Autonomous Connected Car News Tips: Continental, Velodyne, Autoliv, First Transit & Torc Robotics + Tesla, Toyota, Volvo

This week the connected car news was beyond connected car and more autonomous than most weeks, therefore we are calling it Autonomous Connected Car News Tips. Autonomous news comes from Continental, Velodyne, Autoliv, First Transit and Torc Robotics. In connected car news were Solar Electric Car, Cars.com, Continental, Toyota, High Mobility, Here and Volvo.

Solar Electric Car

The Dutch startup Lightyear officially announced their plans to bring a commercial solar car to the market in 2019. The first vehicle, the Lightyear One, is an electric four-wheel drive car that can handle rough terrain and has a battery range of 800 kilometers, charged by the sun. Production of the car together with industry partners will start from 2019 onwards. Of this first version, a limited number of models will be produced. Pricing starts at 119,000 Euro excluding tax; reservations start today.

The integrated solar cells on the roof of the car will generate enough power to recharge the battery during the day and will render charging virtually unnecessary. In sunny climates, like most parts of the US and the south of Europe, the car can drive for months without charging. For very long trips an overnight-charge using an ordinary power socket will suffice – no need for electric car charging infrastructure.

Continental Invests EasyMile Autonomous Driving Co

The technology company Continental has agreed to acquire a minority share participation in the companyEasyMile SAS, a French autonomous driving company, which is developing in particular driverless electric shuttles. Autonomous shuttles (or robo-taxis) are set to play a key role in efficiently addressing the “first mile – last mile challenge”, enabling seamless mobility services for urban and suburban demographics. Widespread deployment of autonomous shuttle fleets is expected to alleviate inner city congestion by enabling door-to-door public transportation at scale. In addition to Continental’s equity investment in EasyMile, the companies plan to cooperate closely in the fields of environmental sensors, braking systems and driving safety technologies. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

Continental Acquires Quantum Inventions

Continental announced the closing of its acquisition of Singapore based mobility intelligence provider Quantum Inventions. Quantum Inventions will add to Continental’s growing intelligent transportation systems portfolio with its city data including next generation navigation systems that are highly responsive to real-time information such as traffic data, road incident information and dynamic road pricing. With the closing, Continental welcomes approximately 120 employees working across Quantum Inventions’ three offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and Quantum Inventions Development Centre (QIDC) in India into its fold.

Continental is also changing the future of car interiors. Continental’s R&D is focusing more and more on integrating digital functions in decorative surfaces. A first step involves light integration. The translucent Acella Hylite material enables special lighting effects that can be used, for example, for backlighting a vehicle door. Varying light sources can be used to create customized color effects or to light up warning signals on surfaces not previously used. It will soon be possible, for instance, to integrate functions directly in the surfaces.”

Toyota Offically Opens Plano, TX Headquarters

Toyota Motor North America celebrated the official opening of its new North American headquarters today in Plano, Texas with a gala event to be attended by hundreds of dignitaries, partners and community leaders who will get the first glimpse of Toyota’s new corporate campus that reaffirms the company’s longstanding commitment to the United States.

“The opening of our new headquarters in Plano is an extraordinary next step in Toyota’s 60-year journey in the United States,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota in North America. “With team members from four different companies together in one campus location, we believe this will inspire greater collaboration, innovation, and faster decision making as we turn to and lead the future of mobility, all with an eye on our customers.”

High Mobility Gets High Points from Frost & Sullivan

Based on its recent analysis of the software development solutions market for the automotive industry, Frost & Sullivan recognizes High Mobility with the 2017 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Enabling Technology Leadership. High Mobility has leveraged its digital developer toolkit to build a software platform that promotes interactions between third party connect developers and automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It gives auto OEMs complete control over data obtained from cars, thereby creating new revenue streams through data monetization and expanded service opportunities. Additionally, its proprietary emulator facilitates the digital testing of applications across multiple brands and models, enabling the seamless and secure integration of an application with a car.

Autoliv Partners with Veoldyne for RoboTaxis

Autoliv has signed an agreement with Velodyne LiDAR, Inc., the leading supplier of LiDAR technology, to commercialize LiDAR, a critical sensor for autonomous cars. Velodyne will support Autoliv in the development of an automotive grade LiDAR. The first applications will be in the RoboTaxi segment.

Pursuant to the agreement, Autoliv will develop and market a scalable auto-grade LiDAR sensor using Velodyne’s core 3D software technology and proprietary LiDAR ASIC engine coupled with Autoliv’s component development and verification capability. Both companies will contribute key components, technologies, know-how and other intellectual property needed to optimize a next generation of affordable, high performance LiDARs for the automotive market. Autoliv will also serve as the primary commercial and technical interface to customers for awarded business.

Autoliv is alos partnering with Volvo Cars and NVIDIA.

First Transit Gains Momentum at GoMemtum

First Transit announced that it has signed an agreement as the exclusive transit operator partner at GoMentum Station. The partnership will foster research and innovation in the field of shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) application and technology research.

First Transit will join GoMentum Station and use the facility as a test site for innovative transit applications, including a pilot project with EasyMile and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) to deploy the first SAV shuttle on public roads in the United States. This pilot project, which began in late 2016, recently launched the second phase of testing at Bishop Ranch, an office park in San Ramon, California.

First Transit is responsible for providing staffing, maintenance and operational support for the two SAV shuttles during the testing and deployment phases of the program.

GoMentum Station in Concord, California, is a 5,000-acre test facility where the CCTA and its partners are accelerating the next generation of transportation technologies. Named by the U.S. Department of Transportation as one of ten federally designated automated vehicle proving grounds, GoMentum Station is the largest secure test track of its kind.

KUKA Robots to Pump EV Charging

Torc Robotics Unveiled Self-driving Car Project

Torc Robotics, an autonomous vehicle technology company,  announced its development of a complete self-driving system for consumer automobiles. Using Torc’s end-to-end software stack and decade of multi-industry experience, the self-driving technology allows cars to make complex decisions in real-life situations.

Torc is a Level 4 company, referring to SAE’s levels of automated driving. All efforts and testing are geared toward refining this level of high automation, in which human drivers and intervention are not required when the vehicle operates in specified driving situations.

Torc first established itself as a leader in automotive autonomy in 2007, when its vehicle placed third in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge.

The company implemented its technology on two Lexus RX vehicles. After extensive testing, the cars have been operating in a variety of weather conditions on public roads since February 2017. The system includes Torc’s own solutions for localization, real-time navigation, mapping, and obstacle detecting and tracking.

In April, one of the vehicles demonstrated a long-distance drive, logging more than 1,000 autonomous miles during a round trip from Torc’s headquarters in Blacksburg, Virginia, to the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit – birthplace of the Model T.

Cars.com Patents Lot Insights

Cars.com has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Lot Insights technology (Patent No. 9686646), a first-to-market solution that pinpoints key mobile shopping data from consumers actively looking for vehicles on dealer lots nationwide. First introduced in 2015, Lot Insights technology identifies mobile consumers on or near dealership lots to provide valuable insights for automotive advertisers. The patented technology allows for more precise, accurate, location-based consumer data for Cars.com dealer partners.

innogy Tech in CA

innogy has established a new subsidiary, which is to enter the e-mobility market in the USA. The new company, trading under the name of innogy e-mobility US LLC, will be based in Los Angeles and serve the US market as a provider of technology and services. Business activities will focus on California and other US states that have stipulated zero-emission requirements for new vehicles (Zero Emission Vehicle). Cameron Funk is to manage innogy e-mobility US LLC as its first CEO. His previous role was Director of Business Development for ABM Industries Inc.

Pluse Providers Components for Tesla Model S

Pulse Electronics, a leading provider of electronic components announced is proud to be a supplier partner for the upcoming Tesla Model 3 launch with products from its Automotive, Power and Network Access BU’s in the various Model 3 systems.

HERE OTA 4 Volvo

Drivers of selected Volvo cars are benefiting from over-the-air (OTA) updates of their in-dash maps as part of a long-term agreement between HERE Technologies and Volvo Cars.

The updates are delivered globally via the Volvo cloud to connected models fitted with the Sensus Navigation system. These include the Volvo XC90, Volvo S90, Volvo V90, Volvo V90 Cross Country, as well as the new XC60 premium SUV. In Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and other markets, map updates are available at high frequency. When connected, the maps can be updated directly from the car, automatically or manually.

For Volvo, HERE is providing maps compiled in Navigation Data Standard (NDS), a format which supports incremental map updates.