Companies in connected car news this week include Giesecke & Devrient, Tesla, XIMANTIS, Humanetics, Ford, ATS, Nexar, ABI, Toshiba, TomTom and LexisNexis.
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Giesecke & Devrient / M2MD Gateway for Connected Cars
M2MD Technologies and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) announced the availability of a secure Communications Gateway. In addition to comprehensive security, the Communications Gateway allows automakers to quickly connect to the vehicle, execute commands more rapidly, and effectively manage costs.
With more connected vehicles on the road, the need for strong security and efficient communications is paramount to the safety of the driver and the vehicle. M2MD and G&D formed a strategic partnership, combining their expertise to improve both security and connectivity speed. The secure Communications Gateway merges M2MD’s proprietary security solutions with G&D’s expertise in encryption, key management, and highly secure hosting capabilities.
The solution is optimized to provide a unique, cloud-based platform that strengthens data transmission security and the speed of initiating communications between the vehicle and the automaker’s preferred telematics platform. Enhanced security is driven by a patent pending solution integrating the best 3GPP wireless communication security with standard TLS 1.2. For improved connectivity, the Gateway instantly triggers a network initiated data session to the vehicle, resulting in an immediate response to complete requests for remote control functions (e.g. remote vehicle start) resulting in a better user experience.
Best a’ Tesla
In Tesla news this week, the Tesla X can be upgraded to Bio-weapons defense mode for through a Hepa Filter for $750. The company is suing its former Autopilot director (Sterling Anderson) for taking information and trying to poach personnel. There are a few bugs in the Autopilot software for Tesla cars with the “new” Enhanced Autopilot hardware.One bug is inconsistent rendering of the car and the road lanes on the instrument cluster. Musk says the road from Enhanced Autopilot to Fully Self-Driving could be as soon as 3-6 months. Elon Musk says he seriously wants to dig holes underground to reduce traffic in Los Angeles.
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Another Autonomous Start
XIMANTIS AB, a Swedish start-up, announces its entry to the Autonomous Vehicles and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) software platform with the introduction of its Stochastic Re-construction module. This module, in direct communication with the vehicle’s software, can integrate any number of available data sources and completely resolve, in real time, local vehicle interactions. Stochastic Re-construction minimizes uncertainty and eminent risk by anticipating moves and reacting immediately.
Ximantis AB created this effective algorithm based on its patent-pending process that can independently forecast traffic events more than 30 minutes into the future. By expanding its model to seamlessly manage multifaceted M2M vehicular traffic behaviors encompassing efficiency, safety, and simplicity, the company breaks ground to a new area.
Grandma, Grandpa and Boomer Dummies for testing
Statistically, there were more than 40 million licensed drivers aged 65 and older in the United States in 2015 (U.S. Department of Transportation). This represents 18.4% – or nearly one in every five drivers – on the American roads. In 2014, more than 5,700 older adults were killed and more than 236,000 were treated in emergency rooms for motor vehicle crash injuries. This amounts to 16 older adults killed and 648 injured in crashes on average every day.
It should not come as a surprise that anatomically, an elderly person is built very differently compared to someone younger, and therefore will likely sustain very different injuries during a crash. In response, Humanetics has embarked on a project to realize an ATD design to reflect the anthropometry of an elderly 70 year old small female driver by using research conducted by ICAM (International Center for Automotive Medicine) and UMTRI (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute). Utilizing the anthropomorphic data provided by UMTRI, some hardware cues from the small female WorldSID coupled with a newly designed organ system concept, the Elderly ATD will allow more precise measurements of internal injuries sustained in automotive accidents for this specific occupant group. “As the demographics of the driving population continues to evolve, our crash test dummies and the test equipment that we design & manufacture must continue to evolve at the same rate,” says Mr. Christopher J. O’Connor, President & CEO of Humanetics. “Let’s not forget the more vulnerable drivers on the road and provide a product that the car manufacturers, government agencies and research groups around the world can use to design and test a safer car for people of all sizes and ages,” he added.
In order to understand the dynamic properties of internal human organs such as the liver and spleen, Humanetics is working closely with ICAM to define anatomical features and verify performance attributes with real-world injury feedback. “The condition, size and shape of an individual is hugely important in how severe their injuries are in any given crash,” Michigan Medicine trauma surgeon Stewart Wang, M.D., Ph.D. states. To further understand loading parameters and organ responses, comparison work is also being conducted at Humanetics using biological equivalents. In addition, Humanetics is applying the first of its kind 3D printing technology on the Elderly ATD to research and develop new methods of production that have more precise response characteristics over traditional manufacturing methods.
AutoFi Platform for Fords
There’s a new way for customers to purchase or finance a new Ford vehicle in minutes – right from a dealership website from anywhere, on any device – through a new platform from Ford Motor Credit Company and financial technology company AutoFi.
The AutoFi platform can be used now at Ricart Ford in Groveport, Ohio, and will roll out over time to more Ford and Lincoln dealerships across the United States.
ATS & GLM Connected Driving
With the launch of its new software as a service (SaaS) platform for connected vehicles, Berlin software technology company ATS Advanced Telematic presented a proof of concept with Japanese electric vehicle manufacturer GLM as part of the Connected Car Japan exhibition. Both companies agreed to explore future collaboration with regard to connected driving, paving the way for the development of an OTA updating system for GLM’s next-generation EV platform.
The start of the meetup series “Open Source Tech for Anything Connected” was announced last week in Berlin at the official product launch event of ATS Garage. Offering a free and ready-to-use cloud-based software service, ATS Garage has been created for development departments of automotive manufacturers and suppliers, research institutes and startups in the mobility and IoT sectors. Upon launching the SaaS platform, which is based on open standards and open-source technology, users can deploy over-the-air updates for wireless soft- and firmware updates for connected vehicles and devices.
NEXAR V2V for Smartphones
Nexar, the world’s first over-the-top vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network that turns smartphones into Artificial Intelligence Dashcams, announced today that it has hired University of California, Berkeley Professor Trevor Darrell as Chief Scientist. Darrell is a prominent deep learning researcher and his lab created Caffe, a deep learning framework that is widely used by Computer Vision researchers around the world. In parallel to his continued work at the university, Prof. Darrell will now lead and oversee the research at Nexar, in the area of machine vision deep learning and vehicle path prediction. In his new role, Darrell will lead Nexar’s research capabilities, leveraging the company’s pool of rare large-scale driving data sets that contain video and telemetry of a variety of real-world driving environments to develop automotive applications.
ABI Says LTE-V2X Challenges DSRC
With the LTE-V2X (LTE vehicle-to-everything) standard finalized and 5G standardization impending, the use of cellular technology for low-latency Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) applications is now a realistic prospect—one that will challenge the legacy IEEE 802.11p Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) standard. ABI Research finds autonomous level 4 and driverless level 5 vehicles will require V2V and V2I capabilities to achieve ultra-high reliability levels with carriers like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica, and Vodafone already performing trials on automotive 4G and/or 5G use cases.
The legacy IEEE 802.11p DSRC standard allows reliable low latency communication of basic safety messages between vehicles and between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. While a DSRC mandate seems imminent in the U.S., ABI Research expects cellular V2X to show steady growth, initially through LTE-V2X, reaching 300 million global subscriptions by 2030. At that point, 5G V2X will surpass it. Longer term, automotive OEMs will start to offer network-based low-latency, end-to-end automotive services.
“The main challenge for cellular V2X is to get hold of dedicated spectrum needed for the Device-to-Device, or D2D, V2V protocol,” concludes Bonte. “While the intelligent transportation systems spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band was made available in the U.S., Europe, and other regions more than a decade ago, it remains reserved for DSRC. But this could change if, or more likely when, cellular giants like Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Samsung, unite and fight for lobbying power.”
4-Channel Amp from Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation’s Storage & Electronic Devices Solutions Company today announced the launch of “TCB502HQ,” a 4-channel power amplifier IC that detects output offset voltage, a factor in speaker burnout. Mass production starts today.
The new IC integrates a newly developed, full-time offset detection circuit that detects output offset voltage even during sound reproduction, preventing speaker burnout.
Manufacturers constantly seek to respond to consumer demand by refining the sound quality of car audio and the new IC supports this with integration of a current-feedback system like that found in high-end hi-fi audio. This prevents sound quality degradation at wide bandwidths and secures consistent sound quality.
VW Climate Windscreen Melts Ice & Keep You Cooler
With the climate windscreen, Volkswagen has found an excellent solution for perfect visibility. In this wire-free system a wafer-thin electrically conductive layer of silver within the laminated glass provides the required heat by converting electric current. Consuming no more than 400 to 500 watts, the window quickly warms up and thus becomes a defrosting aid. Within the bottom section of the windscreen, invisible from the outside, there are also filaments that act as windscreen wiper heaters to prevent the wiper blades from freezing to the glass. Volkswagen is offering the wire-free heated and infrared-reflecting windscreen as an optional extra for the Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Tiguan, Sharan, Passat and Passat Variant models. Prices start at €340, depending on model.
However, it is not only during the cold winter months that the innovative windscreen is a help. In the summer, the thin layer of silver acts as a passive heat shield. As it reflects up to 60 per cent of the summer heat, it is able to reduce the inside temperature by up to 15 degrees more than conventional glass with green tinting. As a result, the air-conditioning system is able to cool a car that has been parked in the sun down to a comfortable temperature much more quickly.
TomTom & Mappy in for the Long Haul
TomTom (TOM2) and Mappy today announced that they have extended their long-term relationship. Through this new agreement, Mappy has increased its access to TomTom traffic data from 10 countries to now the whole of Europe, matching its coverage access to TomTom maps. Mappy is also positioned to leverage TomTom’s next generation map database, leading the way to smarter mobility. Mappy is licensing TomTom map and traffic information to power its Internet mapping site and mobile consumer app via app stores. Mappy leverages traffic information from TomTom when calculating a route.
LexisNexis Knows Who’s Driving
LexisNexis Risk Solutions has evolved its machine learning in Driver Signature analytics, its proprietary technology for insurance telematics programs, increasing accuracy when identifying the driver for a given trip based on driving style. After collecting a certain number of trips meeting the minimum driving distance, an individual driving pattern can be established. The model requires nominal future interaction with the policyholder to designate that s/he was at the wheel, rather than in the passenger seat of a vehicle, in a taxi or on a bus.
Driver Signature draws from the billions of miles of driving behavior data accumulated since LexisNexis Risk Solutions created its telematics platform in 2009. The telematics platform has the ability to collect, process, normalize and score driving data from smartphone apps, as well as OBDII devices, 12 volt devices and connected cars from auto makers, a.k.a. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Driver Signature draws from the billions of miles of driving behavior data accumulated since LexisNexis Risk Solutions created its telematics platform in 2009. The telematics platform has the ability to collect, process, normalize and score driving data from smartphone apps, as well as OBDII devices, 12 volt devices and connected cars from auto makers, a.k.a. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).