Connected Car News: Tesla, nuTonomy, Guaridan Optical, Octo, Aptiv, CCC, Renesas & Honda

In connected car news this week were Tesla, nuTonomoy, Guardian Optical, Octo Telematics, Aptiv, Honda, BlueSignal, Car Force, Renesas, HELLA, SenseTime, Honda and Airgain.

Tesla 3 Pile-Up?

According Electek photos there are at least 27 Tesla 3 model cars parked in a Marina Del Rey parking lot. It is speculated that Tesla will use the space for a delivery service for Los Angeles.

 nuTonomy Autonomous Rides from Lyft

Lyft users in Boston’s Seaport district are now able to experience self-driving rides on the Lyft network in nuTonomy vehicles. As the pilot progresses, select Boston passengers in Seaport area will be matched with nuTonomy self-driving vehicles when they request rides through the Lyft app in Boston.

The nuTonomy partnership with Lyft has two goals.  One goal is for members of the public experience driverless vehicles firsthand, so they can better understand the impact this new technology will have on their lives. Second, based on feedback from pilot participants, nuTonomy’s engineers will adapt and improve its system, so thatit can deliver an autonomous transportation experience that is extremely safe, efficient, and comfortable.

Guardian Optical New 2D/3D Sensors Detect Micro Vibrations

Guardian Optical Technologies announced the launch of breakthrough, patent-pending sensor technology for automobile manufacturers. Combining video image recognition (2D), depth-mapping (3D), and micro- to macro-motion detection, the solution enables car makers to produce safer, more convenient “passenger-aware” cars.

Guardian Optical Technologies provides cutting-edge optical technologies that can monitor a car’s entire interior cabin with just one sensor, which protects drivers and passengers by scanning and tracking occupants and objects anywhere inside a vehicle at all times. Working in conjunction with seatbelts, airbags, and other built-in safety systems, it detects the slightest movements, including every heartbeat in the vehicle, and identifies the location and physical dimensions of every occupant. Developed with the first technology to detect micro vibrations using low-cost, automotive-grade components, the sensor can also distinguish between people and objects. It can also detect the presence of objects without a direct line of sight, thanks to its micro-meter sensitivity.

BlueSignal MOUs with CarForce

On December 4, BlueSignal, a member company of K-ICT Born2Global Centre, announced that it has secured a foothold in the U.S. market by signing an Memorandum of Understanding with CarForce.

Based in San Francisco, CarForce is a company that uses connected devices to provide car-related data in real time and is currently collaborating with AT&T and Hella Ventures. With the signing of the MOU, BlueSignal expects to achieve an even higher accuracy rate for its predictions of future traffic conditions based on the real-time car data provided by CarForce. On the other hand, CarForce will be able to add BlueSignal’s data on diverse future traffic conditions to its car data, resulting in a productive collaboration that is beneficial to both parties.

Octo Buys Willis Towers Watson UBI assests.

-Octo Telematics (Octo), the number one global provider of telematics for the auto insurance industry, has today announced that it has completed its acquisition of the usage-based insurance (UBI) assets of Willis Towers WatsonThis acquisition includes Willis Towers Watson’s market-leading DriveAbility solution and the DriveAbility Marketplace. Additionally, Geoff Werner (Global Telematics Leader) will join Octo, reporting directly to Fabio Sbianchi, CEO of Octo.

Octo will form a strategic alliance with Willis Towers Watson, focusing on advancing UBI data analytics through algorithms and tools to provide actionable insights to the insurance industry. The alliance will be led by Octo, under the guidance of an advisory board, chaired by Geoff Werner. From Octo, Gianfranco Giannella (Chief Operating Officer) and Jonathan Hewett (Chief Marketing Officer), will serve on the board, alongside Willis Towers Watson personnel Duncan Anderson (Global Leader, Insurance Technology), and Tom Coughlin (National Partner, Willis Towers Watson North America).

Delphi Splits into Aptiv and Delphi Technologies

Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), a technology company that develops safer, greener and more connected solutions for a diverse array of global customers is now officially spilt from Delphi Automotive, Aptiv emerges from the completion of Delphi’s spin-off of its Powertrain segment, which today became Delphi Technologies.

Renesas & HELLA Front Camera Solutions for ADAS & Level 2/3 with J3016

-Renesas Electronics Corporation (a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, and HELLA Aglaia, one of the leading global developers of intelligent visual sensor systems,  announced their open and scalable front camera solution for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving. The new front camera solution combines the R-Car V3M, Renesas’ high-performance, low-power image recognition system-on-chip (SoC) for New Car Assessment Program , and HELLA Aglaia´s field-proven camera software designed to meet level 2 (partial automation) and level 3 (conditional automation) of the SAE International’s new J3016 standard ). Designed for scalability, the solution enables system designers to build a wide range of front cameras from cameras supporting NCAP to cameras supporting requirements for up to level 3 applications.

This collaboration opens up the market for front cameras as sensor vision is projected to become a major requirement for NCAP over the next several years.

The Renesas R-Car V3M SoC implements an innovative, power-efficient computer vision platform using different accelerators, including a versatile pipeline engine (IMP) and a computer vision engine (CVE), allowing the R-Car V3M to run convolutional neural networks for the classification of objects and to manage algorithms like optical flow and object detection. The R-Car V3M also features an integrated ISP and a single DDR3L memory channel offering potential for further cost reductions. The R-Car V3M is part of the Renesas autonomy Platform: Renesas’ groundbreaking platform for ADAS and automated driving that delivers total end-to-end solutions scaling from cloud to sensing and vehicle control.

CCC Announces CCC X Data Exchange

CCC Information Services Inc. and its affiliates (CCC) announced  the general availability of CCC X, a data exchange that helps convert connected data into actionable insights and makes it available for use across the CCC network. CCC also announced today that its already extensive network is set to expand to include 14 new companies who will contribute and leverage connected and telematics data via CCC X. The newly announced additions represent connected device providers, diagnostics providers, enablers of usage-based insurance (UBI) programs, and other service providers. CCC is a leading Software as a Service provider to the automotive, insurance, and collision repair industries. Its network consists of numerous automotive OEMs, 350 insurers, 24,000 repair facilities, and other key industry players.

Powered by the hyperscale CCC ONE platform (CCC ONE), CCC X can aggregate and normalize connected data from a rich variety of sources, including beacons, dongles, mobile applications, fleet and professional devices, and connected cars. CCC X can pass that data to customers on the CCC network through software-driven workflows that serve the automotive ecosystem. Data accessed via CCC X can be deeply integrated into existing insurer business operations for UBI programs, underwriting, increased claims automation, and more. Similarly, it can be integrated into software services for repairers on the CCC network.

SenseTime Develops with Honda

SenseTime, China’s leading artificial intelligence company, announced today they have signed a long-term development agreement with Japanese car manufacturer Honda to build smart AI cars with autonomous driving. The partnership will leverage Honda’s vehicle control system with SenseTime’s AI algorithms to jointly create an autonomous driving solution. The two companies also announced they will work together to develop robot technology.

 Rooted in computer vision technologies, autonomous driving solutions can be deployed even in the absence of high-resolution maps, allowing them to cover an even wider array of driving conditions. When a vehicle is driving without a detailed map covering its trajectory, for example, it will still be able to use the self-driving function. This autonomous driving solution offers great advantages to a variety of passenger vehicle scenarios and will also lower transducer manufacturing costs.

Airgain Joins 5GAA

Airgain, Inc. a global leader in wireless connectivity platforms, announced today that it has become a member of the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA). The company joins leading telecommunications and automotive companies with the aim of accelerating the penetration of the connected and autonomous car and intelligent fleet management.

Airgain believes it can play an important role in the connected vehicle market by providing antenna technology in support of advanced wireless connectivity solutions for in-vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-infrastructure applications. It brings to the association a portfolio of connectivity solutions and a wealth of experience in developing antenna applications for government, public safety, and enterprise applications.

SUBSCRIBE

You are welcome to subscribe to receive email notification of publication of Connect Car news TIPS, you can also get weekly news summaries or email ASAP (As Soon As Published) for everything.