Connected Car News: Raythink, FLEX, Samsara, Bosch, GM & Software Republique

by

In embedded chips and connected news tips are Raythink, Samsara, GM, Bosch and Software Republique.

Raytnink ARHUD Funded

Raythink, a world-leading ARHUD solution provider for the automotive and transportation industry, announced that it has raised around $15 million in a Series A+ funding round led by Chengwei Capital, with China Unicom’s subsidiary, Unicom Innovation Venture Capital, as co-investor.

Samsara for GM OnStar

Samsara Inc. (NYSE: IOT) announced it will work with General Motors (GM) (NYSE: GM) to give shared customers a holistic view of their commercial fleets and help them operate more efficiently. Through this integrated solution, properly equipped 2015 or newer GM vehicles with the OnStar embedded module will gain connectivity to Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud with no installation or additional hardware required.

Samsara’s integration with GM vehicles is now available for fleet customers in the U.S. with Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac MY2015 or newer OnStar equipped GM vehicles. Access to GM’s connected vehicle data through Samsara’s integrated solution will streamline and increase the visibility of eligible GM vehicles through a single dashboard on Samsara’s platform. This holistic view of vehicle insights – including fuel levels and usage, fleet vehicle location, speed, and tire pressure – alongside additional operations data on Samsara’s platform, will help optimize fleet productivity and safety, simplify workflows, and improve efficiency.

“We know our fleet customers value the opportunity to protect their assets and make their business operations more productive,” said Michelle Calloway, Director of OnStar Business Solutions at GM. “By leveraging OnStar’s embedded hardware for our integrated solution with Samsara, fleet managers will now have access to a singular platform that includes valuable insights, helping to make fleet operations more seamless and efficient.”

“At Samsara, we’re building integrations that help our customers digitize their physical operations and provide streamlined access to critical, real-time data,” explained Chris Mozzocchi, Senior Director of Product Management at Samsara. “Our work with GM will help fleet managers quickly and easily connect their OnStar embedded vehicles to our Connected Operations Cloud, consolidate their data, and better manage their day-to-day operations.”

FLEX Expands Ops In Jalisco, Mexico

Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) announced it is expanding its automotive industry operations in Jalisco, Mexico. The company is building a new 145,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that will serve as the strategic in-region automotive manufacturing hub dedicated to producing advanced electronic components that will accelerate the era of electric and autonomous vehicles.

“Innovative and reliable electronic technologies are essential ingredients for ushering in the next generation of mobility. Our Guadalajara site provides advanced manufacturing capabilities, a robust supply chain with global reach, and the technical domain expertise needed to deliver the highest value to our automotive customers as they pursue their goals toward an autonomous and electrified future” said Rodrigo DallOglio, Head of Operations for LatAm.

This expansion reaffirms Flex’s commitment to the region and to continue to be the leading employer and largest exporter in Jalisco.

 

Modern vehicles are equipped with a growing number of electronic and software functions. This leads to ever-increasing time pressure during development, since more and more vehicle tests must be performed on an often tight development schedule. New software solutions from Bosch Engineering enable targeted implementation of numerous functional developments by shifting many time-intensive engineering and testing processes into the digital space. “In doing so, we ensure reduced complexity and high efficiency in data collection, organization, and analysis during the development process as well as optimal utilization of capacities,” says Jochen Reichert, who is responsible for the business development of digital solutions at Bosch Engineering. With the cloud-based digital connectivity of engineering teams, vehicles, and measurement data, all project associates can access the vehicles they need and the already collected vehicle data at any time and from any location worldwide. This ensures that data can also be exchanged among decentralized engineering teams and that external partners or service providers can be involved.

One advantage of the digital solutions from Bosch Engineering is their user orientation with high user-friendliness, since they have developed from the company’s own needs and have been continuously optimized by the engineering teams in daily use. Another advantage is the modular structure. Customers can integrate individual solutions into their existing engineering software structure, thereby partially optimizing their process, or they can use the solutions together as a complete package, the components of which are perfectly tailored to each other. They then offer seamless support during the entire workflow – encompassing fleet management, access to test vehicle data, and data analysis.

The fleet management solution makes managing the test fleet simple. The fleet manager receives an exact overview of the individual vehicles in the test fleet, their equipment status, location, and readiness for use at any time. Vehicle data can be extracted and updated easily, so the data set is always up to date.

Remote Vehicle Access and Fleet Falcon support engineers when performing and analyzing vehicle tests and when managing data. Remote Vehicle Access is particularly suited for complex diagnostic and application tasks in the vehicle. Among other things, the vehicle can be accessed by remote data connection during test drives to gather measurement data, conduct diagnostics, and flash data updates. Fleet Falcon is designed for analyses of measurement data from multiple vehicles or entire vehicle fleets. A fast and reliable remote connection to the entire test fleet ensures online access to all vehicle data. Users can quickly create personalized dashboards with diagrams that offer a user-friendly visual presentation of the data in real time.

The digital Cloud-based Data Analysis solution is a powerful tool for evaluating large amounts of measurement data in all relevant data formats – quickly, efficiently, and in high quality. The solution is currently being used successfully in internal projects and is being developed for use by end customers. “With our software portfolio, which we are successively expanding and adapting to new developments in the automotive sector, we are creating the foundation for the rapid integration of innovative functions into the vehicle, especially in engineering-intensive areas of strategic opportunity such as electrification and automated driving,” says Dr. Johannes-Jörg Rüger, president of Bosch Engineering. The portfolio of digital solutions is being continuously expanded and new use cases are being added.

Viva Software Republique

Software République, an open innovation ecosystem for intelligent, secure and sustainable mobility, presents its first milestones  during the sixth edition of Viva Technology* – one year after its launch by Atos, Dassault Systèmes, Orange, Renault Group, STMicroelectronics and Thales.

 

In only a few months, Software République has taken important steps to advance innovations to meet the challenges of mobility. It has enabled the creation and reinforcement of collaborations with stakeholders in the private sector (startups, small and medium-sized businesses, large groups), the public sector (local authorities) and academia (schools, universities).

Milestones include:

– Creation of a “GIE” (Groupement d’Intérêt Economique, or economic interest group) to develop Software République’s activity and supervise project incubation within the collaborative ecosystem.

– Launch of the Software République incubator in March 2022, featuring a tailor-made support program to accelerate joint projects and support startups. Five startups are currently being incubated: Angoka, Geoflex, Parcoor, Vianova and Wattpark.

– Four finalized projects are announced today, out of more than 30 currently in progress:

  • A “detect & respond” cybersecurity solution

Cybersecurity is one of mobility’s major challenges. Orange – via its Orange Cyberdefense subsidiary – Renault Group and Thales, along with the startup Parcoor, announce the co-design of a solution to detect cyberattack attempts, analyze them and provide a rapid response that protects the vehicle. This solution, based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, will be deployed in Renault vehicles starting in 2025. The project is supported by BPIfrance.

  • A tool for territories to model vehicle flow

Safety and traffic flow are major challenges for territories. Dassault Systèmes, Orange and Renault Group are developing a tool to model vehicle flow. A pilot project was launched with the Corrèze region in France. This tool provides territories with key data on traffic, infrastructure conditions and safety so that they can optimize maintenance and construction expenses.

  • A project for an intelligent and secure two-way charging station

In response to challenges in security, sovereignty, and electric car-charging network integration, Orange, Renault Group, STMicroelectronics and Thales are launching a joint development project focused on the intelligence of charging stations in collaboration with Mobilize, a Renault Group brand. The project will be presented by the end of 2022.

  • The Software République Academy to address needs in cybersecurity skills

To meet increasing needs related to recruitment and cybersecurity skills, the six partners have announced two training programs starting in September 2022. The first will combine a selection of partner cybersecurity training modules for the Software République ecosystem. The second, in partnership with the French cybersecurity school Ecole 2600 and the French engineering school of digital technologies EFREI, will create two apprenticeship programs for higher education levels of three to five years.

By 2025, Software République aims to launch 10 new product and service offers, incubate more than 50 startups, and propose services to at least 50 territories.