In connected car news are Revl, FedEX Ansys, RepairSmith, Proterra and Momentun Dynamics.
Revl Funding
Revl, the leading camera, and AI-powered video editing company, announces a $5.5M Series A funding round led by Nimble Ventures with participation from Tuesday Capital, Silicon Valley Data Capital and Luma Pictures. The funding will be used to fuel the growth of their AI video production service, Revl X, used by Audi, Porsche, Two Major Cruise Lines, Zip World UK, Skydive Drop Zones and other world-class companies that have sought out Revl to drive the best experiences for their customers.
FedEx DC Charging
FedEx Corp. started construction on electronic DC (direct current) charging stations back in January, and today announced the next phase of its electric vehicle rollout. Through an agreement with Chanje Energy Inc., the company plans to electrify 42 FedEx stations in California, making it one of the largest deployments of integrated charging infrastructure by a single commercial fleet to date.
FedEx announced the addition of 1,000 Chanje V8100 electric delivery vehicles to its fleet last November. FedEx is purchasing 100 of the vehicles from Chanje Energy Inc. and leasing 900 from Ryder System, Inc. Today’s agreement will provide an innovative infrastructure to support the continued rollout of its electric vehicle fleet.
The DC charging system was designed specifically for FedEx. The innovative project will support daily charging for more than 1,000 electric vehicles, which were leased to FedEx. Notable features include:
- Higher maximum power output than standard Level 2 chargers
- Variable rate technology allowing FedEx to proactively adjust charging speed or shift energy usage away from peak hours to minimize electric utility bills
- DC (direct current) charging hardware, which is 10% more efficient than AC (alternating current) charging
- Software platform for remote monitoring and real-time charger controls
Chanje Energy Inc. will begin production of the EVs later this year. The vehicles are manufactured by FDG Electric Vehicles Limited (HKEX: 729) in Hangzhou, China, and purchased through Chanje Energy Inc., the company’s subsidiary for global business. They will be delivered on a rolling basis over the next year. Ryder System, Inc. will provide maintenance and distribution support services for all of the vehicles.
Ansys RaptorH
With the release of Ansys® RaptorH™, will empower engineers to accelerate and improve 5G, three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) and radio-frequency integrated circuit design workflows for innovations like smart devices, antenna arrays and data storage systems. RaptorH fuses the fidelity of Ansys’ flagship HFSS with the speed and high-capacity architecture of RaptorX — enabling designers to reduce chip size, lower power consumption, decrease production cost and minimize time-to-market.
From high-performance systems-on-chip for 5G mobile devices and network infrastructure to the radio-frequency transceivers that enable autonomous vehicles and the industrial Internet of Things, circuit design is heavily impacted by electromagnetics. Ansys RaptorH will empower customers to overcome unwanted interference that often leads to lengthy design cycles, increased risk, higher costs and sub-optimal performance.
The highly-integrated analysis solution of Ansys RaptorH enables designers to simulate electromagnetic phenomena on advanced nanometer silicon designs across multi-chip 3D-ICs, silicon interposers and advanced packaging — resulting in shorter design cycles and improved reliability and integrity.
RepairSmith Buys CarDash
RepairSmith announces the acquisition of CarDash, a service-based startup with a shared mission to bring car owners convenient car repair and maintenance service. RepairSmith is backed by Daimler AG, one of the world’s most successful car companies.
RepairSmith will incorporate CarDash’s technology to enhance its product offering, and will service all customers from RepairSmith.com going forward. RepairSmith operates its Delivery and Drop Off services across all major metropolitan areas in California and Las Vegas. All RepairSmith mechanics are employees of the company and drive custom-outfitted, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Metris vehicles equipped with quality tools and parts to deliver a five-star experience for car owners in their driveway.
Proterra Partners with Freightliner for Chassis
Proterra, a leading innovator in heavy-duty electric transportation, and Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) announced a collaboration to develop the MT50e, a new all-electric delivery truck chassis. The MT50e will be on display at the upcoming NTEA Work Truck Show, March 4-6 in Indianapolis.
Built on FCCC’s legendary MT platform, the MT50e will feature a Proterra® battery system with 226 kWh of energy capacity and an all-electric, zero-emission drive system. The all-electric chassis can support a GVWR of 16,000 to 23,000 pounds, with no reduction in cargo volume capacity. The vehicle is designed to enable more than 125 miles driving range and can fully charge in three hours with SAE J1772 CCS DC fast charging.
High-Power Wireless Charging
Momentum Dynamics Corporation, the global leader in high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles, and CEVT, an innovation company for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group based in Sweden, have demonstrated high-power wireless charging on a passenger vehicle with autonomous parking.
This demonstration highlights autonomous parking combined with high-power autonomous charging in a commercially-available vehicle. This passenger vehicle demonstration proves the feasibility of charging electric vehicles automatically without the need for human attendance, who are then freed for other activities. The next phase of development is to advance this technology into other vehicle types and use cases, including fleets, garages, forecourts, and other public charging locations.
The team was faced with the technical challenge of combining alignment feedback with autonomous parking and then integrating the system into vehicle in a short period of time. Using Momentum Dynamics’ real-time alignment feedback and CEVT’s automatic parking capabilities, the vehicle was able to automatically maneuver and stop within the alignment tolerance in every test and then begin to charge automatically. This technology provides an effective solution for the charging of vehicles without the need for human interaction. Wireless charging has clear applications in distributed fleet situations such as last-mile delivery: it is important for fleet efficiency that autonomous delivery vehicles can continue in service while automatically charging in strategic locations, without the need for a person or complex robot to dock the vehicle.
Chinese Limo Service Reports Thermal Reporting
Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur offers another anti-outbreak intelligent solution with infrared thermometers safeguarding the security of both passengers and drivers.
Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur proposes intelligence solutions at this critical moment with infrared thermometers building a security wall for outbreak prevention.
As the national outbreak prevention efficiently progresses, cities have gradually begun the outbreak prevention and resumption of production. Ride-hailing has become the optimal choice for most office workers. To comprehensively guarantee user travel safety as China goes back to work, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur offers infrared thermometers for cars after the implementation of “3+3” multiple disinfection procedures to perform the monitoring and precautions of coronavirus outbreak.
Artificial intelligence plays a significant part in combating coronavirus, and provides a more secure travelling environment for the general public.
After further investigation regarding infrared thermal imaging technology and the infrared temperature measurement technology, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur has independently developed an integrated hardware and software device for equipping cars with infrared thermometers.
By installing an infrared camera in the car, the temperature of drivers and passengers can be monitored. The device will periodically monitor the temperature of all the people in the car and report it to the system upon control of the driver. Then the system makes the secondary judgement based on big data and AI algorithms. For instance, if a temperature warning is generated, the system will inform the driver and operations staff via email and short messages to guide the driver to carry out the inspection and disinfection procedures.
Infrared temperature technology possesses multiple advantages. It will not destroy the temperature field of the detected object because there is no direct contact. The target temperature can be measured within several milliseconds; the temperature accuracy is high and the temperature differential can be controlled at about 0.1 degrees in comparison with actual road tests.
Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur spokesperson says “Infrared thermometers can conduct real-time intelligent temperature detection to drivers and passengers, thus better monitoring the health status of both passengers and drivers. The in-car application has been innovative in three perspectives. The first is to achieve low-cost and non-contact temperature measurement; the second is to realize high-precision and fast temperature measurement; the third is to realize the ability of automatic judgement and processing based on artificial intelligence. We believe that the application of infrared thermometers will cut off the virus outbreak transmission route via ride-hailing services, detect and handle illness cases promptly, and provide a strong safeguard for the travel safety of both passengers and drivers.“
Currently, while engaging in outbreak prevention, various regions have also introduced policies in line with local conditions to assist the resumption of work and production in enterprises. To guarantee outbreak prevention and resumption of production in hundred cities and thousand enterprises, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur has recently launched the “Work Resumption Support Month” campaign after the previous implementation of “3+3” multiple disinfection procedures, put forward the inspiring moto “Fear Not the Resumption of Work, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur is at Your Service” and has comprehensively guaranteed the safety of the general public in the resumption of work through the “Escorting Plan” and the “Exclusive Plan” to make ride-hailing commuting safer, smoother and more convenient.
In the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur takes the lead in supporting relief efforts in cities like Wuhan at this critical moment, demonstrating corporate social responsibilities as a leading ride-hailing company. However, instead of remaining satisfied, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur steps up to support outbreak prevention with artificial intelligence. It launches intelligent solutions at that critical moment to comprehensively improve the effect of outbreak prevention, safeguard the travel safety of both passengers and drivers, and build a security wall for outbreak prevention. By virtue of these positive actions, it fulfils its overall position of consciousness and spirit of dedication and sets a good example for all the industries to fully commit to the battle against the coronavirus outbreak.
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