Connected car news this week includes HERE, BMW, Maven, ON Semi, Cisco Jasper, HARMAN, CalAmp, MOBGEN, Panasonic and Toyota.
HERE Opens Locations for BMW
HERE announced that BMW Group is the first automaker to utilize the HERE Open Location Platform for the development and launch of its new digital driving services.
By leveraging the next generation of HERE’s platform, BMW has the possibility to create differentiated location-enriched services from the vast quantities of data generated by its connected cars and the HERE data ecosystem. For example, it will be able to combine car sensor data with other data streams available through the platform, such as from cities and the broader Internet of Things, and build services using a powerful framework for geodata processing. In the first wave, this will help vehicles to better detect, process and validate fleet sensor data related to hazards on the road, variable speed signage location and values, and physical road dividers.
Maven Offers 28-Day Rentals
Maven, General Motors’ personal mobility brand, has expanded its offerings to include a new monthly service, Maven Reserve. Maven members pay a monthly fee to reserve a new GM vehicle loaded with technology for 28 days. Members can download the Maven app to view pricing by market in real time for Maven Reserve.
ON Goes to MARS for Automotive
ON Semiconductor introduced the Modular Automotive Reference System (MARS) that gives system and software developers a ready-to-use camera for research and development activities. The leading-edge MARS platform enables users to reconfigure cameras with different lenses, image sensors, image signal processors (ISPs) and communications options for rapid prototyping and experimentation. The system is so flexible that it can be used for the full spectrum of automotive camera applications including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), surround and rear viewing systems, in-cabin cameras (for gesture recognition, driver eye monitoring, or light level inspection purposes), and autonomous driving.
MARS enables shorter design cycles, reduced engineering costs, and assists automotive design teams in the implementation of imaging systems by providing them with a unique mix-and-match solution. Through it, various items of hardware can be combined in a robust and highly adaptable system with a compact form-factor. Due to the many different boards available, engineers have access to ON Semiconductor’s broad portfolio of image sensors and co-processors, plus various automotive communications protocols from a select group of third party supply partners. This provides extensive scope in terms of finding the combination that best fits specific system requirements. The versatile platform can accommodate an almost limitless number of combinations due to consistent signal/power definitions for the interconnects utilized by these respective boards.
Cisco Jasper GLOMO’s
At Mobile World Congress for the2017 GLOMO Awards Mobile Innovation for Automotive
went to Cisco Jasper Control Center for Connected Cars. Cisco Jasper Control Center for Connected Cars is used by 23 leading automotive OEMs (representing 50 vehicle brands) worldwide to accelerate connected car business innovation, launch and manage new services, implement advanced business models, automate operations and scale globally.
Cisco Jasper’s global IoT platform enables automotive manufacturers to provide value-added connected car services to their customers while introducing new revenue streams. Control Center for Connected Cars – which is deeply integrated into mobile operator networks in over 120 countries – enables automotive manufacturers to easily scale their connected car services worldwide across 6 continents.
HARMAN & VMware
HARMAN and VMware announced a collaboration to deliver simplified and specialized Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for enterprise customers. By integrating HARMAN’s portfolio of over-the-air (OTA) software updates, sensors, gateways and analytics services into VMware’s IoT solution, the partnership will help deploy, secure, manage and monitor IoT infrastructure at enterprise scale to streamline industry-specific IoT use cases.
This new collaboration between HARMAN and VMware will help Communications Service Providers (CSPs) add new offerings and expand revenue streams that will further enhance the IoT user experience and the delivery of innovative services. HARMAN’s OTA update solutions paired with the VMware vCloud® NFV™ platform and end-to-end IoT operational management solution is designed to deliver a fully elastic and optimized network infrastructure that allows operators to expand their services into new markets as they transform network architectures towards 5G. The combined solution will enable CSP’s to provision and launch innovative services through a fully virtualized mobile core network such as prioritized connectivity such as emergency calling, communication and video conferencing and infotainment with high-definition quality, leveraging simplified operations management, policy control, and self-provisioning.
New Telematics Devices from CalAmp
CalAmp announced the availability of two new high-end telematics devices designed for connected vehicle applications anywhere in the world. These new devices address growing global market demand in Europe and Latin America for more connected vehicle technology options and enable a broad range of applications such as fleet management, usage-based insurance, crash notification, stolen vehicle recovery, vehicle finance and auto rental.
New products include:
- LMU-2640™– Designed for sophisticated fleet management applications, the LMU-2640 incorporates the flexibility of GSM/GPRS wireless communication along with highly sensitive GPS, a powerful processing engine and a triple-axis accelerometer that detects and communicates driver behavior. The LMU-2640 supports CalAmp’s Instant Crash Notification (ICN™) services suite, delivered via email, SMS (text) or through an Application Programming Interface (API).
- LMU-200™ – Ideal for track and trace applications, the LMU-200 provides reliable, economical connectivity through GPRS wireless communication. The LMU-200 features highly sensitive GPS, motion detection, remote starter disable and built-in antennas that lower overall deployment cost and simplify installation.
MOBGEN Payments for Shell in JLR Vehicles
MOBGEN, part of Accenture Digital together with Shell and Jaguar Land Rover, exhibited the world’s first in-car payments system using the Shell app and a Jaguar, at Mobile World Congress 2017.
This new innovation allows Jaguar Land Rover drivers to process payments at Shell stations in the UK, using the in-car touchscreen. Customers with the Shell app installed and a car with InControl Apps can connect their smartphone to the dashboard, allowing them to locate the nearest Shell station, confirm which pump they are at, and pre-authorise using Apple Pay or PayPal, so all the driver has to do is fill up, view the receipt and leave.
This long-standing collaboration between MOBGEN and Shell was initiated to create the consumer facing platform, Shell app. The app is now available in 30 countries worldwide in 18 languages for both Android and iOS users. We continue to work side by side to research the latest innovations, experiment with Shell at MOBGEN:Lab with 360 video, VR, AR, and other exciting customer and employee propositions.
The Shell app has been recognized with a 2017 GLOMO Award in the “Best Use of Mobile for Retail, Brands & Commerce” category at Mobile World Congress 2017.
Panasoinic’s Solar & Batteries are a Hit for Toyota
Panasonic Corporation today announced that it has recently developed the “HITTM Photovoltaic Module for Automobile”, which was adopted for the new Prius PHV released in February 2017 by Toyot. Panasonic’s automotive prismatic lithium-ion batteries were adopted for the drive batteries,.
Panasonic Corporation has worked on the development of new applications of solar cells through the effective use of high performance and high reliability technologies and know-how that have been accumulated through the development, manufacture, and sales of photovoltaic modules for residential, public and industrial us