In connected car news this week were Phantom Auto, Echodyne, Quantom Corp, AutonomouStuff, Parade Tech, Hyundai CRADLE, W.L. Gore, and ClearMotion.
Phantom Auto to Teleoperate for Renovo
Teleoperation platform Phantom Auto and Renovo Motors will offer teleoperation safety technology for fleet operations. Renovo’s AWare OS offers full-stack automated vehicles and automotive-grade architecture. The technical partnership between the two companies gives Phantom access to Renovo AWare OS as a commercialization platform.
Echodyne MESA Radar for NDDOT
Echodyne, the manufacturer of innovative, high-performance radars for autonomous machines, announced that its MESA radars will be used as part of North Dakota Department of Transportation’s (NDDOT) Integration Pilot Program (IPP). NDDOT, with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, was selected as one of ten US Department of Transportation IPP awards earlier this month.
North Dakota’s project includes a wide variety of public benefits from UAS, including roadway safety, first responders’ communication, monitoring critical infrastructure, and assisting law enforcement and emergency responders during severe weather and search and rescue operations. To achieve this, it will continue testing advanced technologies for UAS safety, operations at night, flying beyond line of sight, and others.
Echodyne’s high performance solid state radars are an excellent fit for the project because they contribute critical all-weather detection and tracking by leveraging patented Metamaterial Electronically Scanning Array (MESA) technology and intelligent radar control software.
Quantum Corp Stores AutnomouStuff
Quantum Corp. named AutonomouStuff LLC its primary partner for storage distribution in the automotive market, enabling them to deliver Quantum’s comprehensive end-to-end storage solutions for both in-vehicle and data center environments. Quantum’s StorNext-powered scale-out storage provides high-performance ingest of data into the data center when test vehicles return to the garage, thereby speeding time to result for sensor-generated in-vehicle data. Quantum in-vehicle storage is designed to fit the environmental and space requirements of autonomous vehicles. The combined solution enables AutonomouStuff to extend its offerings beyond in-vehicle solutions to include data center storage to support analysis and long-term data retention.
Parade Tech’s Tech for High-Res Displays
Parade Technologies, Ltd. a leading high-speed interface, video display, and touch controller IC supplier, announced the DP667V, a new automotive grade selection of the company’s popular DP667 eDP Timing Controller (Tcon). The DP667V meets the rigorous automotive AEC-Q100 stress test qualification requirements and operates over an ambient temperature range of -40 to +105 deg C.
The DP667V is ideally suited for larger, high-resolution displays typically used for automotive infotainment and navigation display applications including center console placement. The device is designed to enable LCD panels with a resolution up to 4Kx2K, and two devices can be used for panel resolutions up to 8Kx2K. Up to 30-bit color is supported enabling superior image quality.
The DP667V includes a built-in eDP (Embedded DisplayPort) receiver that supports up to four lanes of the HBR2 link rate of 5.4 Gbit/sec. Only one lane, or one wire pair, of the high-speed interface is required to support a 1080p or 1920×1080 resolution panel at 60 frames-per-second and 24-bit color depth. All four lanes are used for 4Kx2K resolution.
Hyundai CRADLE Invests in Meatwave
Hyundai CRADLE, Hyundai Motor Company’s corporate venturing and open innovation business, announced it is investing in Metawave Corporation to build intelligent radars for autonomous vehicles. Metawave is revolutionizing radar sensing by leveraging adaptive metamaterials (conventional materials using engineered structures with unique electromagnetic properties not found in nature) and artificial intelligence (AI) to create smart radars. Hyundai is closely evaluating new technologies, such as Metawave’s high-performance radar capable of 3-D imaging, for future autonomous platforms.
Three sensors are the fundamental components of the perception system for self-driving cars today: camera, LiDAR and radar. The camera is the highest-resolution sensor but cannot see objects beyond 50 meters. LiDAR extends the range to about 150 meters, with a fairly high-resolution imaging capability.
Metawave’s advanced radar platform, WARLORD usone antenna and pushes the complexity of the analog space, using ultra-fast and precise responses. With WARLORD, the antenna itself shapes and steers the beam in all directions using pencil beams, deep learning engines and AI algorithms to recognize objects quickly and send 4-D point cloud to the sensor fusion.
W.L. Gore Supplies Fuel Cell Stacks
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore) has been chosen as the key supplier of proton exchange membrane for the Sunrise Power HYMOD-300 vehicle fuel cell stack. A leading Chinese supplier of vehicle fuel cell stacks and systems, Sunrise Power incorporated GORE-SELECT Membranes in their latest system to meet their stringent requirements for durability and reliability — key factors for the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles.
Gore’s GORE-SELECT Membranes, which facilitate a fuel cell’s electrochemical reaction between hydrogen fuel and oxygen, supported the Sunrise Power fuel cell stack’s ability to exceed 5000 hours of operation testing, while also achieving low-temperature start-up at -10 °C and storage at -40 °C.
USSC ClearMotion Digital Chassis Control
United States Seating Company (“USSC”), a leading manufacturer of high quality, ergonomic seating for the commercial and military markets has entered into a partnership with ClearMotion, an automotive technology company specializing in digital chassis control. The two companies announce a strategic licensing agreement for ClearMotion’s proprietary control software, algorithms and mechatronics for active seating. ClearMotion’s active suspension seat, formerly known as Bose Ride, cancels road disturbances and reduces whole-body vibration and fatigue for drivers by up to 94%.
ClearMotion’s active suspension seat technology replaces standard commercial air ride seats with a proprietary base unit and an integrated seat upper, providing drivers with an unmatched level of isolation from road induced vibration. Third party scientific research concludes that whole-body vibration induces fatigue and stress to the spine and body, both of which are central to the health, wellness, and safety of commercial drivers.
DENSO Retrofits Driver Montiors for Trucks & Buses
DENSO announced it has released a retrofittable driver status monitor to help reduce the number of traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses. The safety product checks for distractions, drowsiness, sleep, and inappropriate posture based on the driver’s facial image, which is captured through a camera installed in the cabin. If drowsy or distracted driving is detected, the monitor voices an alert. It is now sold by DENSO Sales and DENSO service stations across Japan and will be released outside the country later this year.
A driver’s condition is detected by the product and recorded on a SD card. An operation manager and the driver can review the driving status, including the number of voiced alerts, and an image of the driver when the alert was triggered. This feature offers additional guidance for safe driving. The driver’s condition can also be notified to the operation manager in real-time, making it possible to caution the driver and take quick action in the event of an emergency. In addition, the monitor can be linked with a new telematics device for commercial vehicles released by DENSO this summer and a cloud-based digital tachograph manufactured by Fujitsu Limited.
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