{"id":9452,"date":"2026-03-08T08:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T13:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9452"},"modified":"2026-03-08T08:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T13:13:13","slug":"riding-the-future-inside-tesla-waymo-and-zoox-autonomous-rides-with-kevin-chao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9452","title":{"rendered":"Riding the Future: Inside Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox\u00a0Autonomous\u00a0Rides with Kevin Chao"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3540\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-9452-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Podcast Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff welcomes Kevin Chao, an early adopter who has taken more than 60 rides in autonomous vehicles across San Francisco and Austin. Kevin shares his firsthand experiences riding in Tesla RoboTaxis, Waymo vehicles, and Amazon\u2019s new Zoox autonomous vehicle\u2014built from the ground up with no steering wheel and inward-facing seats. He describes what it\u2019s like to request, ride, and interact with these driverless systems while offering feedback that helps improve the experience. From accessibility to independence, Kevin explores what autonomous transportation could mean for blind and low vision travelers as the future of mobility begins arriving today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks for listening!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_3542\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-9452-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/ZooksWithKevinChao.mp3 Podcast Summary: In this episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff welcomes Kevin Chao, an early adopter who has taken more than 60 rides in autonomous vehicles across San Francisco and Austin. Kevin shares his firsthand experiences riding in Tesla RoboTaxis, Waymo vehicles, and Amazon\u2019s new Zoox autonomous vehicle\u2014built from the ground up with no steering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,467],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents","category-technology","post_format-post-format-audio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-2ss","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5633,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5633","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":0},"title":"Episode 600: Reliving The Ride: Autonomous Vehicles, Driverless Navigation and Stepping into the Experience with Liz Bottner and Michael Colbrunn","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"January 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary: Yes, it has been a few months since the summer conventions but we got this one coming out right now, and it nearly drove itself right out of the Blind Abilities studio. By the way, this is episode #600, Wow! Michael Colbrunn and Liz Bottner reflected back at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2569,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2569","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":1},"title":"Erich Manser Goes the Distance With Aira! Erich Talks Boston marathon, Autonomous Vehicles, IBM and Adjusting to Blindness","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Erich Manser is an Accessibility Researcher for IBM, an Explorer for Aira, has held the World Record for a BVI in Triathlon and has participated in the Boston Marathon 8 times to date. His latest Boston marathon was enhanced by a Visual Interpreter device from Aira. Aira is a revolutionary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2269,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2269","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":2},"title":"World&#8217;s Fastest Blind Man and the Autonomous Bicycle? Meet Dan parker","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"November 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dan Parker joins Pete Lane and Jeff Thompson as he talks about his new goal of building his own car from scratch, designing welding, bending and knotting. Staying busy and figuring out how to do it Blind. Dan has an idea that started when he lost his sight after a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8402,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=8402","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":3},"title":"The Future of Accessible Tech at Vista Center\u2019s Ignite Accessibility Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition with Kevin Chao","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In this episode of Blind Abilities, Kevin Chao discusses the\u00a0Vista Center\u00a0Ignite Accessibility Entrepreneur Pitch Competition, an exclusive event showcasing groundbreaking accessible technologies. Entrepreneurs presented innovations such as\u00a0 Get Lotus, a ring-operated switch control system,\u00a0 Lighthouse Tech,\u00a0an\u00a0\u00a0obstacle-detecting smart glasses, Oorion\u00a0is an object, text detection app. Other highlights include Equivalent's SmartSVG, Speakaboo\u00a0for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5227,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5227","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":4},"title":"Aira Party, autonomous Cars, Aira access at Colleges, Meet Mike Randall the New Aira CEO and the Partnership that will Rock Your Ears with Bose. #NFB19","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Aira was the Elite Sponsor at the 2019 NFB Convention held in Las Vegas and they sure know how to put on a party. While talking with Aira\u2019s Michael Hingson, we learn about the Aira Access points and the growing number of businesses and colleges coming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NFB19&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NFB19","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=526"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7572,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=7572","url_meta":{"origin":9452,"position":5},"title":"Tech Abilities: Sonic Graphs, Mac App Store, Kim Kardashian Beats, NASA&#8217;s iPad Journey and are you a Buncher, Folder or Wrapper? And, More Tech Tidbits for you all!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary In this Tech Abilities episode Serina, Callie and Jeff welcome Seyoon Choi to the show. He is working on his major and undergrad simultaneously While playing Blind Hockey and working at the local fruit store. From Kardashian Beats Fit Pros, to NVDA at Texas State, Demos on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Tech Abilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Tech Abilities","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=524"},"img":{"alt_text":"The TechAbilities Logo-Dark Sunglasses with TA and BA bold letters in each lens.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9453,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9452\/revisions\/9453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}