Connected Car News: Waze, Tata Elxis, Toshiba, u-blox, Elektrobit, Wind River & Parkopedia

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In connected car news this week there were announceents from TU-Automotive, Tata Elxis, Toshiba, u-blox, NextInput, Covisint, ARCCORE, Elektrobit, Ominitracs, Techstars, Wind River, Magna, Waze, Parkopedia and ReachNow.

 This week there were four days of announcements from TU-Automotive Detroit:

Farmers Insurance Roadside Assitance

Farmers Insurance announced the implementation of a new cutting-edge roadside assistance experience for its customers. Designed to alleviate some of the frustrations associated with waiting for roadside assistance to arrive, the tool uses advanced technology to locate customers quickly and efficiently; identifies and dispatches the closest service vehicle instantly; and provides real-time notifications, updates, and a live progress map customers can follow conveniently from their smartphones.

Tata Elxsi Licenses AUTONOMAI to Top OEM

Tata Elxsi, a global design and technology services company and a leader for automotive electronics and software development, announced the licensing of its advanced autonomous vehicle middleware platform ‘AUTONOMAI’ to one of the world’s top 5 automotive OEMs for their driverless car R&D.

The AUTONOMAI platform provides carmakers and Tier 1 automotive suppliers with a comprehensive and modular solution covering Perception, GNC and Drive-by-wire systems, to quickly build, test and deploy autonomous vehicles.

This solution supports sensor fusion with a variety of sensors from cameras to Radar and Lidar, and leverages sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning-based algorithms to deliver the complex use-case scenarios expected of driverless cars.

AUTONOMAI also allows rapid region-specific adaptation through its pre-integrated validation datasets and AI and deep learning capabilities.

Toshiba Photocouplers

Toshiba America introduced a new range of 10 AEC Q101-qualified photocouplers designed to address the demanding isolation, interface, switching, and form factor requirements of automotive applications.

Toshiba’s new range of photocouplers features a wide variety of devices – including the IC output TLX9304, TLX9378 and TLX9376 –  which are housed in low-profile SO6 packages and offer data rates of 1Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps, respectively. Also supplied in SO6 packaging are the TLX9300 and TLX9185A transistor output and TLX9905 and TLX9906 photovoltaic output devices. The TLX9000 and TLX9291A offer transistor outputs as well, and are differentiated by their half-pitch SO4 packages. An SO6-packaged photorelay – the TLX9175J – is also available.

Toshiba New Regulator IC

Toshiba Electronics Europe  announced the launch of a new system regulator IC that is designed to handle the increasing sophistication of car audio systems. The TCB010FNG is a fully-featured solution, incorporating the required power supply and all essential detection functions.

TCB010FNG incorporates a multi-rail microcontroller power supply that retains power during minor interruptions in the battery supply. The device also includes multiple variable power supplies for flexibility, as well as a fixed power supply.

Along with a 2ch high-side switch, the IC also incorporates a number of detection functions, including ACC voltage detection, accessory power voltage detection and microcontroller output voltage detection, all with variable thresholds.

As the IC is configured with series regulators, users can design a system without EMI concerns.

u-blox Telematics Modules

u-blox y announced the TOBY-L4 series of Automotive Grade telematics modules. The series integrates LTE, UMTS and GSM connectivity with a powerful embedded processor, enabling a wide range of applications on a single device.

TOBY-L4 supports both voice and data in the form of LTE, UMTS/DC-HSPA+, GSM, SMS and Voice (VoLTE and CSFB). With support for eCall (operating also at +95°C for at least 2 minutes) and ERA Glonass, the module meets all the industry and carrier requirements in place today and is future-proofed for all automotive OEM’s key regions.

Manufactured in ISO/TS 16949 certified sites, the modules are qualified to ISO 16750 covering systems installed in vehicles, making it ideal for automotive OEMs.

NextInput Gets ISO-Cert

NextInput, Inc., a leader in MEMS-based ForceTouch™ technology, announced it is now certified to the latest ISO-9001:2015 standard. The certification covers the design and testing of force-sensing solutions.

DNV GL, a world recognized ISO accreditation organization, conducted a multi-day review and validation of NextInput’s Quality Management System, which was found fully compliant. Certificate number 236290-2017-AQ-USA-ANAB is effective as of April 27, 2017 and is valid for three years.

Toshiba Photocoupler

Toshiba’s new photocouplers offer solutions that can operate at temperatures from -40ºC to 125ºC (except TLX9175J: Topr -55ºC to 105ºC), making them suited to inverter control and intelligent power module (IPM) interface applications in conventional, electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The photorelay is designed to meet automotive battery control needs. Despite their small size, all of the new photocouplers have creepage/clearance distances of 5mm and offer a minimum isolation voltage of 3750Vrms.

The TLX9304, TLX9378 and TLX9376 integrate a GaAlAs infrared light emitting diode and high-gain, high-speed photodetectors. An internal Faraday shield provides a common-mode transient immunity of 15kV/μs. In the case of the TLX9175J photorelay, the LED technology is based on a gallium arsenide construction. A high-voltage MOSFET between the relay’s output terminals meets the needs of battery control systems.        

Connected Car Market Research

Technavio, the global connected car market is expected to reach USD 144.95 billion by 2020 and growing at a CAGR of more than 32%. The demand for in-vehicle connectivity and telematics has led to technological improvements, which aim at enhancing the overall in-vehicle experience of both the passengers and drivers.     

Covisint Bought by OpenText

Covisint Corporation the leading Cloud Platform for building Identity and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by OpenText, the global leader in Enterprise Information Management (EIM).

ARCCORE Software for NVIDIA DRIVE

ARCCORE, an innovative company in software and embedded platforms for the automotive industry, is building safety-critical software on the NVIDIA DRIVE PX platform to power complex automotive systems.

ARCCORE’s software platform will be based on the renowned automotive standard AUTOSAR and will be used as a high-performance evaluation system for autonomous driving. It will run on NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2, an AI supercomputer for cars with the processing power of 24 trillion deep learning operations per second.

ARCCORE’s complete platform consists of embedded AUTOSAR software, Arctic Core, running on Linux on both NVIDIA Tegra processors and an AURIX microcontroller. With this combination, the assessed system can consist of multiple AUTOSAR Software Components (SWCs) communicating over CAN and Ethernet, demonstrating, for example, a safety-critical system in a multi-core environment. Thanks to the multi-core support emulation, developers can build and demonstrate safety concepts required for autonomous vehicles using this platform.

Elektrobit Works with Udacity

Elektrobit (EB), a leading developer of cutting-edge, embedded and connected technology solutions for the automotive industry,  announced a partnership with Udacity to develop content on automotive functional safety for the online education company’s Self-Driving Car Nanodegree program. This is an expansion of EB’s current relationship as Udacity’s hiring partner, which affords the company preferential opportunities to hire graduates of the self-driving car program.

Ominitracs Offers Roadnet Anywhere v4.5

Omnitracs announced the availability of Roadnet Anywhere v4.5. The latest software update incorporates advanced vehicle overview features, allowing managers to view the status of their entire fleet while also enhancing workflow configurations on the ground

Among other things, Roadnet Anywhere v4.5 delivers Fleet Overview, a brand-new feature that allows managers to even more easily track the status and performance of their entire fleet in real time. Fleet Overview provides a better singular management area for vehicles that have a route plan, or do not have a plan at all. By utilizing Fleet Overview, managers can ensure that their team stays on schedule, ensuring timely deliveries and that the best route options are utilized, ultimately increasing revenue and customer service levels for the company.

Additionally, the new software update offers advanced compliance tools that encompass HOS/eLogs, DVIR and IFTA to further enhance Omnitracs Routing, Dispatching, and Compliance (RDC) solutions. Drivers and office personnel can manage their entire day from a single, user-friendly interface.

Techstars Mobility

Detroit-based Techstars Mobility announced four new partners for the 2017 program, which kicks off July 17th – next47 (the independent investment arm of Siemens), Bosch, InMotion (powered by Jaguar Land Rover), and AAA.

The four new partners join existing partners Ford, Verizon, Dana, Honda, Munich Re, and Michelin. Together, these 10 corporate partners are helping mobility entrepreneurs from around the world succeed in building businesses transforming the future of transportation and mobility. Over the last 18 months, Techstars Mobility has invested in 22 companies from around the world, including the United States, Canada, and Chile. Those companies have raised over $20M and are valued at $100M.

Wind River TSRC in Ohio

Wind River, a subsidiary of Intel Corporation and a leader in delivering software for the Internet of Things (IoT), has engaged with the Transportation Research Center (TRC), The Ohio State University (OSU), and the City of Dublin to advance smart, connected, and autonomous technologies. The planned collaboration—focused around the Columbus region in central Ohio—aims to accelerate learning in the automotive community. The group looks to develop strategies and technologies that safely and securely increase the pace, quality, development, testing, and deployment of self-driving and other connected vehicle technologies.

Magna & Rocke5tSpace

Tech startups now have a new route to bring their inventions to life in the automotive industry, thanks to a new collaboration between Magna and RocketSpace. Magna has expanded its innovation outreach by joining RocketSpace on its first-ever tech accelerator dedicated to automotive innovation in areas that include: electric vehicle systems, automated driver assisted systems (ADAS) and secure vehicle connectivity.

Tech Accelerator Program is RocketSpace’s third industry-focused accelerator program.  As part of the program and as a corporate partner, Magna will be alongside companies such as BP, Allstate, Volkswagen, Avis Budget Group and IBM.

RapidSOS Shares Cata with Waze

RapidSOS announced a data-sharing partnership with Waze , the free, real-time crowdsourced traffic and navigation app. Through this partnership, 9-1-1 Centers connected to the RapidSOS NG911 Clearinghouse will soon be able to receive live incident data from Waze, providing public safety call takers and first responders with unprecedented information around car crashes. RapidSOS provides Waze with information on car crashes reported through the RapidSOS Haven app so that oncoming traffic can receive advanced warning.

Parkpodeia Provides Parking Services for Audio

Parkopedia, the world’s largest parking service provider, announced that it has been selected to be the new global provider of Audi’s premium in-car parking services as of June 2017.

The Parkopedia premium parking service will include off-street and on-street parking data as well as dynamic space availability for both legacy installed and new vehicles.

BMW ReachNow Ride

The ReachNow Ride beta is now available to all ReachNow Seattle members. The BMW-affilated company created  a service personalized service. In addition to the everyday things you expected from a ride sharing service (on-demand ride request, fare estimates, ETAs), other features of ReachNow Ride:

  • No surge pricing .
  • Radio station and temperature pre-set – riders can book the temperature and radio station.
  • Do not disturb mode –  “Do Not Disturb” mode is for when drivers don’t want to be talked to.
  • Ride scheduler – Users can book a Ride anywhere from 20 minutes to 7 days in advance.
  • Ride comfortably in a BMW – theRide service is offering BMW 3 Series and BMW X1 vehicles. E
  • Water, candy & chargers – . Enjoy a bottle of water or a sweet treat while you charge up during your ride.