In connected car news this week were GPScome, IMS, Octo, Daimler, Turo, Kymeto, CCC On, GasBuddy, Cadence Design Systemes, LeddarTech, ANSYS, Nightscope, ZF, SAP, Volvo, Luxe, GeoTab, and U-M.
GPSdome Provides for Automotive Provider
GPSdome Ltd., the cyber company, announced hat it received a purchase order from a leading provider of autonomous car Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) for several GPSdome units to be integrated in its ADAS platform for field tests. The purchase order followed successful field tests where GPSdome provided GPS protection for operating the ADAS platform under GPS jamming and spoofing conditions.
GPSdome Ltd. developed a cyber protection solution against jamming and spoofing for GPS-based systems, such as autonomous vehicles and UAVs. Its competitive advantage is its affordable price comparing to existing solutions that were developed for military applications, while GPSdome has been better designed for civilian applications. The company’s development team includes electronic warfare (EW) engineers who previously worked for the defense industries, and have developed the GPSdome based on advanced military technologies.
IMS Intros SDK & Fleet Insurance
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS), a leading connected car and insurance telematics solution provider, has introduced the IMS Software Development Kit (SDK) for organizations looking to build connected car and telematics services, including data collection, directly into their existing or new mobile applications. Customers in North America and Europe are already using the SDK to simplify development while building engaging and unified digital insurance services for their policyholder.
The IMS SDK includes sample code; full technical documentation; comprehensive developer support; and APIs for easy connectivity into IMS’ DriveSync platform-based solutions, services and capabilities.
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. also announced an insurance telematics offering that meets the specific fleet insurance needs of commercial lines carriers, combined with full fleet management capabilities. Deployments and trials are underway with leading insurers in North America.
- Data feeds and analytics.
- Driver behavior assessment.
- Mobile telematics app for fleet drivers
- Full IMS Business Center:
- Base fleet management system with professional fleet management system upgrade path.
Octo Releases Glimpse Plus
Octo Telematics, a leading global provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry, has announced the release of Glimpse Plus, a cutting-edge, digitally-enabled telematics service that provides a reliable way for insurers to gather accurate data on driving behavior, as well as more detailed crash detection and claims analysis. The solution also enables consumers to use their smartphone to monitor their driving habits and become safer drivers.
Based on Octo Telematics’ vast telematics database and position as the largest and most experienced insurance telematics company, the Glimpse Plus solution brings a superior ability to collect quality data – making the telematics offering more accurate than others based on a smartphone alone. A tag sensor, easily installed in the vehicle, connects with the user’s smartphone, making the detection of trip events and data incredibly reliable – even if the smartphone is not in the car. The high quality sensor allows the usage of Octo’s proprietary algorithm to detect, validate and reconstruct crashes, enabling insurers to reduce their claim cost, as well as providing a better user experience.
Glimpse Plus combines the smartphone user experience with the intelligence of a tag to identify drivers, drastically reduce smartphone battery usage, and provide crash capabilities – detection, instant FNOL, and reconstruction.
Capabilities include:
- Pairs with smartphone for driver identification and data transmission
- Improves reliability and accuracy of data collection and risk event detection over smartphone-as-a-device model
- Adds crash detection, instant FNOL, and crash reconstruction capabilities
- Drastically reduces battery usage over smartphone-as-a-device model
Daimler Invests in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Car Sharing Turo Cobmines with Croove
Daimler Mobility Services is investing in the U.S. company Turo Inc., as part of a financing round. With over four million customers and more than 170,000 vehicles, Turo is the market leader in the peer-to-peer (“P2P”) carsharing sector in the U.S. The financing round of the start-up has a total volume of 92 million US dollars. The round has been co-led by Daimler Mobility Services and one of South Korea’s leading companies, SK Holdings. Turo’s strategic insurance partner, Liberty Mutual, also joined the round, as did Founders Circle Capital. All existing investors joined the round as well.
At the same time, the Daimler peer-to-peer carsharing platform Croove will be combined with the U.S. company. After the successful launch of the pilot project at the end of 2016 in Munich, Germany, Croove launched in Berlin in mid-April 2017, as well as in additional German cities. Croove is bringing private car renters and owners together. The expertise and experience of Croove will serve as the basis for Turo to enter the German market within the next year. With the launch in 2018, Croove customers can use the new offers of Turo.
Kymeto Announced Biz Unit
Kymeta—the company delivering on the promise of global, mobile connectivity—and Intelsat S.A.—operator of the world’s first Globalized Network—joined forces in Q1 2017 to offer a new satellite service offering that is both easy to use and easy to buy. The KĀLO high-throughput access service is used with fully integrated KyWay terminals and mTennau7 antenna subsystem modules (ASMs) to provide reliable wireless mobile connectivity. The service leverages the IntelsatOne Flex managed services platform, and will soon commercially offer a radical by-the-gigabyte pricing plan under the management of the KĀLO BU.
KĀLO services will be commercially available later this year.
CCC ON™ Platform for OEMs
CCC Information Services Inc. and its affiliates (CCC) announced the general availability of the CCC ONE™ Platform for OEMs, a hyperscale platform that creates a single connection between Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and CCC’s expansive automotive network. CCC ONE for OEMs powers solutions that help car manufacturers improve customer loyalty and deliver new consumer experiences. These solutions can leverage connected car and vehicle data in many ways, including the promotion and sale of new vehicles and OEM-branded parts, usage-based insurance and telematics-enabled claims, safety insights, and shop certification scorecards. CCC is a leading Software as a Service provider to the automotive, insurance, and collision repair industries. The CCC platform is already in use by numerous OEMs and dealers, more than 350 insurers, 24,000 collision repairers, and dozens of third-party data and service providers.
Utilizing hyperscale technology and AI to accommodate the massive-scale demands of connected car data, CCC ONE solutions empower OEMs to realize measurable value from driving data via CCC network partners who value it. CCC ONE for OEMs already processes data for millions of connected cars and has scored more than a billion trips. CCC has processed more than 180 million claims, including vehicle total loss valuations and vehicle repair estimates. The most prominent potential use cases of CCC ONE for OEMs include:
- The sharing of data on behalf of OEMs to a network of insurers for pay-as-you-drive, pay-how-you-drive, and mileage-based insurance programs.
- Telematics-enabled claims solutions that help ease and speed the claims and repair resolution process.
- New paths for OEMs to promote the sale of in-brand vehicles following a collision, when a large percentage of consumers are considering migrating brands. CCC processes approximately 3 million total losses annually.
- New insights to understand and improve the performance of OEM-brand parts sales and opportunities to promote their use in car repairs. CCC processes $13 billion in vehicle parts annually.
- Automated vehicle recalls with CCC’s network of collision repairers. CCC has detected more than 800,000 vehicles affected by recalls since launching the program in late 2016.
Cadence IP for 16FFC
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced it is delivering a comprehensive automotive IP portfolio for the TSMC 16nm FinFET Compact (16FFC) automotive process technology. This broad IP portfolio enables a host of applications ranging from in-vehicle infotainment, in-cabin electronics, vision subsystems, digital noise reduction and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) subsystems and is registered in the TSMC9000A program.
The comprehensive IP portfolio incorporates the key IP needed to implement advanced infotainment and ADAS systems on chip (SoCs), and includes the Cadence flagship 4266-speed grade LPDDR4/4X DDR PHY and controllers and PCI Express® 4.0/3.0 (PCIe®4/3) PHY and controllers. This is complemented by subsystems supporting MIPI® D-PHYSM, USB3.1/USB2.0, DisplayPort, Octal SPI/QSPI, UFS and Gigabit Ethernet with TSN.
Many Invest in LeddarTcech
LeddarTech. Inc. today announced the completion of a combined investment of US$101 million (close to CA$130 million) led by Osram and including Delphi, Magneti Marelli and Integrated Device Technology, Inc. as strategic investors, as well as Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Representing the Company’s largest capital raise to date, this round of funding will allow LeddarTech to enhance its ASIC development efforts, expand its R&D team, and accelerate ongoing LiDAR development programs with select Tier-1 automotive customers for rapid market deployment.
LeddarTech is commercializing automotive-grade solid-state LiDARs that meet the industry’s stringent requirements in terms of cost, performance, and reliability.
Magneti Marelli acquired a stake in LeddarTech Inc., a worldwide leader in solid state LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensing technology. Magneti Marelli and LeddarTech have also entered into a technical and commercial cooperation agreement to jointly develop complete LiDAR systems aimed at autonomous driving applications and destined for integration in automotive lighting products for OEMs worldwide
ANSYS Simulator
For the first time engineers can rapidly explore design options and receive instant and accurate simulation results with new cutting-edge technology from ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS). Available today for technology preview, ANSYS® Discovery Live™ revolutionizes the speed and ease-of-use of engineering simulation to make digital exploration available to all engineers so they can confidently design better products faster and more economically.
Simulation is one of the most critical engineering technologies in the age of the Internet of Things, electrification and additive manufacturing, but it is still the domain of specialists and used predominantly for the most complex engineering projects. ANSYS is expanding Pervasive Engineering Simulation™ – empowering every engineer to take advantage of powerful simulation tools upfront in the design process. Instead of taking days, months or weeks to set up, run and analyze digital prototypes with traditional engineering simulation solutions, Discovery Live allows for every engineer to immediately examine the impact of their design changes. Users can pose what-if questions upfront in the design process to rapidly explore thousands of design options and receive immediate feedback – enabling the user to digitally explore the impact of changes with results updating immediately.
Nightscope K3 & K5 ADM at 100K Miles
Knightscope, developer of advanced physical security technologies focused on significantly enhancing U.S. security operations, today that its K3 (indoor) and K5 (outdoor) Autonomous Data Machines have travelled collectively over 100,000 miles and have operated in the field in excess of 180,000 hours. This achievement clearly places Knightscope as a worldwide leader in commercializing self-driving technology in real-world applications with actual clients.
Having completed pilots and proof-of-concepts back in 2015 and 2016, the company has begun scaling operations nationwide in 2017 now having signed contracts with over 30 clients in 8 states and 3 time zones. Clients include malls, corporate campuses, healthcare, logistics centers, food distribution facilities, pharmaceutical firms, and property managers.
For more information on Knightscope, including investment opportunities in purchasing shares in the Company’s Reg A+ “mini-IPO” which closes on October 10, 2017, please visit www.knightscope.com. Information about the offering, as well as the offering circular, can be found here.
Flying Car Roller Coaster Ferris Wheels
Michael Mack, the inventor of ROLLERCOASTERRESTAURANTS is developing a spectacular idea together with his team. Conventional cars with passengers may soon be able to “fly” on specially designed Ferris Wheels, different types of carousels, rollercoasters (CarmusementFlights), as well as ropeway systems (CableFlights). This technology (patent pending) creates a new kind of theme park (CarmusementPark) on the one side and opens the doors for the implementation of environmental friendly traffic solution concepts in city centres on the other side.
At CarmusementParks the guests may ride CarmusementFlights, e.g. CarmusementWheel, CarmusementChairoplane or CarmusementRollerCoaster and enjoy flying through a loop while sitting in their cars. A totally new theme park experience.
ZF Choses SAP
-SAP SE announced that ZF Friedrichshafen AG, one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide, has chosen a wide selection of SAP® software including SAP S/4HANA®, the SAP BW/4HANA solution and SAP SuccessFactors® solutions to help transform its global IT landscape. The implementation and integration of these solutions will help provide ZF with a single source to connect with suppliers, customers and business networks and provide ZF with the foundation for new digital business models.
Volvo Buys Valet/Coceriege Luxe
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, today announces the acquisition of the platform, technology, key staff and other assets of Luxe, a US based premium valet and concierge service. This acquisition provides Volvo Cars with a major boost in the development of digital services that simplify consumer experience.
The advanced software and technology platform as well as key data scientists, app developers and software engineers currently employed by Luxe will join Volvo’s digital organisation in Silicon Valley.
The Silicon Valley office provides an additional centre of gravity for Volvo Cars’ efforts in building digital products and services for its global business across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. For example, it was deeply involved in the development of a pilot program for on-demand refuelling for Volvo owners in San Francisco.
Geotab Proves Many Cars Moving Out or Storm Paths in FL
Geotab, a pioneer in smart transportation and telematics technology, today launched a timelapse map to present a clearer view of the scale and significance of Hurricane Irma’s impact on commercial fleet activity in Florida and Puerto Rico. Considered to be one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, Hurricane Irma has already left a devastating trail of damage in the Caribbean and poses one of the most severe meteorological threats in Florida’s history. Geotab is sharing insights from vehicle data collected in the affected areas in an effort to shed light on how Hurricane Irma is impacting the fleet industry in particular.
By analyzing data from over 33,000 Geotab-connected vehicles in Florida, a 360 percent increase in commercial vehicle activity was calculated between August 23 and September 6. This rise can be attributed to businesses and employees evacuating to safer areas and increased driving as fleets respond to a growth in demand for disaster-related resources.
In addition to increased vehicle activity in the major cities of Orlando, Tampa and Miami, which typically have high volumes of commercial activity, Geotab found increases in Jacksonville and Pensacola to the north, which tend to have much less traffic.
Live Data on Storm’s Affect on Gas Prices
Media, government agencies and consumers in hurricane-affected areas of the US Gulf Coast and Southeast, whose fuel supplies were disrupted by recent Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, may now access live data visualizations from GasBuddy of the storms’ impact in gasoline terms.
These visualizations cover three critical areas:
- Fuel Outages by Region. Where consumers can – and can’t – find gasoline. GasBuddy data indicates that 25-50% of stations in major cities are without motor fuels;
- Customer Wait Times. How long it will take to fill up at stations that still have motor fuels. GasBuddy is reporting wait times of 30-60 minutes in major cities; and
- Area Price Spreads. The difference between the lowest price and the highest price in a given city. Typically anywhere from $.60 to $1, GasBuddy’s crowdsourced price data suggests the storm has caused atypically large price spreads.
Media, government agencies and consumers can access this data by visiting:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B8Y9x-PhXeFvZE8zamIzbTR5NGc
During this hurricane season, GasBuddy’s crowdsourced data has been alerting motorists to nearby stations and the availability and price of motor fuels, power outages and other essential services at these stations. The GasBuddy app has proved critical during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, when record numbers of motorists downloaded and utilized the app making it the #2 app on iOS, and the #1 travel app; and it has been utilized by federal, state and local governments to assess the situation in gasoline terms and to
More Green House Gases and More Miles on Road
The average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. drivers cacluated by the University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI)at estimates the average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. drive worsened to 0.83 in June 2017, up from 0.82 in May 2017 (the lower the value, the better). The study found the average new-vehicle driver produced 17% lower emissions in June 2017 than in October 2007, but 5% higher emissions than the record low reached in November 2013. The EDI included both vehicle fuel economy and distance driven.
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