In connected car news this week were ZF, Metawave, EVgo, HAAS Alert, Affectiva, Pep Boys, Trimble, EB, ECCO, Ominivison, Nexis/Lexis and DXC.
ZF coPILOT
ZF announced the debut of ZF coPILOT, an intelligent advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) leading to enhanced safety and driving comfort opportunities. Leveraging the power of AI and equipped with a comprehensive sensor set, vehicles can perform various automated driving functions, especially on freeways. In addition, ZF coPILOT can be operated with voice commands and is designed to recognize traffic conditions, sense vehicle handling and monitor the driver, helping to pre-empt hazardous situations through active control intervention. ZF coPILOT is powered by the ZF ProAI central computer and the NVIDIA DRIVE platform. It is designed for volume production and will be available from 2021
Metawave
Metawave Corporation, leading provider of advanced radar for autonomous driving and wireless communications for 5G deployments, announced today that it has built and successfully demonstrated a first-of-its-kind phase controller to power its 77 GHz automotive radar platform, WARLORD™, for automotive and broad transportation applications. The phase controllers will also be deployed with Metawave’s novel antenna arrays to power its SABER™ platform for 5G and fixed wireless unlicensed deployments. All of Metawave’s platforms are integrated with AWARE™, Metawave’s proprietary AI software for object detection and classification as well as potential network planning and data load management for wireless deployments.
EVgo
EVgo, the nation’s largest public fast charging network, announced today that it has completed or has in construction 14 battery storage systems located at 11 fast charging stations, the largest deployment of battery storage systems at public fast charging stations in the nation.
HAAS Alert
HAAS Alert, a Chicago-based startup that alerts drivers of responding emergency vehicles, and Active911, an Oregon-based provider of digital tools to emergency responders, announced today that they have entered into a strategic agreement to bring HAAS Alert’s collision prevention safety service to Active911 customers. Through this partnership, Active911 mobile app users can leverage the HAAS Alert Safety Cloud™ to automatically send digital alerts to nearby drivers and other emergency vehicles when responding to an emergency.
With distracted driving a major problem, First Responders put themselves at great risk while responding to emergency situations. According to a University of Minnesota study, the risk of collision between a civilian vehicle and emergency vehicle can be reduced by up to 90% when nearby drivers receive an advance warning.
While other correction service providers are validating their ADAS positioning products and services in test environments only, Trimble is on the road today providing RTX-based absolute positioning within General Motors’ Super Cruise, the industry’s first true hands-free driving system for the freeway.
Affectiva Funding
Affectiva, the global leader in Emotion AI and the pioneer of Human Perception AI, today announced that it has closed $26 million in funding. The round, led by Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), as well as Trend Forward Capital, Motley Fool Ventures and CAC, brings the total invested in Affectiva to $53 million. The funding will enable Affectiva to evolve, accelerate and scale its perceptive technology in the automotive industry, as well as other areas such as conversational interfaces, social robotics and market research.
Affectiva created and defined the category of Emotion AI, which now encompasses a rich ecosystem of players and is set to become a multi-billion dollar industry. Building on its proven expertise in deep learning, computer vision and speech science, combined with its massive amounts of real-world data, Affectiva’s AI is pioneering the next frontier of artificial intelligence: Human Perception AI, software that can understand all things human. Human Perception AI will detect nuanced emotions as well as complex cognitive states, activities, interactions and objects people use.
Pep Boys Fleet
Icahn Automotive Group LLC (Icahn Automotive), an Icahn Enterprises L.P. company, which owns and operates leading repair and maintenance providers, announced Pep Boys Fleet, a program which puts a renewed focus on automotive service designed to better meet the needs of today’s growing fleets. With a new tagline, “Driving your business forward,” Pep Boys Fleet will continue to be a preferred partner of large, national fleet management companies and is better positioned to meet the needs of the many small fleets emerging from the explosive growth of transportation network companies and last mile delivery services.
Pep Boys Fleet is an official tire, brake and preventative maintenance supplier of Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners (DSP) which provides negotiated pricing for Amazon DSP maintenance, along with a pro rewards program, and fleet credit which owners can use to cover unforeseen expenses. Later this year, Pep Boys plans to launch a management technology solution to help small and mid-size businesses better manage their fleet maintenance.
Trimble GNSS Library
Trimble announced the availability of Trimble® RTX Auto, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software library, written specifically for use in safety critical automotive applications. The RTX Auto library can be integrated with any GNSS device and enables the decoding of Trimble’s leading RTX correction stream for centimeter-level absolute positioning accuracy. RTX Auto works in parallel with other on-vehicle sensors to deliver a positioning solution that satisfies Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving requirements.
RTX Auto is both Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) and Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (ASPICE) certified. These certifications validate that Trimble RTX Auto meets functional safety requirements for ADAS and autonomous applications in the auto industry.
Elektrobit Developer for VW Instrument Clusters
Elektrobit (EB) announced it is providing the development platform for the digital instrument clusters and infotainment devices in Volkswagen’s new generation of electric cars. The EB GUIDE toolchain enables developers at Volkswagen to easily and quickly design complex human machine interfaces (HMIs). With its graphical, voice-, touch-, and gesture-based controls, EB GUIDE allows the development of customized user interfaces for different brands from a single source. The software toolkit is among the most feature-rich HMI software solutions in the industry.
EB GUIDE helps to save time and increases the productivity of HMI development teams by consequently applying a model-based approach to the HMI development process including prototyping, specification, implementation and maintenance. Instead of developing software, HMI developers design the HMI with EB GUIDE’s desktop tools and execute it with EB GUIDE’s run-time components which are specifically engineered to run on automotive devices. HMI developers can focus on maximizing the user experience. EB GUIDE lets them instantly test their changes on the desktop PC and quickly deploy them to the target device. EB GUIDE is the only HMI development platform in the market that enables developers to implement intuitive graphical 2D or 3D user interfaces with voice, touch, and gesture control features. It is the result of more than 15 years of experience in HMI software development. EB GUIDE was originally developed for the automotive industry but is also used in other sectors such as mechanical engineering, automation, and medical industry.
ECCO Works with HAAS
ECCO Safety Group (ESG), a leading global manufacturer of sound, light and vision safety solutions for Public Safety and Commercial Vehicles whose brands include Code 3 and ECCO, announced that it plans to work with Chicago-based startup HAAS Alert to alert nearby motorists by incorporating HAAS Alert Safety Cloud™ collision prevention service in Code 3 products.
By utilizing HAAS Alert technology, Code 3’s lineup of vehicle lighting solutions – including its flagship Matrix system – will include the ability to send digital alerts to drivers whose vehicles are outfitted and active on the roadway.
Code 3 will be introducing new integrated connected technology that raises the attention of distracted drivers with the objective of proactively alerting drivers to assist in reducing roadway collisions with emergency response and commercial vehicles. According to a University of Minnesota study, the risk of collision between a civilian vehicle and emergency vehicle can be reduced by as much as 90% when nearby drivers receive an advanced warning about the hazardous situation.
OmniVision In-Cabin Monitoring
OmniVision Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, today announced the OV2778 automotive image sensor, which provides the best value of any 2MP RGB-IR sensor for cabin- and occupant-monitoring. With its complement of industry-leading features, this sensor is ideal for interior applications such as detecting packages and unattended children, as well as videoconferencing. The OV2778 comes in the smallest package available for the automotive in-cabin market segment—a 6.5 x 5.7mm automotive CSP—enabling the smallest camera sizes possible for unobtrusive placement inside the vehicle. It also offers advanced ASIL functional safety, which is important for in-cabin applications when the OV2778 is being integrated as part of an ADAS system.
IRYStec PDP
IRYStec Software Inc., leader in perceptual display processing technology, announced IRYStec™ Perceptual Display Platform™ Vision™ (PDP Vision) general availability. IRYStec PDP Vision is a customizable and scalable software development kit (SDK) that integrates seamlessly into the primary automotive display systems – instrument clusters and infotainment displays.
IRYStec’s innovative technology synergistically combines for the first time two complex, but light weight perceptual processing algorithms. Automotive OEMs benefit with the world’s first software platform that intelligently adapts the displayed content to the ambient light, to the panel technology, and it is personalized according to the effective age of the driver’s eyes; delivering a safer and more power efficient and increased display lifetime, in-car viewing experience.
Nissan Joins Lexis Nexis Telematics Ex.
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data, analytics and technology, announced that Nissan North America has joined the LexisNexis® Telematics Exchange. LexisNexis develops solutions to enrich the customer journey and deliver usage-based insurance (UBI) programs for vehicle owners to easily enroll and participate, giving drivers the opportunity to lower their insurance premiums and reduce the cost of vehicle ownership.
Danlaw DSRC
Danlaw is pleased to announce that its RouteLink™ DSRC Roadside Unit (RSU) has received OmniAir Consortium certification for V2X applications. As a driving force behind V2X systems that use DSRC, RouteLink enables smarter cities, safer roads, and more efficient transportation systems. Achieving OmniAir Certification ensures that Danlaw’s RouteLink RSU adheres to critical performance and interoperability standards, providing a high level of assurance to automotive OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and government entities.
RouteLink, one of two certified roadside units on the market, joins the AutoLink™ On-board Unit (OBU) and Mx-DSRC Conformance Test System as Danlaw’s third V2X product to earn OmniAir Certification for V2X Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) standards.
Aptiv Recognized
Aptiv a global technology company enabling the future of mobility, announced it was recognized by Automotive News as a 2019 Innovation Partnership Award winner for its work with Audi on the Aptiv Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform.
Aptiv is democratizing active safety through the efficient and scalable Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform. Most systems have the computing power integrated into the sensors, processing the information at the source, which makes each sensor expensive to build and to replace when damaged. Aptiv’s Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform takes processing and electronics out of individual sensors, instead sending the information to the central platform, allowing the sensors to be smaller, more cost efficient, lighter and easier to package in a vehicle. The reduced mass and volume also eliminates sensor heat dissipation concerns. In one application Aptiv’s innovative technology reduced the camera footprint from the size of a deck of playing cards to the size of a pack of chewing gum.
Lumotive
Lumotive, the Bill Gates-funded startup developing LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicles, today introduced a disruptive beam-steering technology which will significantly improve the performance, reliability and cost of LiDAR systems for the emerging self-driving car
industry. Initially targeting the robo-taxi market, Lumotive’s patented system uses Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces (LCM™) and silicon fabrication to achieve unmatched levels of manufacturing efficiency while simultaneously delivering unprecedented range, resolution and frame rate.
Beamsteering is the missing link required for high performance and commercially viable LiDAR systems. Traditionally, LiDAR relied upon unreliable and bulky spinning assemblies, while newer breeds of LiDAR sensors utilize MEMS mirrors or optical phased arrays. However, both of these recent approaches lack performance due to the small optical aperture of MEMS mirrors and the low efficiency of phased arrays.Lumotive’s system offers distinct performance advantages, including an unprecedented combination of:●Large optical aperture (25 x 25 mm) which delivers long range●120-degree field-of-view with high angular resolution●Fast random-access beamsteering-
Geotab, a global leader in IoT and connected transportation, today announced that it has signed an arrangement agreement whereby it plans to acquire BSM Technologies. BSM provides telematics and asset management solutions to more than 165,000 vehicles across government and private fleets in Canada and the United States. The completion of this transaction would add to the over 1.5 million fleet telematics subscribers utilizing Geotab globally.
DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) has signed an agreement to support BMW’s autonomous vehicle development via the High Performance D3 platform. DXC provides services that help deliver and simplify data analysis and algorithmic training to reduce the time and cost to develop autonomous vehicles.
The BMW Group High Performance D3 platform supports the autonomous vehicle development program, gathering massive amounts of road-travel data from the global BMW test fleet. Using DXC’s digital solution, BMW’s manufacturing research and development teams will be able to collect, store and manage vehicle sensor data in seconds rather than days or weeks, resulting in faster autonomous drive development cycles.
The DXC Robotic Drive platform and toolkit are composed of digital analytics, cloud and platform services, and security and applications offerings. DXC offers a global network of Automotive Centers of Excellence where DXC’s partners and clients collaborate, build and deliver industry innovation. Learn more about DXC Robotic Drive and how DXC is transforming the automotive industry.
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