In connected car news are SAE, Mitchell, Tektronix, Hebliz, Valeo, GKN, Volta Trucks, Meritor, TSMC, Faurecia, Immersion, Sensata, Hyrecar and Valero.
Hemphill SAE President
Schaeffler Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Jeff Hemphill is the new president of SAE International for 2021. Hemphill, whose one-year term officially began on January 20, was elected by the SAE International general membership.
Meet MD-TS21
Mitchell, a leading provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty (P&C) claims and Collision Repair industries, and Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, a leading global supplier of technology and services, announced the availability of the MD-TS21. The new computer-based target system is designed to allow repair facilities to quickly and precisely calibrate front-facing cameras, blind-spot monitors and radar sensors in popular automobile models with ADAS.
Tektronix’ TekExpress
Tektronix, Inc. announced the launch of its TekExpress™ Multi-Gigabit Automotive Ethernet Compliance Test Solution as the first-in-market solution to meet the requirements of complex automotive designs. As newer automotive technologies such as autonomous driving, 5G and connected car solutions develop, the paths carrying the vast amount of data necessary to support those technologies must be tested to ensure reliable transfers between a vehicle’s electronic sub-systems. As an automated compliance test application, the Tektronix TekExpress Multi-Gigabit Automotive Ethernet Compliance Test Solution allows for quick, accurate and reliable validation and debugging for multi-gigabit Ethernet chipsets and electronic control units (ECUs) to meet Physical Media Attachment (PMA) transmitter measurement requirements for up to 10 Gb/s. The fully automated compliance test solution is fitting with the current version of the IEEE 802.3ch MultiGBASE-T1 specification.
Helbiz Blitzes VA with Scooters
Helbiz, a global leader in micro-mobility, has launched a fleet of safe and innovative e-scooters in Richmond, Virginia, after having been awarded a one-year permit by the Richmond Department of Transportation. Scooters will be available on the ground today, with a total fleet of 500 devices rolled out in the coming months. The company already operates fleets of e-scooters and e-bicycles in the Virginia cities of Alexandria and Arlington in addition to Washington, D.C.
The company plans to launch community initiatives to engage with locals including the Helbiz Apprenticeship Program, which provides career pathway opportunities in the high-demand mobility industry, and the Helbiz Access Program, which offers discounts on rides for low-income residents. Through various community engagement events, Helbiz will help drive the awareness and adoption of micro-mobility solutions around the area.
As part of the company’s Covid-19 safety guidelines, each device will come equipped with hand sanitizer for riders to easily access before and after rides. This is in addition to establishing increased hygiene and safety standards for staff when they work around the city and within the Richmond-based warehouse where the devices are housed. All vehicles//
Valeo Commits to Carbon Neutrality
Valeo has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and will have reached 45% of its objective by 2030.
By 2030, Valeo’s emissions will have decreased by 45% across its entire value chain – including emissions from its suppliers, its own operating activities and the end use of its products – compared with 2019.
By 2050, Valeo will have achieved carbon neutrality for all of its own operating activities and across its entire supply chain worldwide and will be 100% carbon neutral (including the end use of its products) in Europe.
Valeo is also a signatory of the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” campaign that brings together companies committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 using the strict framework of the Science Based Targets initiative.
GKN eDrive Tech
GKN Automotive is strengthening its eDrive technology leadership as 13 more electrified models from 10 leading global brands enter the market, powered by its world leading systems.
The new platforms span four major global automotive manufacturers and range from premium four-wheel drive SUVs to an iconic electric city car.
The innovative technologies on these models include GKN Automotive’s world class compact and efficient three in one eDrive systems. These systems bring together leading-edge advances in electric motors, transmission, traction inverters, software and controls.
This major milestone comes just one year after the announcement that GKN Automotive has over one million eAxles on the road and is the result of collaboration with the world’s leading automotive manufacturers to fully integrate advanced eDrive systems into electric and hybrid cars.
Volta Trucks Supplied by Meritor
Volta Trucks, the leading full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, has confirmed the appointment of Meritor as the strategic drivetrain component supplier for the Volta Zero. This major purchasing milestone will support the delivery of Volta Zero vehicles for customer trials during 2021, and the start of series production around 12 months afterwards.
The Volta Zero will be the first full-electric large commercial vehicle in Europe to use an innovative eAxle to drive the rear wheels. Meritor will supply the single unit, containing the electric motor, transmission, and rear axle of the Volta Zero, with its Blue Horizion TM 14Xe TM integrated ePowertrain. The 14Xe all-electric, fully integrated electric powertrain for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, is lighter and more efficient than a conventional electric motor and axle set-up, delivering an increased range as a result. It also provides packaging benefits by freeing up space between the chassis rails to provide the safest possible location for the vehicle’s battery.
TSMC N5P for Socionext SoC
Socionext Inc., a world-leading provider of custom System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions, announced that it will adopt TSMC’s latest 5-nanometer process technology (N5P) for Socionext’s high-performance SoC development for next-generation automotive applications. The custom SoC solutions target high-level advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) vehicles and are slated for risk production in 2022.
TSMC’s N5P, a member of its 5-nanometer family, is the world’s most advanced process technology available in the market. As capacity continues to ramp, N5P’s defect density reduction is proceeding faster than that of the previous generation. N5P is an enhanced version over N5, providing a 20% performance gain or a 40% power reduction, and up to 80% logic density gain over the preceding N7 technology. At the same time, N5P enjoys support from the industry’s most comprehensive design ecosystem.
Verra Mobility Outfits NY County School Buses with Safety Cameraa
Verra Mobility (NASDAQ: VRRM) announced today that Nassau, Onondaga and Niagara Counties have contracted with the company to outfit more than 6,500 school buses with stop-arm safety cameras. Once implemented, Verra Mobility’s CrossingGuard solution will help make the ride to and from school safer for more than 315,000 students in three counties and bring the total number of New York students protected by the technology to nearly half a million.
Faurecia & Immersion Partner for Haptics
–Faurecia, one of the world’s leading automotive technology companies and Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR), the leading developer and provider of technologies for haptics, announced a multi-year license agreement, providing Faurecia with access to Immersion’s haptic technologies and solutions. The agreement enables Faurecia to develop advanced, interactive haptic user interfaces with the latest innovations from Immersion.
Faurecia HMI solutions are designed with usability in mind, with intuitive technologies allowing occupants to interact by touch, gesture or voice to manage infotainment, seating or thermal comfort options. As an example, Faurecia has developed a scalable multi-view graphical interface for IVI, called Trenza. To reduce driver distraction, this technology uses priority management when resizing windows. It also allows users to organize their most frequently used apps or services by simply dragging and dropping them into an easy to access series of options on the top of the display screen.
Immersion’s Haptics for Automotive Solution provides automotive tier-one suppliers with innovative use cases, reference designs for haptic implementations, and software and technologies to facilitate the use of haptics in advanced automotive HMIs. Immersion continues to innovate, provide new technologies, and license automotive tier-one suppliers and other component suppliers in the automotive market.
The agreement between Immersion and Faurecia is a license to Immersion’s patented technology as well as haptic technology solutions for automotive touch screens and controls.
Sensata Tech Busy BMS Litium Balance
Sensata Technologies, a leading industrial technology company that develops sensors, sensor-based solutions, including controllers and software, and other mission-critical products to create valuable business insights for customers and end users, announced the full acquisition of Denmark-based Battery Management System (BMS) provider, Lithium Balance.
Since its founding in 2006 as a start-up at the Danish Technological Institute, Lithium Balance has pushed battery-based electrification forward by developing the next generation BMS technologies for lithium ion batteries, including its XOLTA brand of fully modular, cloud connected energy storage systems (ESS).
This strategic acquisition advances Sensata’s electrification business and strategy in the clean energy markets. Sensata’s prior acquisitions such as Gigavac in 2018 have helped position the company as a leading provider of mission critical high voltage protection on EVs and in the charging infrastructure. The addition of Lithium Balance further expands Sensata’s portfolio to offer battery management solutions to a variety of vehicle OEMs and integrated energy storage solutions to commercial and industrial customers. As a combined entity, Sensata will combine its own extensive customer base of large OEMs and Lithium Balance’s proven industrial relationships and technology to accelerate its strategy.
HyreCar Publicly Shares Prices
-HyreCar Inc. (NASDAQ: HYRE), the carsharing marketplace for ridesharing, food, and package delivery services, today announced the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 2,200,000 shares of common stock of the company at a price to the public of $11.75 per share. HyreCar expects to receive aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $25.85 million from the offering. In addition, HyreCar has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 330,000 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on or about February 8, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
Karma Automotive Partners with Blue World Tech
Karma Automotive today announced that it has agreed to collaborate with Blue World Technologies to explore the viability of a fuel cell system to provide primary propulsion power for a variety of future passenger and light commercial vehicles. Fuel cells enable fast refueling and extremely long driving ranges, and with zero harmful emissions provide a green alternative to the internal combustion engine.
Valero Touch Free Mobile Payment Activation
Valero, a Fortune 50 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products, is pleased to announce its partnership with P97 Networks, a leader in cloud-based mobile commerce, to deliver a new consumer experience across its 5,100 sites in the United States. The new Valero mobile app will give customers a personalized fueling experience that lets them skip the keypad, activate the pump with their smartphone, and enable secure payments for fuel, car wash, and even in-store merchandise and food across Valero’s network of stores.
Conti S P Clips Replace Battery Bolts
Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), along with its parent company Teijin, has introduced a patent-pending clip system that replaces the need for bolts in the process of joining the top and bottom of an electric vehicle battery case. This clip system improves the seal, reduces assembly costs, and makes the batteries easier to service when needed. The clips will be manufactured at CSP Stamping in Manchester, Michigan.
These steel clips affix to the company’s multi-material battery enclosure via molded-in features instead of using secondary machined holes and welds to join the top and bottom sections of the box. Unlike a point load created by using a bolt, these clips spread the seal load more evenly across the upper and lower flange. On CSP’s multi-material battery enclosure, 68 clips designed to hold 3 PSI of internal pressure replace 72 bolts that would all need to be torqued to a specified value. Each clip provides 950 Newtons of clamp force.
By eliminating the need for bolts or bonding of any sort, a box assembled with these clips is easier to assemble and is much easy to service if the internal cells need repair or replacement.