In connected car news this week were Waymo, Apple, Tesla, Nissan, HARMAN, OleaVision, Buick, Porsche, CARFIT, Goodyear, Thales, HailStrike, Xperi, Synopsys, Renesas, Insteon, HBM SomatXR and Volvo.
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Waymo Goes to Hotlanta
Waymo Tweeted that Atlanta is the next stop for Waymo’s self-driving test program. The company was welcomed by the governor.
Two Dozen More Autonomous Test Vehicles for Apple
Apple registered 24 more Lexus RX450h sport-utility vehicles according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles totaling 27 on the road.
Best a’ Telsa
After a Tesla Model S rear-ended a fire truck on the freeway in Los Angles NHTSA is sending investigators. Other Tesla news includes shipments, new displays and updates.
Elon Musk reportedly plans to launch his very own Tesla Roadster as heavy cargo for the first test launch of SpaceX’s new rocket, the Falcon Heavy.
Two Tesla Model 3 cars were off-loading from air freight for Germany – some speculate that they are to reverse engineered by German automakers.
Telsa Model 3 is now on display in additional stores in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC, Newport Beach (fashion island mall) and Scottsdale. The quality of the Tesla 3 backup camera has been improved by a software update.
A Telsa 3 crashed into a pole in Redondo Beach, the frunk was damaged.
Tesla 3 models are being delivered to the east coast and midwest.
Nissan LEAF Appears in “A Wrinkle in Time,” EPA Tested, Self-Parking Slippers/Pillows
Nissan announced relationship with Disney on “A Wrinkle in Time” movie based on classic 1962 novel of the same name. The all-new Nissan LEAF will a cameo appearance in the movie. Nissan collaborating with film’s director, Ava DuVernay, to promote up-and-coming filmmakers and to celebrate African-American achievement.
The New Nissan LEAF has been named as a top 10 finalist in the prized 2018 World Car of the Year awards. The EPA report that the charge is 151 miles and 112 MPGe.
Combining the ultimate in traditional hospitality with Nissan’s autonomous driving technology, one Japanese inn is treating guests to some unusual amenities: self-parking slippers, tables and floor cushions.
The slippers, tables and cushions are rigged with a special version of Nissan’s ProPILOT Park autonomous parking technology. When not in use, they automatically return to their designated spots at the push of a button.
Nissan will offer a free night at the ProPILOT Park Ryokan, located in Hakone, Japan, for one lucky pair of travelers. For a chance to win, contestants must post on Twitter using the hashtags #PPPRyokan and #wanttostay between Jan. 25 and Feb. 10.
Priyanka Chopra HARMAN Brand Ambassador
HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, announced that actress, singer, producer and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra has been named a global brand ambassador for the company’s JBL®and Harman Kardon audio brands. Chopra will participate in a series of marketing initiatives including social media and brand awareness events for JBL and Harman Kardon. As ambassador of these brands, Chopra will walk the red carpet at the Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY Gala Salute to Industry Icons with other luminaries as part of this weekend’s GRAMMY celebration. HARMAN is the official sound of the GRAMMYs and a recipient of three technical awards for its JBL, AKG and Lexicon brands.
OleaVision Detects Life in Vehicles
Olea Sensor Networks, a leader in intelligent sensors and analytic software for sensor network-based systems, announced the OleaVision in-Vehicle Life Presence Detector, a platform for developing an in-cabin device to prevent hot car deaths of kids and pets left unattended in vehicles.
This system includes a wireless, contactless device, which installs in the cabin of any vehicle over the door of the back seat. The device is able to detect the presence of a living being in the vehicle cabin, even if the subject is motionless or sleeping, using Olea’s proprietary continuous vital sign detection technology. It is designed to send an alert to the driver of the car after they are about to or have exited the vehicle. Additionally, it can be programmed to alert first responders in the absence of action by the caretaker.
New J.D. Power Award Goes to Buick & Porsche
Creating the all-encompassing positive vehicle ownership experience—including appearance, sales, service, initial quality and long-term reliability—is the objective of every car company. For the first time, J.D. Power has analyzed its voluminous data and today announced that Buick (Mass Market) and Porsche (Luxury) are the brands that will receive the inaugural J.D. Power Total Ownership Experience Award.
J.D. Power is using results from its five iconic automotive studies to determine recipients of the Total Ownership Experience Award for both mass market and luxury brands that are doing the best job overall of satisfying customers throughout the stages of vehicles ownership. The five J.D. Power studies are Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL); Customer Service Index (CSI); Initial Quality Study (IQS); Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI); and Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS).
3K Mirai on the Road
The Toyota Mirai, one of the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, has surpassed 3,000 sales in the Golden State. Having reached this new milestone, Mirai make up more than 80% of all hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the United States.
The Toyota Mirai, a four-door, mid-size sedan, is a zero-emission hydrogen vehicle with an EPA estimated driving range rating of 312 miles and 67 mpge city/highway/combined.
CARFIT NVH Analysis
CARFIT today it has joined the NVIDIA Inception program, which is designed to nurture startups revolutionizing industries with advancements in AI and data sciences. AI startup in vibration-based predictive maintenance for cars, CARFIT will use NVIDIA® DRIVE series to offer a soft NVH analysis module for autonomous vehicles. CARFIT leverages NVIDIA onboard compute to run Machine Learning for real time issue detection on tires, wheels, shocks and brakes.
CARFIT’s core technology uses machine learning to leverage the car vibration NVH science [Noise Vibration Harshness – the science about vibrations and noises in vehicles] to identify wear and potential failures of the wearing parts of the driving gears of a vehicle. The result is an easy-to-use software module that adds NVH computing capacities and access to a NVH knowledge base to identify abnormal vibration.
Goodyear AI for Mobility Services
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is introducing its fleet services business model to shared mobility providers to improve urban fleet operations.
Goodyear announced it is launching an advanced tire maintenance pilot program with STRATIM, a San Francisco-based startup whose technology platform tracks, monitors and oversees fleet maintenance for tens of thousands of vehicles operated by more than 50 mobility services in more than 25 markets across North America.
The new program will leverage Goodyear’s proprietary, artificial intelligence technology to help STRATIM’s clients predict when their tires need service or replacement to improve overall tire management and maximize uptime across the fleet.
Goodyear sees mobile fleet solutions for passenger vehicles as an emerging market, allowing it to continue serving its traditional customers through the nation’s largest network of tire and service locations while also looking to the fast pace of what’s next in mobility.
Thales Multiple Safety
Thales, through its German company Sysgo, and Vector, the Stuttgart-based specialist for automotive embedded electronics founded a joint-venture to address the critical issue of multiple software managing multiple – often safety-critical – functions.
Through this joint-venture, Thales and Vector will combine their respective embedded systems expertise in aviation safety and in automotive software according to ISO 26262 to offer a single platform to run the car’s software and applications. By simplifying the vehicle’s control systems they aim to strengthen its cyber-protection whilst ensuring the isolation of individual applications.
Dyanmic Weather with Accurate HaliStrike
Dynamic Weather Solutions (DWS) dba HailStrike, a national leader in weather forensics, is proud to announce DentDash, a solution that conclusively predicts the presence of hail within an area of a storm.
This patented system provides a verifiable tool in the prediction and determining of hail activity before it has already occurred.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted DWS a patent for their exclusive invention establishing a “Systems and methods for localized hail activity alerts.” This unique app is available on any platform mobile device and can be used both as a stationary or mobile notification service.
Xperi to Identify Music with ACRCloud
Xperi Corporation , a global leader in innovative technology solutions that enable extraordinary experiences for people around the world and ACRCloud, a Beijing-based audio fingerprinting service provider, have announced a partnership to integrate ACRCloud music recognition technology into the DTS Connected Radio platform. Through this partnership, DTS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi, will use ACRCloud’s technology to identify the music playing on radio stations in vehicles around the world.
The DTS Connected Radio platform combines both over-the-air analog/digital AM/FM radio content with IP-delivered content, creating an innovative AM/FM experience in vehicles. DTS Connected Radio receives metadata, such as artist and song title, directly from local radio broadcasters which is then paired with IP-delivered content, creating an engaging in-vehicle broadcast radio experience. ACRCloud’s technology will further enhance this global system by detecting and delivering additional music metadata into vehicles for a more user-friendly content into vehicles.
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubish Launches Alliance Ventures
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s leading automotive alliance, announced the launch of Alliance Ventures, a new corporate venture capital fund that plans to invest up to $1 billion to support open innovation over the next five years.
In its first year, the fund expects to invest up to $200 million in start-ups and open innovation partnerships with technology entrepreneurs focused on new mobility, including vehicle electrification, autonomous systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence.
With further annual investments, Alliance Ventures is set to become the largest corporate venture capital fund in the automotive industry over the period of Alliance 2022, the strategic midterm plan launched last year by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
Synopsys & Renesas DFTMAX LogicBIST
Synopsys, Inc. announced that Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has deployed Synopsys’ DFTMAX LogicBIST solution on a mixed-signal, large scale integration (LSI) design to meet automotive safety integrity levels required by system integrators. DFTMAX LogicBIST enables the design to check itself upon power-up for faults, or conditions that could cause failures, and report their presence. Furthermore, this self-checking achieves high fault coverage within a short operational time to meet system-level requirements. Renesas designers easily incorporated DFTMAX LogicBIST into their flow with minimal effort, and included Synopsys SpyGlass® DFT ADV technology to increase fault coverage. In collaboration with Synopsys, Renesas certified DFTMAX LogicBIST according to Part 8 of the ISO 26262 functional safety standard, enabling deployment on automotive designs.
DFTMAX LogicBIST provides a safety mechanism, a key requirement noted in the widely adopted ISO 26262 automotive functional safety standard, to detect and flag faults that could potentially cause failures. Use of DFTMAX LogicBIST, and following best engineering practices, minimizes the risk of failures impacting the functional safety elements of automotive ICs.//
Groupon Parking by Groupon Locations
Have you ever driven somewhere to redeem that Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) for an exciting family adventure, relaxing salon and spa package or mouth-watering restaurant deal and needed a place to park? Thanks to a strategic partnership with ParkWhiz, Groupon now offers convenient parking that you can find and pay for using the Groupon app. For Groupon, the new offering represents the latest example of how the company is positioning its marketplace as a platform to serve just about any local need.
Electrify America Patners with Greenlots
Electrify America announced today that it has selected Greenlots, a leading provider of grid-enabled electric vehicle (EV) smart charging solutions, to deliver the operating platform for its network of high-power fast chargers that will greatly expand highway and other EV charging capabilities across the United States.
Insteon Compatible with EVEConnect for Tesla
Insteon, a leading developer of IoT technology for the home, today announced that its line of ultra-reliable smart home devices are now compatible with the EVEConnect solution for Tesla. It’s now possible to turn on your lights and turn up the heat with a touch of a screen or an automation you’ve set up for your drive home.
Insteon is the world’s most reliable IoT technology for lighting and electrical control. Insteon achieves this reliability via its patented dual-mesh network, which communicates simultaneously via wireless radio waves and the home’s existing wiring. Insteon integrates with hundreds of products and systems in the home, including HVAC units, locks, timers, lighting, cameras, music, humidity and leak sensing, garage doors and more.
HBM SomatXR CX22B-R Data Recorder
HBM, Inc. announced its new SomatXR CX22B-R data recorder, for acquiring and storing measured data in mobile applications such as vehicle testing. The data recorder is well-suited to be used in harsh environments, with an extended temperature range of -40 to +80°C. Additionally, it is shock- and vibration-proof, and has an IP65/IP67 degree of protection provided by its water-, dust-, and shock-proof enclosure.
Both centralized and distributed measuring systems can be implemented. HBM’s pre-installed catman measurement software facilitates acquiring and storing data in .bin format. This format includes measured values, traceability data, and allows for easy conversion to other formats. Immediate data visualization and analysis during measurements in the field enables users to perform efficient tests and create clear and comprehensive test reports.
The SomatXR data acquisition system provides two flexible mobile measurement solutions: the extremely rugged CX22B-R data recorder for interactive testing, and the CX23-R data recorder with a web interface for unsupervised testing. Besides these two data recorders, seven equally rugged measuring amplifiers are available for acquiring different physical quantities.
The unit includes an integrated uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for fail-safe operation in the vehicle.
Electric Volvo Trucks in Europe
Volvo Trucks will start selling electric trucks in Europe in 2019, and the first units will be put into operation with select customers in 2018. Electric trucks drastically reduce noise and exhaust emissions and create new opportunities to manage logistics. More transport assignments can be carried out at night, resulting in fewer trucks competing for road space during rush hour. Work toward commercialization of electric trucks in North America is ongoing as advancements in battery technology accelerate viability for North American duty cycles and energy demands for a broad range of applications.
In order to improve the quality of life in urban environments, more sustainable transport solutions need to be adopted. With well-developed logistics and more effective utilization of roads in the evenings and at night, it is also possible for many smaller vehicles to be replaced by fewer but larger vehicles, thus further contributing to lower emissions and less traffic. For example, distribution trucks have just over ten times the load capacity of a regular van. If a larger proportion of transport assignments could be carried out during hours when fewer people are on the road, this will also significantly reduce the risk of accidents.
BCG Hosts DV Hacks in Manhattan Beach,
BCG Digital Ventures (DV), the global corporate venture, investment and incubation arm of the Boston Consulting Group, today announces its plan to host its second hackathon, DV Hacks: Mobility, which will take place April 13-15 at their global headquarters in Manhattan Beach, CA.
Over the course of 48 hours, these balanced, multidisciplinary teams of three-to-five members will work together to hack solutions around major mobility trends, including autonomous vehicle security, drone delivery, on-demand maintenance, insurance and more.
The weekend will culminate in a shark tank, with each team pitching their concept to a panel of executives and prominent venture capitalists in the mobility space. The top three winning teams will receive a cash prize, with the overall winner receiving Foundry services from BCG Digital Ventures in the form of mentorship and industry access typically reserved for large corporate partners.e due by March 1.
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