In connected car news are Elliptic Labs, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Verizon and Lattice Semiconductor.
Elliptic Labs Partners with Infineon
Elliptic Labs, a global AI software company and virtual smart sensors world leader, announced the extension of the partnership with Infineon Technologies AG, a world leader in semiconductor solutions, adding support for Infineon’s mmWave Radar sensor to Elliptic Labs’ Virtual Smart Sensor Hub™. This collaboration delivers new capabilities such as breathing and heartbeat detection, in addition to Elliptic Labs’ already established presence and gesture detection capacities.
MMNA Partners with Nashville EC
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) announces today that it has partnered with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC) to create a first-of-its-kind Small Batch – Big Ideas Entrepreneur Network.
Led jointly by MMNA and the EC, a small cohort of entrepreneurs will convene monthly for virtual networking events, expert-led webinars and will be given direct access to MMNA executives for in-depth, one-on-one, co-learning time.
At the core of this new program is Mitsubishi’s “small batch” ideology, which speaks to its place as a small, challenger automotive brand in the U.S. market, but also the idea that small companies can punch above their weight when they think differently, act nimbly and take risks. It is this spirit that, Mitsubishi feels, aligns the company with entrepreneurs.
Applicants will be narrowed down to 10 finalists, who will then pitch for a slot in the Small Batch – Big Ideas Network during a live, online pitch competition on Oct. 23. The top five pitches will secure a slot in the Network, and a $2,000 prize will be awarded for the best overall pitch. At the end of the year-long program, Mitsubishi will conduct a second contest, this time on social media, asking its followers to select a “fan favorite” business. The winner of the second and final competition will receive a 6-month Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross loan.[1]
The EC is a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 to serve entrepreneurs through all phases of the entrepreneurial lifecycle by connecting them with critical resources to create, launch and grow businesses. Since then, the EC has served over 10,000 entrepreneurs and graduated more than 800 alumni from high-touch programs. On average, 84% of EC alumni are still in operation today, plus they have raised more than $233M in capital and generated more than $192M in revenue with successful exits well over $100M.
Volkswagen Names Taos
Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced the name for its new compact SUV the Volkswagen Taos. The Taos model was designed specifically for the North American Region and, as such, the name was chosen to resonate with American customers.
The town of Taos is home to 6,000 people, and boasts a 400-year history and a 1,000-year-old Native American community just a few miles from the center of town. It’s notable for its artist community, world-class ski resort, and stunning landscapes, including vast plains, the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and the spectacular Rio Grande Gorge.
Incidentally, Taos was also home to John Muir, an engineer turned mechanic, and author of “How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step procedures for the Compleat Idiot.” First published in 1969, and illustrated by local artist Peter Aschwanden, this counter-culture guide to Volkswagen repairs quickly developed a popular following. The book, started in Muir’s Taos shop, has helped keep countless VW models running, from Beetles and Buses to Type 3 and Type 4 models.
Verizon Connect Ranked 1
Verizon Connect has been ranked No. 1 in innovation for fleet management systems globally, according to the Commercial Telematics Vendors Competitive Ranking report from analyst firm ABI Research.
Criteria and considerations for the innovation category include: preventative maintenance, prognostics and analytics; vehicle, driver and cargo monitoring; open platforms; features; tech development; user interface (UI), and user experience (UX).
Lattice SemiNew FPGA
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation the low power programmable leader, announced new versions of its MachXO3LF™ FPGAs for flexible deployment of robust automotive control applications and MachXO3D™ FPGAs for system security that support extended temperature operating ranges for automotive and other ruggedized applications. MachXO3D FPGAs augment the popular system control capabilities of the Lattice MachXO FPGA architecture with industry-leading security features, including hardware Root-of-Trust (RoT), platform firmware resilience (PFR), and secure dual-boot support. The MachXO3D and MachXO3LF devices target control, bridging, and I/O expansion applications that must operate reliably in rugged environments, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), infotainment, motor control, 5G communications infrastructure, industrial robots and automation systems, and defense systems.
Emerging trends like electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving, ADAS, and infotainment are increasing OEMs’ reliance on electronic components in automotive systems. Deloitte projected that by 2030, 45 percent of the cost of a new car will come from electronic systems1. As more sensors and electric motors are incorporated into cars, systems become exposed to risk of malicious hacks. OEMs must be able to immediately detect vulnerabilities and combat cyberattacks, and they need electronic systems capable of reliable and secure operation in rugged environments.
According to McKinsey & Company, systems in autonomous vehicles “have to be able to withstand rugged environments that involve variations in weather, vibration, and connectivity.”2 The MachXO3D family of FPGAs builds on the MachXO3LF family of devices by adding a hardware security engine to help protect, detect, and recover the device from unauthorized attempts to access its firmware.