demonstrations

Dr. Matt Henry, Chief Scientist, FAST Labs. As a Chief Scientist in the Autonomy, Controls, and Estimation product line, Dr. Henry is the technical lead for an S&T-focused team that specializes in developing intelligent systems that support adaptive human-machine teaming and multi-machine teaming in partially observed, evolving, and hostile environments. He is the BAE Principal Investigator (PI) for the DARPA TTO Squad X Experimentation Phase 2 program and a co-PI for the DARPA DSO Competency-Aware Machine Learning program. Matt earned his Ph.D. in Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia. Over his career, he has developed control algorithms and embedded control systems for automotive engines, mechanical technologies for Navy submarines, and mechanical control mechanisms for helicopter rotors.

Paul Decker, Deputy Chief Roboticist, US Army. Paul is the Deputy Chief Roboticist at the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (nee TARDEC), providing technical expertise and strategic support to Army / DoD Senior Leadership – for Ground Robotics and Autonomous Systems. Paul has 21 year of experience working for the Army, and 5 years with DARPA. Paul’s prior assignments include DARPA Deputy PM for the GXVT (Ground eXperimental Vehicle Technologies) & AVM (Adaptive Vehicle Make) programs, TARDEC’s Deputy Chief Scientist, and TARDEC Associate Director for Analytical Simulation (Computer Aided Engineering). Paul holds a M.S.E. in Electrical Engineering and a B.S.E. in Materials Science & Engineering – both from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Jerry M. Wohletz, Vice President and General Manager of FAST Labs. Dr. Wohletz is the Vice President and General Manager of FAST Labs Business Area which is the research and advanced technology arm of BAE Systems INC. Prior to BAE Systems, Dr. Wohletz was a Director at ALPHATECH Inc. (MIT startup acquired by BAE Systems in 2004) where he led and developed the market leading new-to-the-world Multi-vehicle Mission Control System (M2CS®) product for autonomous airborne systems. Dr. Wohletz holds a BS with highest distinction in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas; and a MS in Engineering focused on Aeronautics and Astronauts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Estimation and Control, also from MIT. Dr. Wohletz has been recognized for his contributions to our Nation’s Defense, and was honored to be selected to serve on the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.Jerry M. Wohletz, Vice President and General Manager of FAST Labs

Dr. Ufuk Topcu, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Topcu researches the design and verification of autonomous, networked systems. The central question his group tackles is how to build provably correct (by synthesis or by verification) protocol-based control systems. The work merges—and often extends—ideas from controls, formal methods and learning. The motivating applications stem mainly from autonomous vehicles and robots as well as autonomous decision-making in cyber-physical networks. He received his Ph.D. degree at the University of California at Berkeley and held research positions at the University of Pennsylvania and California Institute of Technology. He has received the NSF CAREER and AFOSR YIP awards.C:\Users\beau.duarte\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.MSO\198EB77D.tmp

Ali Tabibian, Founder, GTK Partners. Ali has 25 years of experience in the world of finance in the Silicon Valley. He founded GTK, a firm focused mainly on M&A advisory and direct principal investment. While GTK’s transactions span many sectors, the convergence of software and hardware in innovative ways, such as the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles and robotics, are an area of particular expertise. Ali organizes a private executive conference on the Industrial Internet, autonomy and data analysis and is the editor of the “Tech. Cars. Machines.” publications and podcasts. He has a B.S. and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and lives in San Francisco.

ATTENDANCE BY DOD PERSONNEL AND OTHER US GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES

To help you comply with the U.S. Government’s ethics rules, as laid out by the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”), it is BAE Systems’ policy to share with you the value of the hospitality being offered, allow you to pay for your hospitality if your employer requires it, and remind you that tracking your compliance with the OGE’s $20/$50 rule is your responsibility. We anticipate offering you hospitality valued at approximately $17. Alcohol will be served. If your department requires you to reimburse us for this hospitality, an “honor box” will be present at the event for this purpose. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us. We look forward to hosting you.

PARKING
Parking in downtown Austin can be difficult at times. We strongly encourage attendees to utilize ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft when traveling to the summit.

The Omni Hotel has paid garage options, and there are several additional parking garages surrounding Capital Factory— along with metered street parking.