Connected Car News: YourMechanic, AISIN Group, CCC, Verne Global, OmniVision, Valens & MIPI Alliance

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In connected car news are AISIN Group, CCC, Verne Global, OmniVision, Valens ,MIPI Allaince, YourMechanic and BluJay.

AISIN Group Goes Quantum

AISIN Group is taking digital transformation by the horns. The automotive technology giant and QC Ware today announced a research collaboration exploring the impact of quantum optimization and quantum machine learning algorithms on automotive applications. The collaboration utilized commercially available quantum computers from D-Wave Systems and Rigetti Computing.

CCC Intros Total Loss Care

CCC Information Services Inc. (CCC) announced  the availability of CCC® Total Loss Care (Total Loss Care), a comprehensive digital solution that simplifies and improves the total loss resolution process and policyholder experience. Total Loss Care uses a range of technologies to digitize processes, connect disparate parties, and inform decisions throughout the total loss process. Namely, the solution automates the cumbersome tasks of obtaining lien information and processing title documents, and gives insurers the industry’s first mobile app, offering policyholders a digital guide through their total loss journey. Leveraging CCC’s single platform, the solution offers insurers and auto lenders a digital, secure way to communicate and exchange information, further speeding lien payoff requests and letters of guarantee. CCC Total Loss Care is part of CCC’s suite of digital claims solutions that extend from pre-inspection to incident to assignment to salvage providers.

OmniVision Intros Two New Cameras

OmniVision Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions,  announced the OVM9284 CameraCubeChip™ module—the world’s first automotive-grade, wafer-level camera. This 1 megapixel (MP) module has a compact size of 6.5 x 6.5 mm to provide driver monitoring system (DMS) designers with maximum flexibility on placement within the cabin while remaining hidden from view. Additionally, it has the lowest power consumption among automotive camera modules—over 50% lower than the nearest competitor—which enables it to run continuously in the tightest of spaces and at the lowest possible temperatures for maximum image quality.

The OVM9284 is built on OmniVision’s OmniPixel®3-GS global-shutter pixel architecture, which provides best-in-class quantum efficiency at the 940 nm wavelength for the highest quality driver images in near or total darkness. The integrated OmniVision image sensor has a 3 micron pixel and a 1/4″ optical format, along with 1280 x 800 resolution.

OmniVision Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, also announced the OX03C10 ASIL-C automotive image sensor—the world’s first for viewing applications that combines a large 3.0 micron pixel size with a high dynamic range (HDR) of 140dB and the best LED flicker mitigation (LFM) performance for viewing applications with minimized motion artifacts. This is also the first viewing image sensor with HDR and LFM that can deliver 1920x1280p resolution at the highest rate of 60 frames per second (fps), enabling greater design flexibility and faster camera-view switching for drivers. Additionally, the OX03C10 has the lowest power consumption of any LFM image sensor with 2.5MP resolution—25% lower than the nearest competitor—along with the industry’s smallest package size, enabling the placement of cameras that continuously run at 60 fps in even the tightest spaces for stringent styling requirements.

Basic image processing capabilities were also integrated into this sensor, including defect pixel correction and lens correction. Furthermore, the integration of OmniVision’s industry-leading HALE (HDR and LFM engine) combination algorithm uniquely provides top HDR and LFM performance simultaneously. With such industry-leading features, the OX03C10 provides the best image quality for automotive viewing applications, including rearview cameras (RVC), surround view systems (SVS), camera monitoring systems (CMS) and e-mirrors.

Verne Global Gets More Funding

Verne Global, a provider of advanced data center solutions for high performance computing (HPC), today announced a new round of funding of $27M to expand its Icelandic data center campus. All current investors – the Wellcome Trust, Novator Partners, Stefnir and General Catalyst – participated in the round.

The funding expands the enterprise capacity of Verne Global’s high performance computing solutions. Customers across financial services, engineering, scientific research and other industries are turning to Verne Global for their power intensive HPC workloads and extreme algorithmic AI compute needs.

“We are excited about this expansion as it is driven by strong demand from both existing and potential customers for high performance computing solutions. Our customers grow their compute requirements with us because they are able to operate more effectively with us than anywhere else.” said Dominic Ward, Chief Executive Officer for Verne Global. “In addition, the HPC expertise we’ve been able to cultivate allows us to provide an exceptional level of customer service for the unique characteristics and requirements of HPC projects.”

Recently completed customers satisfaction surveys show Verne Global with a 98% customer satisfaction rating and a Net Promoter score of 88. These numbers validate Verne Global’s world-class technical and operations team which goes to great lengths to provide bespoke support for each customer’s individual HPC hardware and applications needs. The amount of compute required in the latest generation of HPC is orders of magnitude greater than previous generations. This requires a specialised level of expertise in order to fully optimise these environments and workloads.

MIPI Alliance Announces MIPI A-PHY V1.0

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, announced that development has been completed on MIPI A-PHY v1.0, a long-reach serializer-deserializer (SerDes) physical layer interface for automotive applications. The specification is undergoing member review, with official adoption expected within the next 90 days.

A-PHY will provide a physical layer for data transfers spanning an entire vehicle. As the first standard of its kind, it will help the automotive industry accelerate the availability of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS) and other surround-sensor applications, including cameras and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) displays.

MIPI A-PHY serves as the foundation of what will be an end-to-end system designed to simplify the integration of cameras, sensors and displays, while also incorporating functional safety and security. Higher-layer MIPI protocols, such as Camera Serial Interface (MIPI CSI-2) and Display Serial Interface (MIPI DSI-2), are already used to connect sensors and displays to domain ECUs and other onboard computers in many vehicles. They currently are transported over MIPI C-PHY or D-PHY shorter-reach physical layers and use “bridge” solutions to connect to proprietary long-reach PHYs. With the use of upcoming adaptation layers, these higher-layer protocols will run natively over A-PHY, eliminating the need for these proprietary bridges.

“A-PHY is a major milestone in the industry. MIPI is leading the charge to provide new interconnects that will help make cars safer and smarter for their operators,” said Joel Huloux, chairman of MIPI Alliance. “By offering a long-reach automotive wired connectivity solution, MIPI is building on its successful track record in the mobile industry, including its camera and display interface specifications, which are already prevalent in cars today.”

A-PHY is being developed as an asymmetric data link in a point-to-point topology, with high-speed unidirectional data, embedded bidirectional control data and optional power delivery, all over a single cable. Version 1.0 offers several core benefits:

  • Simpler system integration and lower cost: native support for devices using MIPI CSI-2 and DSI-2, ultimately eliminating the need for bridge ICs
  • Long reach: up to 15 meters
  • High performance: 5 speed gears (2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 Gbps), with a roadmap to 48 Gbps and beyond
  • High reliability: ultra-low 1E-18 packet error rate for unprecedented performance over the lifetime of a vehicle
  • High resilience: ultra-high immunity to EMC effects by virtue of a unique PHY-layer retransmission system

MIPI A-PHY will allow designers to optimize systems for the performance, cost and complexity required by their use cases, providing scalability and flexibility to meet a broad range of speed and design needs. For integration with existing network backbones, A-PHY complements Ethernet, CAN, FlexRay and other interfaces.

The specification will allow OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and component makers to gradually replace proprietary physical layers between onboard computers and the growing array of sensors, cameras and displays in vehicles. Having a standard long-reach PHY will improve economies of scale, simplify in-car networks, cut costs, and save space, weight and energy consumption.

In addition, MIPI Alliance will work with other organizations to leverage native protocols through a generic data link layer included with A-PHY. As one such effort, MIPI has extended its liaison with VESA and is actively developing an A-PHY adaptation layer for use with its DisplayPort and Embedded DisplayPort standards.

“The automotive market is an anticipated area of growth for VESA’s DisplayPort and Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) standards,” said Craig Wiley, senior director of marketing for Parade Technologies, VESA board member and a member of the MIPI Display Working Group. “VESA’s collaboration with the MIPI Alliance has been encouraged by the automotive industry to ensure a wide range of interface types and product compatibility across A-PHY. The support for DisplayPort and eDP in particular applies to the use of larger size panels, such as those we are seeing in automotive infotainment and center-console applications.”

Valens Intros Chipsets with MIPI Standards

Valens, the leader in high-speed in-vehicle connectivity,  announced the VA7000 family of automotive chipsets, which will deliver ultra-high-speed connectivity with the most resilient physical layer (PHY) for error-free links and high EMI immunity.

The VA7000 chipsets will be the first in the industry to implement the MIPI A-PHY SM standard for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems (ADS). MIPI A-PHY, now in its final approval phase, specifies in-vehicle high-speed data transmission over lightweight wiring harnesses for up to 15 meters, with adaptive noise cancellation and retransmission mechanisms to guarantee superior EMC/EMI performance. The MIPI Alliance is a leading standards development organization for interface specifications; its ubiquitous CSI-2 & MIPI DSI-2SM camera and display interfaces are widely implemented for sensor connectivity.

The VA7000 family has been designed to support the current and future gears of MIPI A-PHY – from 2Gbpps to 16Gbps as defined in version 1.0, and with a roadmap to 48Gbps and beyond as expected in future versions. The first chipsets in the family include:

  • The VA7031 Serializer designed to support remote long-reach connectivity of CSI-2-based image sensors, radars, LiDARs, with link speeds of up to 8Gbps
  • The VA7042 Deserializer, featuring two independent receiver links, with speeds of up to 8Gbps each, with an additional local CSI-2 local input port to support more complex topologies when necessary
  • The VA7044 Deserializer, featuring four independent receiver links, with speeds of up to 8Gbps each, with an additional local CSI-2 local input port

The VA7000 family is a hardware-based solution optimized for asymmetric links with no software stack. It guarantees a high-performing, simplified architecture, leading to a reduction in wire harness complexity and lower total system costs. It also enables the convergence of additional protocols (I2C, GPIOs, clock and frame sync), while guaranteeing near-zero latency to support time-sensitive, high-throughput traffic for advanced computer processing.

“The VA7000 family is the first to implement the MIPI A-PHY specification, confirming Valens’ commitment to driving industry standards with innovative connectivity solutions,” said Daniel Adler, Vice President, Automotive Business Unit, at Valens. “MIPI A-PHY delivers an interoperable ecosystem, bringing considerable benefits to both OEMs and Tier-1s, such as reducing complexity and lowering total system costs, without compromising performance.”

“The development of a standard-compliant chipset to support the need for resilient, higher bandwidth in-vehicle connectivity is a major advancement in the automotive field,” said Ian Riches, Vice President for the Global Automotive Practice, Strategy Analytics. “Valens’ ability to deliver such speeds over long-reach wiring harness can considerably simplify in-vehicle architecture, while ensuring superior performance and safety.”

MIPI will be hosting a webinar, “MIPI A-PHY: The Cornerstone of a MIPI Automotive System Solution,” co-presented by Edo Cohen, director of strategic innovation at Valens and MIPI A-PHY Subgroup vice lead. The webinar will take place on June 30 at 8 am PDT, and on July 1 at 15:00 JST. To learn more and to register visit: https://bit.ly/3dswxcK.

-ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, introduces new position sensors that lower system cost and enhance electrification of safety-critical vehicle functions such as power steering, active damper control, and braking for safer, smarter, and greener cars.

The two new position sensors bring new benefits and a lower system cost to the automotive industry. The ams AS5147U is an intelligent magnetic rotary position sensor chip for use in electric motors that run at speeds up to 28,000rpm. The new AS5247U is a dual stacked-die version, which provides the redundancy required for the most demanding ASIL D-rated functional safety applications.

These new products respond to the automotive industry’s efforts to build safer, smarter, greener vehicles:

  • Enable more efficient operation of high-speed motors. The sensors incorporate new DFS™ (Dynamic Filter System) technology for more accurate, low-noise position measurements at rotation speed. The DAEC™ (Dynamic Angle Error Correction) technology in the sensors enables almost zero latency at high speed, for ultra-accurate, real-time angle measurement. This combination is unique to ams.
  • Embed a comprehensive set of self-diagnostic features to support automotive manufacturers’ programs for complying with the strict specifications of the ISO 26262 functional safety standard. The new AS5x47U sensors also implement cyclic redundancy check (CRC) protection on communications with external devices.
  • Lower the cost of implementing motor control – all ams position sensors are inherently immune to interference from stray magnetic fields thanks to their patented differential sensing architecture. With ever more components radiating magnetism, the sensor requires no shielding to protect it from external magnetic fields induced by charging stations, motors, solenoids, high-voltage cabling, and other sources.
  • Enable smaller, more reliable motor systems reducing cost of materials and of production.
  • Enhance the ams position sensors’ Digital Signal Processor (DSP) core which performs measurement processing inside the chip. Measurement outputs in standard UVW, ABI and PWM formats are easy for automotive designers to implement in new, smarter vehicle control systems.

LeasePlan Partners with YourMechanic

LeasePlan USA, a global leader in fleet management and driver mobility services, today launched a partnership with leading automotive mobile maintenance and repair services provider, YourMechanic. In alliance with YourMechanic’s network of over 700 certified technicians across over 2,500 cities nationwide, LeasePlan now provides contact-free vehicle maintenance services for cars and light-duty vehicles.

In adding a mobile option to their maintenance and repair management offering, LeasePlan provides customers the opportunity to schedule contact-free service on-site at the driver’s home or office location. Using LeasePlan’s new solution, powered by YourMechanic, customers can tap into more than 600 automotive repair services for a safe and convenient experience.

“At LeasePlan, we’re constantly looking for ways to transform our business to better meet the demands of our customers,” said Felipe Smolka, EVP Transformation, LeasePlan USA. “We’ve been working on a partnership with the team at YourMechanic for some time now. Given the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the timing was right to implement this contact-free solution for our customers.”

“Our partnership with LeasePlan allows us to bring seamless auto care directly to thousands of drivers’ doorsteps nationwide and move toward our goal of powering the entire mobility landscape,” said Anthony Rodio, President & CEO, YourMechanic.

YourMechanic works with a wide network of background checked and certified vehicle technicians, who average more than 15 years of industry experience. All services performed on YourMechanic’s platform are backed by a 12-month or 12,000-mile guarantee, and a $1 million liability policy.

Renault Tests Kardome Sound

Kardome  announced an agreement with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s Innovation Lab in Tel Aviv to evaluate Kardome’s smart audio solution towards entering the voice enabled era in automotive.

Remember how many times you have been frustrated by trying to dictate an address to your car navigation system or having a hands-free phone conversation while your kids are chatting at back seat or while the radio is on. Kardome along with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s technical team in Tel Aviv are leveraging Kardome’s generic speech separation and noise reduction technology to solve exactly those challenges.

The developed system will utilize a single minimized array of microphones and Karmode’s location based, patented source separation algorithms to facilitate a seamless voice interaction between all the passengers and the car, as well as offer a high-quality hands-free phone conversation in a typical, noisy car environment.

According to the Alliance Innovation Lab’s Tel Aviv Director, Antoine Basseville: “The state-of-the-art beamforming solutions, that estimate signal’s direction, require multiple units to be installed to capture high quality sound of the front and rear passengers. With Kardome, we hope that a single unit would provide better performance.”

The project is twelve months long collaboration supported by the Israeli Innovation Authority, as part of the innovation labs program which is operated by the Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv.

BluJay Intros Transport Monitoring with Llamasoft

BluJay Solutions, a leading provider of supply chain software and services, announces the launch of its Transportation Modeling application, built in collaboration with LLamasoft, the leading provider of AI-powered supply chain analytics software. The application equips shippers with analytics to evaluate multiple scenarios and tradeoffs of making changes to operational policy and their potential to improve service and reduce costs. BluJay’s Transportation Modeling uses data generated through the network and applications within the larger BluJay ecosystem.

BluJay’s Transportation Modeling application leverages LLamasoft’s llama.ai platform. The platform utilizes data gathered from multiple sources to create an authentic digital twin of a supply chain to analyze current operations and uncover new operational options or areas of inefficiency or risk. BluJay’s Transportation Modeling solution uses historical shipper data to model various scenarios to determine the best policies, and the Transportation Management application is then configured to execute these policies.

The new application features five pre-configured scenarios, providing users the ability to immediately begin leveraging cost, weight, stop, utilization, and distance metrics. Additionally, users have the ability to customize and create additional transportation modeling scenarios. BluJay’s Transportation Modeling application also includes the capability to conduct what-if scenarios to predict the potential impact of changes in procedures.

BluJay began developing the application after recognizing shippers using its Transportation Management system needed the ability to quickly and easily evaluate the efficiency of their transportation planning policies. This new offering meets that need by quantifying cost-saving opportunities, by considering shipment consolidation to determine the optimal load, mode shift (truckload versus intermodal), and date flexibility on both the pick or drop and equipment shift. BluJay’s Transportation Modeling application will eventually grow to include new output scenarios which may incorporate distribution center location placement, where to locate suppliers, and fleet utilization.

Key application features include:

  • Visualization of transportation network via a mapping interface
  • Visual comparison of scenario results across cost, stops, utilization, and distance
  • Ability to filter data set for different scenarios
  • Configuration of ability to create maximum TL capacity parameters
  • Data export from an application to excel for all relevant data tables
  • Access to scenarios across users within a company