In connected car news are Subaru, DMP, Visteon, TomTom, Seeing Machines, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, AECC, HARMAN, Wolfspeed, Mativ, Miru and TrustPoint.
In this Article
Next-Generation Digital Car Keys Tested in Silicon Valley
The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) launched its sixteenth interoperability “Plugfest” on January 12–16 at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ Palo Alto facility, bringing together leading automakers and technology companies to test and validate CCC Digital Key™—the global standard that allows smartphones and other devices to securely unlock, start, and share access to vehicles. Companies including Apple, Google, BMW, GM, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, and Volkswagen are jointly evaluating Digital Key Version 4 across Bluetooth, NFC, and ultra-wideband technologies to ensure real-world compatibility and certification readiness. The event reflects the growing importance of digital vehicle access, with 97 percent of CCC members calling it critical to their business, and aims to accelerate a seamless, secure, and interoperable future for drivers worldwide.
Subaru Deploys DMP for HD Mapping for EyeSight System
Dynamic Map Platform North America has been chosen by Subaru to supply high-definition map data for the 2026 Subaru Outback’s new Advanced EyeSight® driver-assist system. The HD maps will support features such as hands-free highway driving, emergency stop and lane selection, automated lane changes, curve-based speed control, and automatic resume, helping improve precision, safety, and confidence in Subaru’s latest assisted-driving technology.
UVeye & Tire Rack Wholesale: One-Click Tire Quotes
UVeye has launched a new integration with Tire Rack Wholesale that allows car dealerships to generate real-time tire quotes directly from UVeye’s AI-powered vehicle inspection system. When UVeye’s drive-thru scanners detect tire problems such as low tread, uneven wear, or sidewall damage, service advisors can click once to open a Tire Rack Wholesale quoting page that is automatically filled with the vehicle and dealer information, instantly showing live pricing and available inventory for that dealership.
The system eliminates manual data entry and ensures that only in-stock, dealer-approved tires are shown, making recommendations faster and more accurate for customers. UVeye says the tool turns tire inspections into immediate sales opportunities by linking AI diagnostics with real-time quoting in a single workflow.
The integration will roll out first to select Subaru dealerships, where it is expected to streamline service-lane operations, improve customer trust, and help dealers track engagement and return on investment from tire quotes.
Visteon & TomTom Privacy-First, In-Car AI Navigation Assistant
Visteon has partnered with TomTom to introduce what the companies call the world’s first locally processed, AI-powered conversational navigation system for vehicles. The new platform combines Visteon’s cognitoAI technology with TomTom’s Automotive Navigation Application, allowing drivers to use natural speech to search for destinations, find charging stations, and get route guidance without relying on constant cloud connectivity.
The system runs directly on vehicle hardware using Visteon’s vision language model, enabling faster responses, offline operation, and stronger privacy protections. It can interpret conversational and imprecise requests, adjust routes around traffic or hazards, and provide real-time updates using TomTom’s mapping and traffic data.
Designed for global use, the assistant supports multiple languages and offers personalized guidance, including optimized EV charging recommendations based on route, battery level, and driver preferences. The companies say the collaboration sets a new standard for secure, privacy-focused AI navigation in modern vehicles.
Seeing Machines Unveils 3D AI Cabin Mapping
Seeing Machines introduced its next-generation 3D Cabin Perception Mapping platform at CES 2026, showcasing a real-time digital model of everything happening inside a vehicle. Unlike traditional in-cabin systems that track features separately, the new platform creates a unified 3D reconstruction of the entire cabin, allowing it to monitor multiple occupants, seating positions, child seats and objects with greater accuracy and reliability.
The system supports multiple cameras and up to seven passengers, detecting body size, posture, seat positions and safety-critical conditions such as occupants sitting too close to airbags or children in car seats. By using a single perception layer instead of isolated features, the platform improves consistency while reducing development costs and time for automakers.
Seeing Machines says the technology can scale beyond cars to robotics and other human-machine environments, reinforcing its push to make vision-based safety systems a foundation for future intelligent mobility.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Joins AECC
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has become a member of the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium, a global, cross-industry group focused on improving how automotive data is processed and used. Through its expertise in data centers, power systems, and energy management, MHI will contribute to building distributed edge-computing platforms that support connected vehicles and large-scale automotive data.
The company plans to apply its technology to areas such as GPU resource optimization, power-generation forecasting, and the use of renewable energy and surplus electricity in data centers. These efforts are aimed at reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, and enabling greener handling of automotive big data.
AECC leaders said MHI’s experience in infrastructure and energy systems will strengthen the consortium’s push to develop sustainable, high-performance computing networks that support the future of connected and environmentally responsible mobility.
HARMAN AI-Driven, Upgradable In-Car Experiences
HARMAN, Samsung’s automotive technology arm, has announced major updates to its Ready product lineup, positioning software, AI, audio, safety and visual systems as fully integrated, road-ready solutions for automakers. The company says AI alone is no longer a differentiator and that success now depends on how well technologies are combined into safe, scalable and upgradeable in-vehicle experiences across a vehicle’s lifecycle.
The expanded portfolio includes tools for software-defined vehicles, such as cloud-based build and validation systems, secure in-car virtualization, and over-the-air updates that already support tens of millions of vehicles. HARMAN also introduced new personalization features, including multi-zone audio streaming, customizable vehicle sound profiles, and branded premium audio experiences enhanced by AI.
On the safety and display side, HARMAN added in-cabin monitoring, vehicle-to-network hazard alerts, advanced connectivity, Neo QLED displays, and windshield-based visual systems designed to improve clarity without distracting drivers. The company says these products are available now for automakers, allowing them to deploy intelligent, connected and continuously upgradable in-car experiences at scale.
HARMAN Introduces Ready StreamShare
HARMAN has unveiled Ready StreamShare, a new in-cabin audio and communication system designed for today’s multi-user vehicles, where every passenger brings their own device and expects both personal and shared listening. The system connects up to four smartphones to a central in-vehicle hub, creating individual audio zones that let passengers listen privately through low-latency headphones or join others for shared playback.
The platform also enables hands-free conversation through headphones, allowing families to talk easily without removing them. A Driver Announcement feature can pause all audio so important messages are heard by everyone in the cabin, helping maintain coordination and safety while on the road.
Ready StreamShare is designed to integrate with HARMAN’s broader in-car ecosystem and scale across different vehicle models. The company says it turns the vehicle into a connected media and communication hub that adapts to modern family travel, blending personal choice with shared experiences in a single, seamless system.
Wolfspeed 1st 300mm Silicon Carbide Wafer
Wolfspeed announced it has successfully produced a 300-millimeter (12-inch) single-crystal silicon carbide wafer, marking a major step toward large-scale manufacturing of next-generation semiconductor materials. The breakthrough, backed by the company’s extensive patent portfolio, positions Wolfspeed to lead the industry’s shift from smaller wafers to a larger format that supports higher performance and lower production costs.
The 300mm silicon carbide platform is designed to support advanced computing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, immersive AR and VR systems, and high-efficiency power electronics. Larger wafers enable better power density, thermal performance, and system-level integration, which are increasingly important as data centers, electric grids, and advanced electronics demand more energy-efficient and compact solutions.
Wolfspeed said the new technology also allows silicon carbide to bridge power, optical, and RF applications on a single manufacturing platform, opening the door to new classes of integrated devices that go beyond traditional chip scaling and help meet the growing needs of AI, industrial, and energy systems.
Mativ Invests in Miru
Mativ Holdings has made an equity investment in Miru Smart Technologies to strengthen their partnership and move Miru’s electrochromic “eWindow” smart glass technology toward commercial-scale production. The deal builds on their long-running collaboration through Mativ’s Argotec polymer film business and marks a shift from development to preparation for high-volume manufacturing, particularly for automotive platforms.
Since beginning their joint work in 2024, the companies have achieved major technical milestones, including producing one of the world’s largest curved electrochromic sunroofs and securing initial commercial orders from major glass manufacturers in 2025. Their expanded partnership aligns Miru’s goal of deploying 10 million square feet of eWindows by 2028 with Mativ’s global film extrusion capacity and manufacturing infrastructure.
Miru’s smart windows, which use Argotec’s optically clear polymer films, offer neutral tint, high clarity, and advanced solar heat control that can boost electric vehicle range by up to 10 percent. With Mativ’s investment and supply chain support, the technology is now positioned to scale for use across automotive, construction, and other industrial markets.
TrustPoint GPS-Independent Navigation Milestone
TrustPoint announced it has successfully transmitted its first Low Earth Orbit Navigation System (LEONS) time-transfer and tracking signals from a ground node to spacecraft in orbit, marking a significant advancement toward GPS-independent positioning and navigation infrastructure.
LEONS addresses a critical vulnerability in current LEO satellite operations, which rely on GPS or medium Earth orbit (MEO) signals for time and orbital positioning—links increasingly compromised by interference and jamming. TrustPoint’s system eliminates this dependency by providing GPS-independent time transfer and orbit tracking, initially developed for its own constellation but scalable for other LEO operators seeking resilient timing and navigation.
The demonstrated ground-to-space capability establishes the foundation for a robust, GPS-independent position, navigation, and timing (PNT) layer in orbit, ultimately enabling fully independent PNT services for terrestrial users. “This milestone demonstrates that commercial partners can field resilient, GPS-independent PNT capabilities that strengthen national security architectures,” said Nicole Hilliard, Director of Government Programs at TrustPoint.
The achievement represents a major milestone in TrustPoint’s work under the SpaceWERX AltPNT Challenge, which awarded the company two contracts to accelerate alternative PNT capabilities from concept to deployment for dual-use applications.