Cenntro Last-Mile Delivery CityPorter
CES 2021 — Cenntro Automotive Group (Cenntro) unveiled its plans to expand its product portfolio with a purpose-built, all-electric Class 4 vehicle to serve the last-mile urban delivery market.
The vehicle, called the CityPorter, offers a unique solution to fleets and logistics customers, offering a range of up to 220 miles on a single charge, a payload of 5,700 pounds, and a top speed of 60 mph.
The CityPorter was purpose-built to support last-mile delivery needs with its generous payload and 636 square feet of cargo capacity. Cenntro anticipates showcasing the CityPorter to US fleets in the second half of 2021 and is currently looking at opportunities to engage in demo programs for US and EU fleets.
The CityPorter will be equipped with Cenntro’s state-of-the-art telematics. Cenntro’s Smart platform drives powerful two-way data exchange and offers fleet management advanced integration with other business applications optimizing route planning, reducing downtime, and delivering true big data management.
To support the launch of the CityPorter, Cenntro plans to expand its infrastructure in both the US and Europe and intends to work directly with fleets and sustain its operations with a complementary network of truck dealers and distributors.
In line with the announcement, Cenntro’s stated its plans to re-establish Manufacturing sites in the US and Europe in late 2021. Also, Cenntro will open an Engineering and Innovation Center in New Jersey in the second quarter of 2021.
Mando’s Freedom in Mobility
Mando unveiled its new vision based on safety and freedom, the “Freedom in Mobility”, at CES 2021.
Mando explains the details of “Freedom” they define, especially in terms of freedom in mobility such as “Space Freedom”, “Smart Delivery”, etc. Also, a future automotive solution, where a vehicle seamlessly communicates with a driver via an integrated module of “x-by-Wire” technology including Mando’s BbW (Brake-by-Wire) and SbW (Steer-by-Wire) all connected by the electric hyper-connectivity, will be introduced. The Smart Personal Mobility Module (SPM Module) connects people with micro-mobility. The SPM Module, as the world’s first chainless pedal-assisted system, provides the freedom to the design of micro mobility.
The autonomous driving technology of Mando has its priority on the safety of drivers. Mando, which develops / manufactures from detection sensor (camera, radar, etc.) to main controller (DCU: Domain control Unit) and control software, introduces the dual safety (redundant) control technology based on the “High Performance DCU” at this CES. This dual safety device is also applied to the brake and steering (driving system) component.
Opticiser Optimizes Advanced Options
With the number of traffic accidents rising each year, enhanced vehicle safety features are more important than ever. Studies have linked a large percentage of traffic accidents to reduced driver attention due to smartphone use. Opticser is incorporating advanced optics solutions to improve driver safety on the road. As an emerging company focused on the development of advanced optics technology, Opticser is confident that its products will not only impact vehicle drivers but also help increase general productivity and quality of life through other applications. Their unique innovation has earned Opticser a coveted spot in Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA)’s 100 featured Taiwanese startups showcased at CES 2021.
Lockists Locks Scooters for Sharing
“Lockists allows every registered scooter to be shared automatically,” said Charlie Lin, Founder of Lockists. Lin predicts that recent EV scooter sharing trends in Taiwan will benefit Lockists Co., Ltd., as more and more people accept the idea of riding a scooter without buying one.
Lockists Balancer is the name of the Lockists scooter sharing platform operation team.
Making idle scooters earn money
The Lockist scooter sharing platform is the company’s first-star service. Lockists smart lock is controlled by the Lockists app, allowing members to share idle time information with others when their scooters are not in use. Customized scooter keys can be “kept”, “identified”, and “stored” in the smart lock. Keys may be “Passed” without invasive modification 24/7.
Scooter owners put the customized scooter key in the smart lock to lock on the back wheel, and can flexibly set both the “sharing price” and “retrieving time” for their scooter, thereby greatly activating the huge idle resources of scooters worldwide.
Before the designated retrieving time, scooters are guided by the system’s “dynamic return range”, and a professional logistics team is dispatched to return the scooter to its original uploaded location.
Lin said they are recruiting 1,400 scooters for sharing in Taiwan for the pilot round to allow members to become familiar with the service. Locklist said that each member will be allowed to book up to 100 units during the initial pilot run.
Lockists has already enlisted partners in strategic locations on Zhongshan Road in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District, on Yanwan Road in Taitung City, on Zhongshan Road in Pingtung County’s Chaozhou Township, in Kaohsiung City, and on Xinzhan Road in Taitung City.
Lin said their smart lock was designed by an experienced lecturer at Tainan University of the Arts and that the core technology NB-IOT SIM card is being provided by FarEast Telecom.
In terms of service software, Lin noted that his company’s team has consulted with a number of software engineers from National Tsing Hua University, the Information Technology Council, and Tamkang University.
They have also consulted with CPAs and legal advisers for accounting and taxation, membership terms, privacy regulations, and other financial and legal aspects of the business.
StradVision AI ADAS Works with D3 Engineering
StradVision, a leading innovator in AI-based camera perception software for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicles (AV), tannounced its collaboration with D3 Engineering on an Automotive Front Camera solution delivering market-leading performance and price efficiency.
The solution integrates a D3 DesignCore® platform for product development with StradVision’s deep learning based front camera software ‘SVNet’. In this collaboration, StradVision provides 6 key perception features of SVNet including Lane Detection, Traffic Sign Detection, Traffic Light Detection, Vehicle Detection, Pedestrian Detection, and Free Space Detection to this virtual demo platform. The collaboration was demoed at CES 2021.
Archer Flys Away with FCA (Stellantis)
Archer and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement to enable Archer to benefit from access to FCA’s low-cost supply chain, advanced composite material capabilities, and engineering and design experience.
California-based Archer is creating the world’s first all-electric airline that moves people throughout the world’s cities in a quick, safe, sustainable and cost-effective manner. The new partnership will help accelerate Archer’s timeline in becoming an industry leader with the resources and capabilities to capitalize on the new era of sustainable air mobility, a market that Morgan Stanley estimates will be $1.5 trillion by 2040.
Archer will manufacture high-volume, composite, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the intent of starting production in 2023. FCA, the parent company of established automobile brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep® and Ram, has already collaborated on cockpit design elements of Archer’s first aircraft, which is expected to be unveiled in early 2021. The 100% electric aircraft will be capable of traveling distances of up to 60 miles at 150 mph. Through this announced collaboration, the companies will work together to significantly decrease the cost of production, enabling Archer to bring affordably priced service to customers via its ultra-quiet, high-performance eVTOL aircraft.
DriveU.auto Wins
DriveU.auto announced that it has been named a CES® 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Vehicle Intelligence & Transportation category. The award is for its Autonomous Vehicle Teleoperation Connectivity Platform. The CES 2021 Innovation Awards are part of the first-ever, all-digital CES 2021.
AImotive Stacks up the Sony’s VISION-S Prototype
AImotive, the most funded automated driving technology company in Europe, announced it is working with Sony Corporation (“Sony”) to advance its automated driving software stack with Sony’s VISION-S Prototype. According to Sony, the VISION-S – announced at CES 2020 – is conceived to re-imagine mobility as we know it, by integrating advanced ADAS and automated driving systems with the latest electric vehicle technology and an innovative entertainment system.
Sony disclosed an update of the VISION-S concept on January 11 at the all-digital CES 2021, highlighting that prototypes are already being tested on public roads. AImotive and Sony are working together to ensure that AImotive’s suite of technologies provides targeted L2+ ADAS capabilities to ensure high safety standards.
“AImotive brings excitement to the automated driving industry, creating scalable and reliable automated systems. Working with them to further develop technology for the VISION-S concept is a decision that we believe will contribute to the future of mobility.” says Izumi Kawanishi, Senior Vice President of Sony Corporation in charge of AI Robotics Business.
Thundercomm Strikes Edge AI Box Lightning.
Thundercomm, a world-leading IoT product and solution provider, today introduces its unparalleled Edge AI Box–EB5 and E-cockpit Solution 4.5 at CES 2021.
With the soaring number of connected devices, the need for real-time data processing and transmission among devices and clouds is surging. EB5 is created to meet this demand through empowering data processing capabilities at the device side so as to ease the burden posed on the cloud side, which will enable the data transmission between clouds and devices more efficient and cost-effective. EB5, the first edge computing box that can support both Linux and Android operating system as well as 5G connection, is based on powerful Qualcomm IoT System-on-Chip (SoC) and can deliver 15 TOPS AI performance as well as up to 24 channels FHD video processing capability. It also integrates multiple IoT communication protocols such as Modbus, BACnet, CAN, MQTT, zigbee and supports mainstream cloud platforms including AWS, Microsoft Azure. Its high-standard quality together with the outstanding fanless design as well as plentiful interfaces make EB5 fit well in complex environments like building, healthcare, retail, factory and traffic, etc.
E-cockpit Solution 4.5 leading the new trend of smart vehicle
With the advent of the software-defined automobile era, the intelligent cockpit that has been gradually evolving into the brain of the vehicle and the pivot of HMI, is playing an increasingly important role. E-cockpit Solution 4.5 is built on the 3rd Generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive Digital Cockpit Platform, and features a Software Platform of QNX Hypervisor 2.1, running QNX 7.0 and Android P Operating System. It is a fusion cockpit platform based on SOA, which enables developers to complete the development, changes or upgrade of services more efficiently. It also contains intelligent engine solution and AI assistant solution that can cater to the individual demands from different customers. What’s more, E-cockpit solution 4.5 supports autonomous driving functions, such as autonomous parking, through reusing the computing power of the chip built in the cockpit.
More superb products and solutions from AIoT and smart auto fields, such as C610 Open Kit for smart camera, smart wearable solutions, the industry-leading HMI tools in auto productions–Kanzi and so on are also among the displayed line-up.
MORAI AV Simulations
MORAI’s autonomous vehicle (AV) simulation solution, by recreating roads, sensors, and even vehicles within a virtual 3D simulation environment, allows users to freely test how their algorithms and software will react to difficult or dangerous scenarios without risk to drivers or other vehicles. Simulation also grants full control of the scene to the test operator, enabling tests for drastic, diverse weather conditions and edge cases not commonly seen while driving.
One of the features to be highlighted at CES 2021 is data-based scenario creation, where pre-recorded traffic data for a specific region can be used to recreate a test scenario identical to the recorded data. Instead of relying on the user to create test cases manually, real-world data can be used directly to enhance scenario realism and accuracy.
Real-world data is also key to building MORAI’s simulation environments, which are digital twins of specific regions of interest, based on a combination of detailed geospatial map data and satellite imagery. Simulation environments can range from single city blocks or small highway segments to entire city districts.
MORAI’s continued development of its core technologies and AV simulator helped the company raise around $2 million in Series A funding last November. Now, MORAI plans to grow its network of over 50 different partners and clients internationally.