Iterate Weekly - Issue 96
This week we're playing Tetris while driving, looking at the future of remote work, helping our anxiety with VR, the end for Arcimoto? and the Banshees of Inisherin!
Welcome to issue 96 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I read all of them, and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Driving a car while playing Tetris?
This seemed more like a tech story than an electric vehicle story but it’s interesting on many levels.
Mercedes Benz has been approved to sell cars with autonomous driving Level 3 in the state of Nevada.
There is a lot packed into that statement, so what exactly are we talking about?
Did you know that there are several levels of autonomous driving in cars? This image was really helpful for me.
So we’re talking about level 3 here, conditional automation. In this case, the driver must be seated in the driver’s seat. And there is a camera in the dashboard that must see the driver’s face at all times to keep the autonomous driving going. And for right now at least, the car must remain under 40 mph.
But if you can meet those objectives in the state of Nevada, you can play Tetris right on the dashboard screen of your Mercedes Benz rather than drive yourself. Not too shabby right?
It’s pretty ridiculous that they highlight playing Tetris while your car drives you around. You obviously still need to be somewhat engaged and paying attention in case you need to resume control of the car at any point. As if people aren’t distracted enough while they drive, we’re giving them license to play a game too. Sure, why not?
All jokes aside, this is some seriously groundbreaking technology. It’s still going to take some time and the first cars that feature it will still be really expensive. But prices will come down and more people will have autonomous vehicles of various levels soon.
It sounds like my state of California could be following Nevada’s lead in the coming months. Right now it may just be Mercedes but Ford, Volvo, BMW, and Audi all have similar plans in the works.
How comfortable are you driving around knowing that some drivers are playing Tetris while their car drives for itself?
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
The War on working from anywhere
I have a pair of remote work stories to share this week that piqued my interest.
First is a Wired story about a new war being waged (non-paywall link) in the virtual meeting rooms and empty physical office spaces around the world. Yeah, it’s a battle between employees and employers about working from anywhere.
This may not seem new since the start of the pandemic, but the story highlights a valuable point. It’s becoming clear that employers can’t really dictate their remote work policies. At least they can’t if they’re hoping to attract the top talent in the most competitive markets.
Raj Choudhury, an economist from Harvard Business School summarizes it quite succinctly in the article.
“There are two kinds of companies,” Choudhury explains. “One is going to embrace work-from-anywhere, and the second is in denial—I feel those companies will lose their workforce.” He argues that the “companies that are trying to drag back time will lose some of their best talent, and that dynamic will force these companies to catch up.”
It’s a fascinating discussion that doesn’t seem anywhere close to coming to an end.
And in similar news, office lunch stalwart Sweetgreens are struggling to adapt to this new reality.
The sales numbers for Sweetgreens have been off pace this year and they’re scrambling to figure out some new approaches. One solution is a shift to build more restaurants in less urban areas. Basically, areas where work from home folks are more likely to pick up a lunch order.
This had me curious to throw in a little bonus poll this week.
♻️ Health & Environment
Can VR help with anxiety?
I’m always intrigued about any use of virtual reality that goes beyond gaming. So I was excited to see that VR is now being used as a potential treatment for anxiety.
Check out the video below to see what I mean:
The objective here is to put the test subjects into virtual scenarios that could cause some anxious feelings. The example of being faced by a ferocious monster is used here. Thankfully, the subject is in a safe environment but the VR is pretty effective at making your brain think otherwise.
If they’re able to use breathing techniques to get through stressful scenarios in VR, they’ll be much better equipped when faced with trauma in the real world.
The example game looks truly frightening whether you regularly face anxiety or not. But the idea of advancing in a game by changing biological markers (stress levels, heart rate, breath cadence, etc.) is pretty compelling.
What other medical issues could VR help treat?
🛍 Grab Bag
Is the end near for Arcimoto?
If you’ve been reading these pages for a while, you know how bullish I am on the future of micro mobility. Tiny pseudo-cars like the Arcimoto FUV have captured my excitement over the past few months.
That’s why I was sad to read that Arcimoto has fallen on some hard times and may be on the verge of bankruptcy.
Arcimoto seemed like a company that had figured out how to overcome the obstacles associated with getting a new piece of transportation tech off the ground. The FUV (it’s supposed to stand for Fun Utility Vehicle, but come on, it starts with FU!) seemed to please many Americans without the shortcomings of other entries. It could still reach freeway speeds, offered room for a passenger and/or cargo, and came with a palatable price tag (less than $20K).
But the company is closing their factory in Oregon and selling off their remaining FUVs. It seems like bankruptcy is on the horizon unless a huge influx of cash comes in to save the day. There could be a chance that an established automaker swoops in to acquire patents and possibly resume production.
As recently as 2021 the company was valued above $1 billion. At this point, the company is believed to be worth less than $7 million.
It’s a harsh reminder of how hard it is to change people’s traditional viewpoints about transportation (at least in The United States). It makes me nervous about the viability of the Nimbus One EV that I’ve put down a deposit for.
💬 Quote of the Week
"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."
-Phil Connors (Groundhog Day)
🎥 Content Recommendation
The Banshees of Inisherin
It’s award season! And each year I do my best to see as many Oscar-nominated films as possible before the award ceremony takes place. You may notice a recurring trend of movie recommendations over the coming weeks.
Recently, my wife and I watched the film “The Banshees of Inisherin”. Maybe I’m giving my wife a little too much credit because I think she dozed off halfway through the film. But I soldiered on and was proud to make it to the end!
I certainly can’t blame her for falling asleep. The film is relatively quiet and feels like it drags a bit despite it’s sub-two hour duration. But I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
The scenery is beautiful and I appreciate the roles of the animals in the film. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson deliver fantastic performances. I’ll hold off on giving any other info, just see it for yourself.
POLL
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
P.S. - Hey, it’s the new year! Could you use some help reviewing what worked for you in 2022 and what could be better for 2023? Need some help building positive habits or ditching negative ones? Iterating on a new business idea and need some guidance? Or maybe you just want to say hello and pick my brain for a bit, that’s fine too! If you’d like to chat, feel free to book some time with me here!
I started off "Banshees..." with a gusto, but just couldn't finish it knowing that the end would be way too hard for me to bear. Just left those characters there in the middle of the story, off to figure out their own conclusions.