THIS WEEK, LEWANDOWSKI WAS CHARGED WITH TRYING TO STEAL
DOCUMENTS FROM UBER.
HOW HE GOT HERE.
>> THE CHARACTER AT THE CENTER
OF THIS CASE IS ANTHONY
LEWANDOWSKI, PRETTY KNOWN IN
SILICON VALLEY FOR HAVING BEEN A
ROCK STAR ENGINEER THE LAST 15
YEARS OR SO.
HE WAS HIRED BY GOOGLE,
SOMETHING LIKE MORE THAN TEN
YEARS AGO TO WORK, IN
PARTICULAR, ON TECHNOLOGY
INVOLVING AUTONOMOUS CARS.
THE NEW THAPSD EARLIER THIS WEEK
IS THAT HE WAS INDICTED ON
FEDERAL, CRIMINAL CHARGES,
ALLEGED TRADE SECRET THEFT.
BASICALLY THE GOVERNMENT IS
CLAIMING THAT HE STOLE SOME
PROPRIETARY DATA AND INFORMATION
RELATING TO A PARTICULAR TYPE OF
LASER THAT’S IN USE TO BUILD
AUTONOMOUS CARS AND HAS OTHER
APPLICATION AS WELL.
THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS HE DID SO
FOR THE PURPOSES OF BUILDING AND
CREATING A NEW COMPANY THAT THEN
WAS QUICKLY SOLD TO UBER FOR
$680 MILLION.
$680 MILLION. THIS STORY HAS ALREADY BEEN
TOLD, ACTUALLY, HERE IN SILICON
VALLEY.
VALLEY. THERE WAS A FAMOUS TRIAL, CIVIL
TRIAL BETWEEN WEMO, GOOGLE’S
KIND OF SELF-DRIVING CAR
DIVISION, THAT SUED UBER.
THEY WENT TO TRIAL IN FEBRUARY
2018 AND ANTHONY LEW SBLS
ANDOWSKI WAS THE CAT LIESING
ELEMENT TO THIS STORY.
HE DID NOT HAVE TO TESTIFY AT
TRIAL, RESISTED HARD TO BE PART
OF IT.
OF IT. IN FACT, HE WAS FIRED FROM UBER
FOR REFUSING TO COMPLY WITH THE
COMPANY’S DEMANDS.
COMPANY’S DEMANDS. HE SORT OF LOOMED LARGE OVER
THAT LAWSUIT.
THAT LAWSUIT. IT CAME SOMETHING AS A SURPRISE
THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE
18 MONTHS LATER, MR. LEWANDOWSKI
IS BEING CHARGED BY THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. EQUIVALENT OF SONAR.
A DEVICE THAT IS A SOUND WAVE
AND ALSO BY BATS, BOTH IN THE
PHYSICAL WORLD AND MECHANICAL
WORLD.
WORLD. IT BOUNCE OFF AN OBJECT.
THE RECEIVING VESSEL, WHETHER
THAT’S A BAT OR SUBMARINE, USES
THAT TO DETERMINE HOW FAR WAY
THAT OBJECT IS.
THIS IS WHAT SONAR IS.
LIDAR IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME
THING EXCEPT IT USES LIGHTS AND
LASERS INSTEAD OF SOUND WAVES.
LIGHT TRAVELS CONSIDERABLY
FASTER THAN SOUND.
SO, IF YOU’RE USING LASERS FROM,
LET’S SAY, AN AUTONOMOUS CAR,
THAT ENABLES THE CAR TO FIGURE
OUT WHERE IT IS IN SPACE AND HOW
FAR WAY OTHER OBJECTS ARE
RELATIVE TO IT.
SO, IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN PICTURES
OR SEEN IN REAL LIFE ONE OF
THESE SELF-DRIVING CARS, THEY
ALL HAVE A DEVICE ON THE TOP OF
THE CAR THAT IS SHOOTING OUT
LASERS TO EVERYTHING AROUND THAT
CAR.
CAR. A TREE, A BICYCLE, OTHER CARS,
PEOPLE, BUILDINGS, EVERYTHING.
AND IN SO DOING, THE CAR IS ABLE
TO DETERMINE WHERE IT IS IN
SPACE AND HOW FAR AWAY OTHER
OBJECTS ARE FROM IT AND HOW TO
AVOID THOSE OBJECTS.
SO, THIS LIDAR REALLY IS ONE OF
THE KEY TECHNOLOGIES FOR
CONSTRUCTING AUTONOMOUS CARS.
ANTHONY LEWANDOWSKI DID NOT
INVENT LIDAR BUT IS A TOP
RESEARCHER IN THIS FIELD.
HE IS ACCUSED, ACCORDING TO THE
GOVERNMENT, OF HAVING STOLEN
VERY PARTICULAR COMPONENTS OF
THE LIDAR DEVICE THAT IS IN USE
AT WAYMO, GOOGLE’S SELF-DRIVING
CAR DIVISION, AND HAVING TAKEN
THOSE TO UBER.
AT A PRESS CONFERENCE IN FEDERAL
COURT IN SAN JOSE EARLIER THIS
WEEK, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DAVID ANDERSON UNDERSCORED THE
FACT THAT WE’RE ALL FREE TO MOVE
FROM JOB TO JOB BUT WE’RE NOT,
IN HIS WORDS, ALLOWED TO STUFF
OUR POCKETS ON THE WAY OUT THE
DOOR.
DOOR. ANTHONY LEWANDOWSKI IS ACCUSED
OF TAKING PROPRIETARY
INFORMATION FROM HIS FORMER
EMPLOYER AND USING IT TO BENEFIT
A COMPETITOR.
A COMPETITOR. THERE’S A FEDERAL LAW THAT
PREVENTS THAT.
PREVENTS THAT. SUCH PROSECUTES ARE RELATIVELY
RARE, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, BUT
THIS OBVIOUSLY ROSE TO THE LEVEL
THAT THE UNITED STATES
AUTHORITIES NEEDED TO BECOME
INVOLVED.
INVOLVED. MR. LEWANDOWSKI HAS A HEARING IN
FEDERAL COURT NERL SEPTEMBER BUT
THE CASE WILL SURELY TAKE SOME