In connected car news this week were Faraday Future, Dyson, Toyota, Idle Smart, AAPEX, Samsung, Delphi, Robotic Parking, EY Synapse and Drive.ai.
Back to Faraday Future in CA
According to various news sources Faraday Future will not build a factory in Nevada and has pulled out of the deal with state of Nevada. FF issued a check and tax credits will be returned to state of Nevada from a trust fund
Dyson To Vacuum Up EV Sales?
Jame Dyson of the innovative vacuum cleaner an is working on “radical” all-electric car for launch in 2020, while spending two billion pounds ($2.7 billion) on solid-state battery technology and design.
Women Can Drive Soon in Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on September 26, 2017 that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a Decree authorizing the issuance of drivers’ licenses for women in the Kingdom. The Decree will take effect June 2018 for the issuance of drivers’ licenses to women. During the preparatory period until June of 2018, the relevant agencies in the Kingdom are instructed to make all the necessary changes to the current rules and regulations to implement the order. This also includes developing the infrastructure and institutional capacity, such as expanded licensing facilities and driver education programs, to accommodate millions of new drivers.
Toyota Expands American Manufacturing at Alabama Plant
Toyota just upped the stakes to remain the top manufacturer of hybrid vehicles worldwide with a $373.8 million investment in five U.S. manufacturing plants that will support production of its first American-made hybrid powertrain and to implement Toyota’s New Global Architecture at its Alabama plant. Each of the projects is scheduled to begin this year and all should be operational by 2020.
Millennials Don’t Recall Recalls
A consumer survey of over 1,000 Americans found that most claim to comply with recall notices for food, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, and consumer electronics. However, the study also showed that millennials (age 18-34) are the least compliant across all age groups. In fact, compared to baby boomers (age 55+), millennials are twice as likely to say they usually ignore recall notices (18 percent v. 6 percent), after reading it; typically throw it in the trash (36 percent v. 16 percent); and consider recall notices “not serious” (33 percent v. 21 percent). The findings suggest that manufacturers undergoing a recall may need to rethink their communication strategies with this demographic to improve compliance rates.
For car owners, more than one-third of respondents say they have never received a recall notice for a motor vehicle.
Idle Smart Extends OS
Idle Smart announced today it has extended the capabilities of its core operating platform, complete with enhanced operational performance management and alerts, more robust data reporting, and customized solutions for both sleeper and day cabs. The enhanced system is now commercially available.
Idle Smart’s updated solution was redesigned with day cabs in mind but remains versatile enough to meet the needs of long-haul fleets. “While each solution is enabled automatically at the end of a shift without driver interaction, fleet managers can have an efficient solution tailored specifically to their fleet vehicle mix,” said Ryan Bennett, Vice President of Product and Marketing. “And through automatic notifications based on their specific thresholds, fleet managers will be alerted to current and potential issues without having to spend extra time checking system status.”
Idle Smart’s wireless access to performance and operational data helps fleet managers to not just identify performance issues but also allows them to act on that data quickly through Idle Smart’s online dashboard. “After talking with many of our customers, we’ve focused on providing what we call actionable data — specific, customized operational results coupled with the tools to actively and immediately respond to that information. As a result, changes – and improved performance — happen immediately,” said Bennett.
Idle Smart also has further simplified the installation process, which allows fleets with mixed OEMs to benefit from a standardized implementation across their fleet. Idle Smart remains maintenance free, weighs less than five pounds, and works as a stand-alone technology or as part of mixed technologies within a fleet.
Airbuiquity OTA at TU-Japan
Airbiquity®, a global leader in connected vehicle services, will sponsor and participate in TU-Automotive Japan 2017 in Tokyo, Japan on October 17-18. During the two-day event, the company will demonstrate OTAmatic™, its industry-leading over-the-air (OTA) software update and data management solution for connected vehicles, and participate in a panel discussion about automotive telematics and next generation connected vehicles.
AAPEX 2017 Tech Aftermarket Market in Vegas
AAPEX 2017 is introducing several new programs to show the impact of technology on the automotive aftermarket industry and how businesses can best prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead. AAPEX represents the $740 billion global automotive aftermarket industry and will take place Tuesday, Oct. 31 through Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.
- The Technology and Telematics Forum V5.0 with a focus on cyber security, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle data and OE technology. The Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) – sponsored by the Automotive Service Association (ASA) – and the Auto Alliance will present the forum on Thursday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Venetian.
- All-new Let’s Tech presentations for the latest on technology-related products, tools and mobile apps in 20 minutes or less. Presentations will take place on the Let’s Tech stage in the Upper Level Lobby, Sands Expo.
- A keynote session on each day of AAPEX to address the Future of the Vehicle, the Future of the Buyer and the Future of the Shop.
IHS Markit Buys auomotiveMastermind to Mind More Business
IHS Markit announced the acquisition of automotiveMastermind Inc., the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation software for the automotive industry.
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind that includes currently provides U.S. automotive dealers with behavior prediction analytics software and marketing solutions that improve the vehicle purchase process and results. The company’s cloud-based technology helps dealers precisely predict automobile-buying behavior and automates the creation of micro-targeted customer communications, leading to proven higher sales and more consistent customer retention.
New eUFS from Samsung
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it is introducing the industry’s first embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) solution for use in next-generation automotive applications. Consisting of 128-gigabyte (GB) and 64GB versions, the new eUFS solution has been designed for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), next-generation dashboards and infotainment systems that provide comprehensive connected features for drivers and passengers worldwide.
Configured on the most up-to-date UFS standard (JEDEC UFS 2.1), the new Samsung eUFS will provide advanced data transfer speeds and robust data reliability. For example, the new Samsung 128GB eUFS can read data at up to 850 megabytes per second (MB/s), which is approximately 3.4 times faster than the 250MB/s read speed of today’s eMMC 5.0 solutions. It also offers about 6.4 times faster random reading than eMMC at 45,000 IOPS. This will contribute to significantly enhanced performance in upcoming automotive infotainment systems for better managing audio content, increasing navigation responsiveness, accessing Internet-enabled traffic and weather reports, improving handling of hands-free voice commands, and speeding up rear-seat social media interplay.
Delphi Auto Splits into Aptive and Delphi Tech
Delphi Automotive announced that Aptiv and Delphi Technologies will be the names of the two highly-focused, publicly-traded companies that will result from the company’s previously announced spin-off of its Powertrain Systems segment. The company made the announcement during its Investor Day in Boston, where it discussed the business strategies for both Aptiv and Delphi Technologies.
Aptiv, comprises the Electronics & Safety and Electrical/Electronic Architecture businesses, will focus on accelerating the commercialization of active safety, autonomous driving, enhanced user experiences and connected services, providing the software, advanced computing platforms and networking architecture required to do so – the ‘brain’ and the ‘nervous system’ of the vehicle.
TRI Tests Platform 2.1
The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) newest autonomous test vehicle, Platform 2.1, features Luminar’s sensing technology. Luminar’s LiDAR delivers more than an order of magnitude greater resolution than current sensors and the ability to see dark objects, such as a tire (10% reflectivity) at over 200 meters, compared to less than 40 meters. The sensor is also the first to allow resolution to be concentrated where it’s needed most, in real time, enabling the car to clearly see and recognize cars, people, and objects, even at distance.
HARMAN Honored by Cisco
HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, announced that it has received the 2017 Excellence in Software award from Cisco.
Robotic Parking Automates Parking in FL
Robotic Parking Systems Inc., a Pinellas Park, Florida based company, announced the successful throughput testing of its recently completed 2,350 capacity Al Jahra Court Automatic Parking System in Kuwait. TÜV Nord certified a peak traffic throughput capacity of 425 cars per hour. Throughput capacity is the total number of cars per hour that can be handled in a combination of inbound and outbound vehicle traffic. Additionally, the average retrieval time for a single vehicle was verified as 177 seconds.
With this record, Robotic Parking Systems has positioned itself not only as the largest automatic parking facility in the world but also as the manufacturer with the highest peak traffic capacity worldwide. The Al Jahra Court facility surpasses the Emirates Financial Tower garage in Dubai (designed and manufactured by Robotic Parking Systems) that achieved the Guinness World Record as the largest automatic garage with 1,200 parking spaces in 2011.
EY Synapse Automotive & Microsoft
EY Synapse Automotive announced that it is collaborating with Microsoft to launch EY Synapse Automotive, a broad data analytics solution that addresses critical business challenges for the automotive industry in areas such as quality and warranty, marketing and sales, and project planning.
The solution expands decision-making capabilities by combining machine learning and advanced analytics techniques, data visualization and business process applications. For example, organizations can use EY Synapse Automotive to validate incentive rebate and warranty claims, improve demand forecasting and inventory management for parts, or create models that can help to improve their vehicle allocation processes.
The automotive analytics solution is provided via EY Synapse, the EY global Analytics-as-a-Service (AaaS) platform that helps accelerate the provision of analytics-driven insights and can support businesses to operate and compete more effectively.
Autoliv Buys LiDAR Co
Autoliv, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire certain assets of a Swedish based LiDAR specialist company.
Located in Stockholm and Skellefteå, Sweden, Fotonic i Norden AB is a LiDAR and Time of Flight camera specialist that designs, develops, and manufactures these products. The acquisition represents a transfer of certain intellectual property rights, development and prototyping assets and development resources of Fotonic i Norden AB, including about 35 engineering experts in the field of LiDAR and Time of Flight cameras.
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Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), announced that Toyota Racing Development (TRD), the in-house engineering division for Toyota and Lexus motorsports programs, has gone all-in on AWS. Building its race intelligence system on the cloud with the most functionality has helped TRD’s teams win NASCAR races. TRD uses AWS’s industry-leading cloud services to create mission-critical applications that enable its crews to improve precision, consistency, and speed during practice runs and in competition. These race intelligence applications collect data from vehicles and their environments and apply real-time analytics and machine learning to better understand how a vehicle may handle on any track under any circumstance.
Drive.ai Funding
Drive.ai announced a $15 million USD funding round from Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform, and others. This investment quickly follows Drive.ai’s $50 million USD series B funding round in June of 2017, bringing the company’s total funding to over $77 million USD. Drive.ai will use the additional funding to expand its talented team, accelerate technological development, grow business partnerships, and open its first office abroad in Singapore.
With this additional capital, Drive.ai will explore Singapore as a potential deployment location. Drive.ai will open up an office in Singapore in the next few months to evaluate the potential opportunity with governments and local businesses. Grab will support Drive.ai as they conduct their market assessment.
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