In connected car news are Stellantis, Aptiv, Velocity Motor Cars, Karma Automotive, Shyft Group, EVgo, BMW, Ambarella, Proterra, TLMODA and Brigrade Electronics.
Stellantis Deal Finalized
Stellantis N.V. announced that, following completion of the merger of Peugeot S.A. (“Groupe PSA”) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (“FCA”) on January 16, 2021. The combined company was renamed Stellantis, the Board of Directors of Stellantis was appointed, and Stellantis’s Articles of Association became effective.
Karma Adds Velocity in Nashville
Karma Automotive announced the opening of its latest addition to its dealer network: Velocity Motorcars in Nashville, Tennessee.
Velocity Motorcars serves the greater Nashville metropolitan area, and its opening supports Karma’s continuing expansion of its dealer network into new and emerging markets.
Shyft Group Hiring
The Shyft Group (Nasdaq: SHYF) (“Shyft” or the “Company”), North America’s leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for ecommerce-driven parcel delivery, as well as the broader commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets, seeks to hire new manufacturing employees at its Charlotte, Michigan, campus in the coming months as the company continues to receive new vehicle orders and ramps towards production of its all new Velocity F2 walk-in van, which is set to begin delivering to customers in March. Demand for Shyft’s proprietary parcel fleet designs continues to grow based on expanding e-commerce, last mile home delivery.
EVgo Powers BMW Charging
EVgo, the nation’s largest fast-charging network for electric vehicles (EVs), announced the launch of BMW Charging Powered by EVgo, a program to bring current and future BMW drivers onto the EVgo network. BMW EV drivers will be able to access public charging through one simple interface, and BMW will provide a $100 EVgo charging credit for new owners/lessees of their all-electric/battery electric vehicle (BEV) models. Together, this program will enable BMW EV drivers to access all the benefits of EVgo’s industry-leading network, with its proven reliability, wide geographic reach and 24/7 customer service.
Powered by 100% renewable energy, BMW BEV drivers will enjoy a high performance and zero emission driving experience, as well as the convenience of charging at more than 800 fast charging sites at retail and grocery stores, shopping malls, entertainment centers and other sites ideal for quick, 20-30 minute errands. Plus, for plug-in-hybrid vehicle (PHEV) and BEV drivers who will be parked for a few hours, EVgo and expanded partner networks will provide access to more than 35,000 L2 chargers, expanding the variety of charging options.
Seeing Machines & OmniVision
Seeing Machines, the advanced computer vision technology company that designs AI-powered operator monitoring systems to improve transport safety, has advanced its previously announced Memorandum of Understanding to an executed License Agreement to license the Company’s Occula® Neural Processing Unit (“Occula®“) to OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (“OmniVision“), a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions.
Ambarella Debutes CV5
Ambarella, Inc. an AI vision silicon company, today unveiled CV5, an artificial intelligence (AI) vision processor capable of recording 8K video or four 4K video streams. The new system on chip (SoC) will enable the development of intelligent automotive camera systems, consumer cameras (drone, action, and 360°), and robotic cameras. It combines Ambarella’s powerful CVflow AI engine with dual Arm® A76 CPUs to provide the performance necessary for a wide range of AI-based algorithms. Its advanced image signal processor (ISP) can simultaneously process images for both human viewing and machine processing. Fabricated in advanced 5 nm process technology, CV5 consumes under 2 watts of power while encoding full 8K video at 30 frames per second.
In automotive video telematics applications, CV5 provides the performance necessary to encode multiple video streams from front ADAS, driver monitoring, cabin monitoring, and side-view cameras. Its CVflow AI engine can simultaneously run advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) algorithms such as lane departure, and forward collision warning as well as driver monitoring algorithms such as drowsy driver detection. The combination of high-resolution video capture with advanced AI processing enables ADAS cameras to recognize images over long distances and with high accuracy.
The exceptionally low power consumption of the CV5 SoC also makes it an ideal solution for the next generation of high resolution and high frame-rate action, 360°, and virtual reality (VR) cameras, offering 8K recording and playback in very small form factor designs.
Proterra Goes Public
Proterra Inc (the “Company”), a leading innovator in commercial vehicle electrification technology, announced that it will become publicly listed through a transaction with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. (Nasdaq: ACTCU, ACTC and ACTW) (“ArcLight”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, Proterra’s common stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PTRA. The transaction represents an enterprise value of $1.6 billion for Proterra.
TLMODA Fills Pantries
The Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TLMODA) is once again working with The Salvation Army to address the increasing food shortage across the country by filling the pantries of families in need during the coronavirus pandemic. On Jan. 15, 2021, TLMODA Dealers and The Salvation Army will distribute more than 1,400 food boxes at participating dealerships in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Washington and Texas.
Brigade Sets New Alarm
— Market-leading provider of vehicle safety systems Brigade Electronics has launched a new indicator warning alarm to alert vulnerable road users when a vehicle is turning.
The bbs-TI, which is installed on the nearside of the vehicle, will synchronize an audible warning alarm with the indicator lights when activated, alerting vulnerable road users to a vehicle’s intention to turn.
The new vehicle safety system will harness Brigade’s existing White Sound® broadband technology, which will enable vulnerable road users to instantly locate which direction the sound is coming from. Gentler on the ear compared to traditional tonal alarms, White Sound® dissipates quickly and can only be heard in the danger zone, helping to reduce unnecessary noise disturbances.
Lear Group & Xevo Partners with Grubhub
Lear Corporation a global automotive technology leader in Seating and E-Systems, announced that its Xevo software business has partnered with Grubhub, a leading food-ordering and delivery marketplace, to deliver safer, contactless food ordering capabilities in FCA vehicles via an app on the Uconnect Market connected services platform. FCA vehicles are the first to feature the Grubhub app as part of their connected services offerings, allowing consumers to quickly and easily reorder past favorites while on the go. Grubhub boasts the largest and most comprehensive network of restaurant partners, featuring more than 300,000 restaurants in 4,000 U.S. cities. Uconnect Market, developed in partnership with Xevo, enables consumer interactions with popular brands and services through embedded ordering and transaction capabilities via the in-vehicle touchscreen.
Aptiv Smart Vehichle Architecture
Aptiv PLC a global technology company enabling the future of mobility, today announced zone controllers that distribute high-speed data and power between sensors and peripherals, while separating input / output (I/O) from compute in the vehicle.
As part of Smart Vehicle Architecture, Aptiv’s approach to enabling the software-defined vehicle, the zone controllers allow OEMs to break apart the vehicle’s physical complexity into more manageable zones and further drive up-integration of distributed ECUs, reducing the weight and lowering total system costs in the vehicle.
As a high-speed data and power hub, Aptiv zone controllers simplify complexity by separating I/O from compute, while supporting standardized interfaces and enabling “plug and play” devices. For example, instead of connecting directly to a dedicated ECU, devices connect to an Aptiv zone controller, which then connects to a domain controller over a single common interface. This reduces complexity and improves scalability by allowing domain controllers to focus on higher-level software while maintaining a separate development cycle from the I/O. It also simplifies wiring harnesses to allow more automated assembly and reduces costs.
Aptiv’s deep expertise in advanced vehicle software and hardware architecture, including the insights from over a decade of automated driving experience, informed the development of Aptiv’s zone controllers. This has resulted in several key benefits for next-generation vehicles:
- Reduced Complexity: Breaking apart the physical complexity of the vehicle simplifies manufacturing while enabling automation to ensure quality and lower cost, while up-integration of distributed ECUs provides compute functionality inside the zones that can be used for feature consolidation.
- Intelligent Power Management: The zone controllers manage power distribution throughout a vehicle centrally. In the past, wires needed to allow enough tolerance for peak load without having a melting fuse blow. With the benefits of smart fusing, wires can be specified to the physical limit of the load over a specified period of time. This also allows Aptiv’s zone controllers to be flexibly located, which simplifies packaging and reduces cost.
- Predictive Maintenance: Aptiv’s software can detect when wires attached to the zone controller are close to failing and pass that information back to predictive maintenance systems, helping drivers and fleet operators address potential problems before they affect vehicle operation.
myQ Connects Garages for MMNA
Chamberlain Group and Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. announced myQ® Connected Garage is now part of the My Mitsubishi Connect platform of innovative services. myQ, a dynamic technology platform developed by Chamberlain Group that enables seamless smart access control, provides automakers like Mitsubishi Motors with the ability to integrate Smart Vehicle Access within their own connected service platform so drivers can safely open and close their garage door through convenient in-dash touchscreen control.