In connected car news this week were Tesla, Aurora, Continental, DHL, NEXO, Excelfore, Veoneer, Zenuity, SMK Electronic Partners and CAARESYS.
Tesla – Doggie Duty, Sentry & New Batteries
Tesla will add two new software feature to its models with AP2+ hardware in the future. Sentry mode will turn the cameras into security cameras and play loud music if the car is broken into. Dog mode will allow the vehicle to remain one with the dog in the car, on the screen of the Tesla Model 3 there will be message stating ” “I’m fine, my owner will be right back.”
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. , a leading developer and manufacturer of energy solutions, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) to be acquired by Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA or “Tesla”). Tesla will commence an all stock exchange offer for all the issued and outstanding shares of the Company (the “Offer”), after which the Company will be merged with a Tesla subsidiary and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla.
Maxwell Tech developed and transformed our patented, proprietary and fundamental dry electrode manufacturing technology that we have historically used to make ultracapacitors to create a breakthrough technology that can be applied to the manufacturing of batteries.
Investments in Aurora
Aurora self-driving tech received over $530 million in Series B financing led by Sequoia. Amazon, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. are making significant investments in Aurora.
Continental Buys Katherin
Continental announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Kathrein Automotive after antitrust authorities officially approved the transaction. Incorporating the automotive division of Rosenheim-based antenna and satellite technology manufacturer Kathrein is a move that will give Continental an important key segment to add to its wealth of expertise. Intelligent vehicle antennas are the starting point for future-proof connectivity concepts in the vehicle interior and beyond.
DHL Buys Workhorse E-Vans
DHL, the world’s leading international express services provider, is staying true to its mission of reducing emissions as it prepares to roll out a new fleet of electric delivery vans that will serve U.S. markets. These new vehicles add to the company’s already robust alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) fleet, which includes fully electric, hybrid-electric, compressed natural gas (CNG) and clean diesel. DHL has set a target of operating 70 percent of first- and last-mile delivery services with clean transport modes by 2025 as part of its longer-term corporate commitment to reduce its logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050.
The fleet of 63 NGEN-1000 electric delivery cargo vans are produced by equipment manufacturer Workhorse Group and are built to be among the safest, most efficient last-mile delivery and work truck systems available. Capable of running up to 100 miles on a charge, the vans have ultra-low floors to reduce physical stress on workers’ knees and back, and a high roof design that maximizes cargo space in a small footprint (1,008 cubic feet of cargo capacity).
DHL will roll out the first 30 NGEN-1000 electric delivery cargo vans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
First NEXO FEV Sold in CA
Hyundai announced its first NEXO fuel cell SUV delivery in Northern California to Dr. Steven Vo, an obstetrician/gynecologist who desires to add the benefits of this zero-emissions vehicle to his environmentally-friendly lifestyle focus.
Dr. Vo picked up his new SUV at Capitol Hyundai in San Jose to become the first Northern California customer to drive off in the new NEXO, the only mass-produced fuel cell SUV for the U.S. market, boasting a range up to 380 miles.
New Excelfore TAS Protocols
As in-vehicle networking continues to grow in importance, Ethernet is becoming an increasingly popular platform providing secure, high-speed, inexpensive solutions. To meet automotive requirements for deterministic network behavior, new protocols must be added onto Ethernet stacks to provide Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) These new protocols enable Ethernet to meet the demands of in-vehicle infotainment, control and safety systems.
The Excelfore TAS protocols reside in network talkers and bridges with support for TSN enhancements including IEEE 802.1Qbv and 802.1Qci. The TAS provides a circuit-switched/ Time-Division-Multiplexed (TDM) channel into the otherwise packet-based Ethernet network. This enables a specific time window to be guaranteed for the delivery of high priority traffic, for example for automotive control systems. The Excelfore TAS has demonstrated the ability to reduce the variance in measured propagation delays by more than 65% compared to Ethernet traffic without the TAS, ensuring deterministic sub-100 microsecond accuracy for time-sensitive traffic./
Veoneer & Zenuity AI Innovation
Veoneer, Inc., the world’s largest pure-play company focused on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving (AD), is one of the founding partners in AI Innovation of Sweden, the new national center for accelerating research and innovation within Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI Innovation of Sweden is a national and neutral initiative which is intended to function as an engine in the Swedish AI ecosystem. The focus is on accelerating implementation of AI by means of sharing knowledge and data, co-location and collaboration projects, all with a strong focus on ethics, transparency and security. AI Innovation of Sweden establishes shared resources, for example the “Data Factory”, which will make data available in a new and unique way, and “Co-Location sites” with the aim of improving collaboration, knowledge-sharing and the ability to attract talent.
Zenuity will be a data donor to the new Data Factory. This donation will enable many smart researchers to work on the same data we do. We expect to gain new insights from these colleagues and hope to develop new solutions with them. We have already located our PhD researchers working with AI at AI Innovation of Sweden, showing our immediate commitment.
Optimus Ride Partners with Brookfield Properties
Optimus Ride, a leading self-driving vehicle technology company, announced a partnership with Brookfield Properties to deploy a program for its self-driving vehicles at Halley Rise – a new $1.4 billion mixed-use development that will transform a 36-acre office park in Reston, Virginia into 3.5 million square feet of new housing, dynamic local retail, modern offices, public green spaces, and year-round cultural activations. Beginning in June 2019, Optimus Ride will provide tenants at buildings currently on the Halley Rise site (One Reston Crescent and Two Reston Crescent) with access to efficient self-driving mobility completely contained within the development site.
SMK Electronic Partners with CAARESYS
SMK Electronics Corporation U.S.A. announced a business partnership with CAARESYS to develop automotive occupancy and biometric detection sensors for inclusion in next-generation passenger occupancy systems.
Through this collaboration, SMK Electronics and CAARESYS will develop the world’s first biometric automotive sensors to deliver highly accurate passenger sensing while remaining unaffected by vibrations in the driving environment. New features compatible with the safety standards for future vehicles include:
(1) Seat-belt reminder and child-presence detection system using contactless occupancy detection sensor which detects human’s respiration rate and heart rate.
(2) Highly accurate driver or passenger monitoring system using contactless biometric sensor which measures heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability.
Semtech Intros AEC-Q100
Semtech Corporation, a leading supplier of high performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, introduced a new AEC-Q100 qualified protection array for automotive CAN bus nodes. The new low capacitance 24V (Vrwm) transient voltage protection µClamp® array is optimized to safeguard automotive CAN bus nodes from electrostatic discharge (ESD) and overvoltage transient threats.
The µClamp2492SQ is housed in an industry standard SOT-23 3L package, and provides two lines of robust transient protection. The device far exceeds the IEC61000-4-2 ESD immunity standards, offering an industry-leading protection level of ±30kV air and ±30kV contact, and is qualified to Grade 1 of the AEC-Q100 Automotive Standard.
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