A Connected Car Review of News: Smartphone UBI, Delphi Tech Board & Green Hills

Renesas_0814There are new announcements for connected cars, Agero UBI (Usage Based Insurance) for smartphones, Green Hill Software for Renesas processors and a new technology board for Delphi.

Agero, announced its new mobile usage based insurance (UBI) platform with PolicyPal with real-time driving tracker,  and Auto Crash Notification (ACN) using mobile device sensors.

Agero’s mobile telematics platform provides UBI predictive analytics that tracks how often and far a policyholder drives; how hard they brake or accelerate; if they travel during peak urban traffic hours and other information to tailor in

Safer Cars with Seeing Machines to Stop Distracted Connected Cars

seeingdrivingIf there were people watching you in your car they would see if your eyes were not on the road, if you were sleeping and if you are incapacitated.  Soon some sources claim GM Chevy, Cadillac owners will have a friend seeing what they are doing to help them drive. Seeing Machines’ eye tracking systems using Takata hardware.

Seeing Machines is an Aussie tech company that uses Takata safety equipment. In a press release on Monday stated that Seeing Machines has an agreement with Takata and that the partnership has signed a contract to deliver the first ever mass-manufactured implementation of a driver-monitoring for a “Major Global Automotive Manufacturer.“

Wearable safe connected car driving ready from IMS’s DriveSync

CCE_AngleIntelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) will premeire the IMS totally connected car at Telematics Insurance in Chicago this week. The car knows if the driver is sleepy or hungry and also knows the whether the weather needs more attention. The system is more than a back seat driver, it is a connected front seat driver, giving the driving voice commands to drive better.  And better drivers, get better insurance rates.  This system is live and working on a Fiat and is not a concept car. It uses the DriveSync platform.

It is system that severely injured Tracy Morgan wished Walmart drivers used.

They’ll show  real-time driver coaching, wearable health monitoring  and distraction-free technology for smarter driving.

With wearable tech connections in the DriveSync system data is extrapolated into anticipated driver behaviors.

The sensors detect sleep patterns, glucose levels and abnormal heart rate detection to learn drowsiness and potential health risks. Before each journey, DriveSync analyzes weather and traffic information to predict expected road conditions.

While driving, the DriveSync connected car platform also instructs drivers when when unsafe behaviors are observed;  speeding, harsh cornering and tailgating.

DriveSync also connected to UBI insurance systems with:

  • accident detection,
  • notice of loss,
  • claims management,
  • green driving reports
  • roadside assistance.

IMS claims that DriveSync’s infotainment system gives safe access to: email, text notifications, music and social media integration.

The IMS Connected Car Experience will be at the Insurance Telematics USA conference in Chicago from September 3-4, 2014.

It may be too late to attend the conference in Chicago, but its not to too late to register for Telematics West Coast in San Diego, October 30-31. Subscribers to AUTO Connected Cars daily email news get a code for an additional $100 discount. Contact pr[at]autoconnectedcar.com for code.

The last day for early bird registration is September 5.

Continental ITS connected cars(NV) headed by Oz in Silicon Valley

itsContinental has put together an international team  from the IT and automotive industries to work on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), called “Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems, LLC”

It will be headquartered in the Silicon Valley and guided by Seval Oz, an expert in vehicle networking and automation. In her previous role she worked on Google’s self-driving car project.

Double decked-out wireless charged buses stopping in London

londonbusWhen you think of London and the big red double deck buses, you don’t think of bleeding edge technology. However next year, some hybrid London buses will recharge while they are stopped at bus stops. The buses will not have to plug-in to a charger but will have battery juice topped off  by wireless inductive charging.

The wireless chargers will be built into  bus stops in London, next year  The Enviro400H E400 hybrid buses, with wireless charging capabilities, will run on route 69 between Canning Town and Walthamstow. The inductive charging to on-board batteries will occur at the bus stops at either ends of the route.

Volvo XC90 Apple CarPlay Android Auto later: ADAS now

volvocx90Volvo announced its new  XC90 coming to the US in April starting at $48,800.  Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support will follow its release.

Technically it’s considered an SUV, the Volvo XC90 made on a scaleable architecture with a vertical touchscreen and many ADAS features. The pleasant interior is styled in leather and wood.

Telsa S will have voice dialing and more connected car features per owners’ requests

tesladThe PR darling of EVs, Elon Musk has responded to feedback from customers who bought  an ad in a local Palo Alto newspaper in the form of a Tweet and more. Elon Musk tweeted that the customers were right and many of the features will be implemented soon.

Some connected car features wanted are voice dialing by speaking the numbers, a larger touchscreen spot for answering calling to avoid disconnecting incoming call by mistake. 

iPhone 5/5C/5S CarPlay Delays 2015 for MB, Volvo while Hyundai on target

VolvoCarPlayIt looks like that many of the carmakers who committed to Apple CarPlay for iPhone5 and later are not able to get the feature out this year and will launch CarPlay at later dates.

So far Mercedes, Volvo, Honda do not have exact dates for  CarPlay with most coming in 2015 while CarPlay compatible Hyundai 2015 Sonata models are being sold with a promise of a CarPlay update by the end of this year.

Volvo testing self driving, autonomous cars at AstaZero

volvotaVolvo has opened AstaZero as a test site for traffic safety solutions, in the hopes that by by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. Volvo has been working with magnets that can be sensed in the snow. The Volvo XC90 has advanced run-off road/brake at intersection and AT&T 4G LTE. Volvo also tests autonomous cars in Gothenburg.

Volvo plans development of active safety systems, to prevent accidents with AstaZero as the premiere proving ground, near Volvo Cars headquarters in western Sweden.