Cars On the Lookout: IDTechEx Explores Image Sensors and Radars in Vehicles
New eBook from Mouser and TE Connectivity Explores Latest Innovations in EV and Connected Transportation
BAFS introduces ASEAN’s first high-flow EV hydrant dispenser for enhanced performance
TRUMPF and KDPOF showcase first 980nm multi-gigabit interconnect system for automotive
Wialon announces 3.6 million tracked vehicles across over 150 countries
KDPOF Celebrates Release of IEEE 802.3cz-2023 Standard
Mouser Electronics Offers Latest in Autonomous Vehicle Design Resources for Engineers
Infineon and Delta Electronics to collaborate on electromobility
Wialon Telematics Platform Reaches 3.5 Million Connected Vehicles Worldwide
First Automotive Gigabit Ethernet Switch with Optical Ports
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Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together Explores AI-Based Driver Monitoring
Mouser Electronics Inc., the industry’s leading New Product Introduction (NPI) distributor with the widest selection of semiconductors and electronic components™, has released the latest chapter of its award-winning Empowering Innovation Together™ program. The new episode explores the importance of driver monitoring systems for occupant presence and condition — such as fatigue or distraction — to help foster the safety required for Level 3 autonomous driving and beyond. Content for this fourth installment includes two articles, a blog, an infographic, a new episode of the Tech Between Us podcast and a Then, Now and Next video. The driver monitoring systems topic explains the methods by which detection of both the driver and occupants can mitigate negative conditions using new user interfaces. Interior monitoring systems can detect signs of distracted or fatigued drivers along with occupant presence and condition to alert the driver. “As the market begins to increase adoption of autonomous vehicles, the safety of vehicles and passengers is imperative,” says Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics. “Through this installment of EIT, we’re eager to share expert knowledge from industry leaders, helping our customers and followers understand this technology and its importance.” In the latest episode of the Tech Between Us podcast, Modar Alaoui, Founder and CEO at Eyeris, joins host Raymond Yin, Director of Technical Content at Mouser Electronics, for a discussion about driver monitoring systems in vehicles, legislation around the technology and the hardware and software behind the systems. “I’m excited to discuss with Raymond and Mouser’s listeners the exciting growth of in-vehicle vision AI,” says Alaoui. “This pioneering technology has the potential to completely transform the ways we interact with our vehicles and the ways our vehicles keep us safe.” The Driver Monitoring Systems installment is sponsored by Analog Devices, Infineon Technologies, Molex, NXP Semiconductors, onsemi and TE Connectivity. Established in 2015, Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together program is one of the electronic component industry’s most recognized programs. To learn more, visit https://www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation and follow Mouser on Facebook and Twitter.
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Yanmar Introduces Carbon-Neutral Electrification Strategy at bauma 2022
Yanmar a world-leading provider of power solutions and industrial machinery, introduces its electrification strategy for off-road vehicles and equipment at bauma 2022, in Germany, the world’s biggest construction equipment exhibition. Yanmar (stand A4.425) will showcase its off-road product portfolio, commitment to customer lifecycle value and future vision for industrial equipment including the following highlights: · Electrification strategy for e-powertrains · Electric equipment demonstrator · Yanmar/ELEO modular, high-density battery system · Extended 5-year Warranty for TN Series engines All-in-one systems integrator of e-powertrains for off-road OEM equipment Yanmar will establish itself as the all-in-one systems integrator for smart electrified power solutions tailored to the application-specific needs of individual OEMs. In its capacity as a systems integrator, Yanmar will implement system engineering, design and manufacturing of e-powertrains, while also providing control development, system evaluation, procurement, manufacturing and quality assurance. As Yanmar transitions to an advanced supplier of electrified solutions, the company remains true to its core values of durability, reliability, quality and robustness, together with the commitment to be a reliable and trusted partner for customers - values the company has lived by for more than 110 years. Mr. Tomohisa Tao, President Yanmar Power Technology Co. Ltd.: “As Yanmar looks to meet the challenges of the coming century, our transformation will encompass new products with alternative fuel technologies. Our aim, together with our dealers and OEM partners, in this strategy is to build stronger relationships and create even greater customer value with new-energy technology. We will work hard to support our OEM partners and customers to achieve their environmental and performance goals.” Electric demonstrator At bauma 2022, Yanmar will show an electrified demonstration vehicle that shows the practical application of the company’s system integrator technologies. Powered by an efficient electric drive and hard working 48-volt batteries with fast charging capability, the electric excavator is a quiet, zero-emission machine designed to meet the most demanding emissions restrictions. The machine is an example of Yanmar’s system integrator applications technology, integrating power and control systems with advanced applications management in a versatile and easy to use machine. ELEO – modular battery systems acquisition An important milestone for realizing the urgent environmental challenges that we must overcome is Yanmar’s acquisition of battery-technology company ELEO, a fast-growing developer and manufacturer of high-performance modular battery systems. This acquisition will further Yanmar’s electrified powertrain capabilities with versatile, customized solutions for off-road applications. ELEO is building a new battery production plant, increasing its annual battery production capacity tenfold to 500MWh – equivalent of approximately 10,000 battery packs. Yanmar 5-Year Warranty benchmark for off-road vehicles underpins sustainability objectives The launch of the new 5-Year Warranty (or 5,000 hours) further enhances sustainability and extended ownership of the current line-up of clean diesel solutions during the transformation to carbon-neutral power solutions. This extended warranty is free of charge and valid for TN Series engines sold in Europe and operating on European territory. Carlo Giudici, Director Industrial EMEA at Yanmar Europe, says: “Yanmar sets a new benchmark by being the first to offer a complimentary 5-Year Warranty for off-road vehicles. It emphasizes the strong quality and reliability of our engines and is another important step to offering customers problem-free, sustainable ownership and higher resale value.” From the development of new energy sources for customers and industry, to working towards A Sustainable Future and zero emissions from its headquarters and facilities, Yanmar is undertaking a range of activities in pursuit of a sustainable society. The company has already embarked on several new-energy projects in various business lines, including hydrogen-powered cogeneration, research into hydrogen fuel marine engines, bio-gas cogeneration, dual-fuel power solutions with natural gas, fuel cell marine technology, smart agriculture, and resource recycling technologies.
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ZEEKR Brings “New Attitude” in Major OTA Updates
Premium electric mobility brand ZEEKR, has today announced a vast array of upgrades to its 001 vehicle, signaling a bold vision for the future of luxury drive and autonomy. At its first ZEEKR Experience Day, and less than one year after the first products were delivered to customers in China, ZEEKR confirmed that 001 models will be subject to an extensive OTA update which covers driver comfort, cockpit interface, and smart driving technologies. ZEEKR has also announced a host of hardware improvements to the body and chassis of 001 for the 2022 model year. ZEEKR 001 is now the world’s first production car equipped with two 7nm autonomous driving chips, which is embedded within a complete visual fusion sensing system and enables a 001 to self-adapt autonomously at speeds of up to 130kph. In testing environments, a 001 will automatically slow when it detects pedestrians or non-motor vehicles approaching. The 001 will also automatically detect a car door open on the side of the road or a truck approaching on the side, turning wheels slightly to avoid a possible side collision. The latest upgrades also include a high performance 8155 Snapdragon microchip which has optimized over 200 key items of user control functions within the cockpit. ZEEKR’s brand-new intelligent driving system enables users to switch among different driving modes and has a distributed traction control system, designed only for pure electric vehicles. This new system includes signal transmission and a processing rate 10 times faster than most existing systems, bringing computing down to milliseconds. This improves acceleration performance by 31% on harsh road surfaces, or in snow and ice conditions, whilst increasing the maximum controllable concerning speed. This newly updated driving system will give user the option to switch between rear wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and real time adaptive four-wheel drive systems based on the road conditions. // ZEEKR Business Update In August 2021, ZEEKR completed the Pre-A round of external funding from five partners with Intel Capital as the lead investor. The $500 million funding also attracted investments from CATL, Bilibili, Cathay Fortune Group, and Boyu Capital. In December 2021, ZEEKR announced a collaboration with Waymo on the development of a new pure electric vehicle for deployment in the Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing fleet in the United States. A new purpose-built commercial mobility vehicle is being designed and developed at ZEEKR’s R&D facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. Earlier this year, ZEEKR confirmed a collaboration with Mobileye, an Intel company, to expand their strategic technology partnership with a goal to deliver the world’s first consumer autonomous consumer vehicles with L4 capabilities by 2024. ZEEKR continues to prioritize and fulfill local market customer orders ahead of a planned European roll-out from 2023, where it will ramp up capacity at the ZEEKR Intelligent Factory - one of the world’s most advanced vehicle facilities - to deal with unprecedented demand for the 001. It has already delivered its 20,000th vehicle in May of 2022, 217 days from its first delivery in October of 2021, making it the fastest EV company in China to achieve such a target.
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Automotive Autonomy: A New Opportunity for Thermal Materials, Says IDTechEx
The automotive market is trending towards greater levels of autonomy with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) becoming increasingly adopted to improve the safety of drivers and pedestrians or even just to make driving a more convenient experience. ADAS encompasses a huge variety of functions from automatic emergency braking all the way to fully autonomous driving. Something that all ADAS features have in common is the need for high-quality sensors and the associated processing of their data. The quantity of sensors per vehicle also increases rapidly with greater levels of autonomy. These sensors and their evolution provide new markets for thermal management materials within the automotive industry. In fact, IDTechEx’s new report, “Thermal Management for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) 2023-2033” finds that the yearly market value for thermal interface materials (TIMs) in ADAS will increase 11-fold over the next 10 years. Each sensor in the ADAS system has its own thermal material opportunities. Source: IDTechEx - “Thermal Management for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) 2023-2033” - What’s Changing with ADAS Components? Cameras and radars are already ubiquitous in vehicles, but greater levels of autonomy will require larger sensor suites with greater capabilities in each sensor. IDTechEx is predicting that there will be more than a 6-fold increase in the yearly demand for automotive sensors including cameras, radars, and LiDARs by 2033. A key factor is integration, to fit more sensors to vehicles in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, the units will require smaller form factors leading to densification of components and hence thermal management challenges. ADAS sensors are also often used in non-ideal environments for electronics requiring resistance to shock and vibration and, in certain cases, having to withstand heat from a combustion engine. For many sensor locations, active cooling will not be viable and in hot climates the temperatures of sensors could increase significantly whilst the vehicle is stationary. Another factor to consider is data processing. More sensors and sensors with greater fidelity will generate more data that needs processing by the vehicle. Some parts of this will be done within the sensor units themselves, but a central computer or electronic control unit (ECU) will be required to communicate this information to the relevant vehicle controls. The greater data requirements lead to using more power-dense ICs (integrated circuits) and hence a greater thermal management requirement. We have already seen this with Tesla’s adoption of a liquid cooling circuit for their computer highlighting the heat generated. - What are the Material Trends? Like any modern electronics component, ADAS sensors and computers require thermal interface materials (TIMs) to help spread heat from the heat generating element to a heat sink or unit enclosure. Cameras, radars, LiDARs, and ECUs all have their own TIM requirements and as their designs evolve, so too do their TIM needs. Whilst the average ECU now may use a fairly typical TIM with 3-4 W/m×K thermal conductivity, the increased processing power required for autonomous functions could see this rise significantly. Many of the sensors spread throughout the vehicle will be relatively small and low power, hence not necessarily needing a high-performance TIM. However, the rapidly growing market for ADAS features means that the volume demands for TIMs will increase significantly. IDTechEx is forecasting an increase in TIM demand of 3 times in just the next 5 years for ADAS sensors. - Concluding Thoughts The rapid adoption of ADAS features and autonomy in the automotive market presents great opportunities for thermal management material suppliers with sensor design evolving and a growing market for ADAS components. IDTechEx’s report, “Thermal Management for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) 2023-2033”, uses both primary and secondary research to cover these trends for ADAS sensor and computer evolution with a focus on thermal interface materials and die attach with additional chapters on combined EMI and thermal materials and radar radome materials. Company profiles/interviews are also included along with 10-year market forecasts in terms of material area, tonnage, and market value.
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WAE showcases industry-leading high performance battery technology at The Battery Show Europe
Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) will showcase its industry-leading high performance battery technology at The Battery Show Europe from 28-30 June, in Stuttgart. Visitors to the WAE stand in Hall 8, stand F50, will have the opportunity to examine an example of the company’s innovative Adaptive Multi-Chem advanced battery pack, together with the Triumph Motorcycles TE-1 prototype demonstrator. Combining power and energy in one advanced battery system, Adaptive Multi-Chem sets new standards for performance and efficiency, with the advantage of being totally customisable for individual customer requirements. Triumph’s first zero emission prototype demonstrator motorcycle – the battery pack for which delivers a peak power of 130kW and continuous power of 90kW, with a capacity of 15kWh – will also be on display. With the optimum balance of power and energy, TE-1’s battery gives the rider access to greater electric power for longer, regardless of battery charge, and matches exhilarating acceleration with exceptional range. The 360-volt system also enables a fast-charging time of under 20mins (0-80%). WAE developed the technology to support the TE-1 prototype demonstrator, a unique collaboration between Triumph Motorcycles, Integral Powertrain Ltd, and WMG at the University of Warwick funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles through Innovate UK. In addition, the stunning 2200 horsepower Deus Vayanne electric hypercar, brought to life by WAE's collaboration with Deus Automobiles and Italdesign, is on display on the Deus Automobiles stand Hall 8, Stand D-30. This customer project demonstrates WAE’s sector-leading partnership with ItalDesign, which sees WAE provide a highly sophisticated composite EV platform and powertrain, with ItalDesign contributing the body design, safety systems and electric architecture. The partnership provides a unique offering for established car companies and start-ups who want a luxury, high-performance EV, without having to spend many years – and billions of dollars – developing a proprietary EV skateboard and associated technology. Taking place from 28 - 30 June 2022 in Stuttgart, Germany, The Battery Show Europe is Europe’s largest battery technology showcase and conference. With more than 480 suppliers in attendance, The Battery Show Europe provides an ideal opportunity for WAE to showcase its motorsport-derived, zero-emission mobility solutions. On day one of the conference, Tim Engstrom, WAE Manager - Advanced Battery Technologies, will also deliver the keynote presentation, ‘Examining the Role of Motorsport as a Platform to Accelerate Battery Technology, And Why It Matters’. Dyrr Ardash, Head of Strategic Partnerships, WAE said: “The Battery Show Europe is an ideal event for WAE to showcase its high-performance battery and EV platform technology. As the world electrifies, motorsport developments act as a springboard to bring world-class technical innovation for a decarbonised and sustainable future. WAE’s role in electric motorsport has significantly accelerated the development of the lightweight battery and e-powertrain technology we can offer our customers today. We continue to learn valuable lessons from our motorsport involvement that will deliver further transformative benefits to the users of EVs in terms of power, performance, efficiency, and sustainability.”
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Monolith AI Software Accelerates Development of World-Class Vehicles
Monolith, an AI software platform used by the world’s leading automotive, aerospace and industrial engineering teams from Siemens to Honeywell, announced today that engineering teams at the BMW Group, the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles, are using its software to accelerate the development of their world-class vehicles. By training Monolith self-learning models with the company’s valuable engineering test data, engineers can now use AI to solve previously impossible physics challenges and instantly predict the performance of highly complex systems like crash and aerodynamics tests. The BMW Group crash test engineering team began working with Monolith in 2019 via the BMW Startup Garage to explore the potential of using AI to predict the force on a passenger’s tibia during a crash. Current crash development uses 1000s of simulations as well as physical tests to capture performance. Even with sophisticated modelling, owing to the complexity of the physics underpinning crash dynamics, results require substantial engineering know-how to calibrate for real world behaviour. Moreover, physical crash tests can only be conducted in later stages of development when the design is mature enough to create physical prototypes. Exploring a more efficient solution, the BMW Group collaborated with Monolith to see if AI could predict crash performance and importantly, substantially earlier in the vehicle development process. The BMW Startup Garage, BMW Group’s venture client unit, facilitated this collaboration and helped Monolith grow its business relations with the premium automotive manufacturer. Using Monolith, BMW Group engineers built self-learning models using the wealth of their existing crash data and were able to accurately predict the force on the tibia for a range of different crash types without doing physical crashes. Moreover, the accuracy of the self-learning models will continue to improve as more data becomes available and the platform is further embedded into the engineering workflow. This game-changing approach now means engineers can optimise crash performance earlier in the design process and reduce dependence on time-intensive, costly testing whilst making historical data infinitely more valuable. “When the intractable physics of a complex vehicle system means it can’t be truly solved via simulation, AI and self-learning models can fill the gap to instantly understand and predict vehicle performance. This offers engineers a tremendous new tool to do less testing and more learning from their data by reducing the number of required simulations and physical tests while critically making existing data more valuable,” said Dr Richard Ahlfeld, CEO and Founder, Monolith. “We are excited to see how BMW Group engineers are using pioneering technologies like Monolith to reduce the cost and time of product development as they develop the next generation of premium vehicles.” The Monolith platform has been developed with a laser focus on user experience by automotive experts and data scientists to ensure seamless integration with existing engineering processes. As a result, as soon as the software is implemented, domain experts quickly begin gaining valuable insights and time back, as well as the chance to explore an even wider design space. “What’s perhaps even more exciting than the promise of accelerating the vehicle development process is the opportunity for engineers to explore more design parameters and find new relationships between operating conditions without the need for data science support. Suddenly the combination of engineering expertise and machine learning becomes a competitive game-changer and gives our customers the means to create world-class products more efficiently." Dr Richard Ahlfeld continued. The BMW Group is expanding its use of Monolith into more engineering functions across R&D that generate vast amounts of data from crash testing to aerodynamics, motorsports and advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS). Monolith is poised to swiftly scale, propelled by more globally renowned engineering teams adopting Monolith, an expert team, network of industry partners and an extensive portfolio of IP.
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Automotive Ethernet Congress: Optical Multi-gigabit in Vehicles
KDPOF, leading supplier for gigabit connectivity over fiber optics, proudly announced that their well-proven KD1053 PHY IC and integrated KD9351 FOT (Fiber Optic Transceiver) have been implemented by Renesas, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, into the new next generation automotive vehicle computer VC4. This comprehensive communication gateway ECU from Renesas features the newest automotive network technologies and sufficient computing power to host the ever-increasing number of user applications. “With the VC4, we have integrated an optical Ethernet interface into our automotive evaluation boards for the first time,” stated Tobias Belitz, Principal Engineer at Renesas. “KDPOF shared their 1000BASE-RH transceiver KD1053 and KD9351 FOT according to IEEE 802.3bv with us, which also covers the wide temperature range we are looking at.” The four megatrends of autonomous driving, connected cars, electric vehicles, and shared mobility move the E/E architecture from domain based into a zonal architecture in order to meet the increasing complexity and computation demands of the next generation vehicles. With the VC4 communication gateway ECU, Renesas provides a universal development platform for automotive customers based on their R-Car-S4 system-on-module. KDPOF Chipset for Safe Backbone and ADAS Sensor Connection Optical connectivity perfectly solves the challenges posed by electrical interference in vehicles thanks to its low weight, low cost, and electromagnetic compatibility due to inherent galvanic isolation. “We are proud that Renesas has chosen our compact automotive Ethernet chipset for their future-ready vehicle computer VC4,” stated Carlos Pardo, CEO and Co-founder of KDPOF. “With the integrated KD9351 FOT in combination with the KD1053 PHY IC, we deliver a complete automotive 1000BASE-RHC physical layer.“ Applications include safe Ethernet backbones, smart antenna modules, and sensor connections for ADAS and audio/video. Incorporating the transmission and reception optoelectronics – such as transimpedance amplifier, photodiode, LED driver, and LED – into one single component, the KD9351 is an optical transceiver for 100 Mb/s up to 1 Gb/s with a small footprint. Additional benefits are a shorter supply chain and no test duplication with the final test at the Tier1. Furthermore, the assembly is simplified and the connector offers snap-fit without soldering. The KD9351 reuses low-cost MEMs encapsulation and allows SMD reflow assembly with 8 by 7 mm LGA components. It is fully shielded against electromagnetic radiation. The temperature range, from -40 °C to +105 °C, conforms with harsh automotive environmental requirements. Presentation “Automotive Optical Ethernet Reaching for 50 Gb/s” at Automotive Ethernet Congress 2022 KDPOF will present latest highlights of their optical in-vehicle network technology at the Automotive Ethernet Congress from June 1 to 2, 2022 in Munich, Germany. On June 2 at 10:00 CEST, Carlos Pardo will give the presentation “Automotive Optical Ethernet Reaching for 50 Gb/s”.
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KDPOF Complements Renesas' New Vehicle Computer VC4
KDPOF, leading supplier for gigabit connectivity over fiber optics, proudly announced that their well-proven KD1053 PHY IC and integrated KD9351 FOT (Fiber Optic Transceiver) have been implemented by Renesas, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, into the new next generation automotive vehicle computer VC4. This comprehensive communication gateway ECU from Renesas features the newest automotive network technologies and sufficient computing power to host the ever-increasing number of user applications. “With the VC4, we have integrated an optical Ethernet interface into our automotive evaluation boards for the first time,” stated Tobias Belitz, Principal Engineer at Renesas. “KDPOF shared their 1000BASE-RH transceiver KD1053 and KD9351 FOT according to IEEE 802.3bv with us, which also covers the wide temperature range we are looking at.” The four megatrends of autonomous driving, connected cars, electric vehicles, and shared mobility move the E/E architecture from domain based into a zonal architecture in order to meet the increasing complexity and computation demands of the next generation vehicles. With the VC4 communication gateway ECU, Renesas provides a universal development platform for automotive customers based on their R-Car-S4 system-on-module. - KDPOF Chipset for Safe Backbone and ADAS Sensor Connection Optical connectivity perfectly solves the challenges posed by electrical interference in vehicles thanks to its low weight, low cost, and electromagnetic compatibility due to inherent galvanic isolation. “We are proud that Renesas has chosen our compact automotive Ethernet chipset for their future-ready vehicle computer VC4,” stated Carlos Pardo, CEO and Co-founder of KDPOF. “With the integrated KD9351 FOT in combination with the KD1053 PHY IC, we deliver a complete automotive 1000BASE-RHC physical layer.“ Applications include safe Ethernet backbones, smart antenna modules, and sensor connections for ADAS and audio/video. Incorporating the transmission and reception optoelectronics – such as transimpedance amplifier, photodiode, LED driver, and LED – into one single component, the KD9351 is an optical transceiver for 100 Mb/s up to 1 Gb/s with a small footprint. Additional benefits are a shorter supply chain and no test duplication with the final test at the Tier1. Furthermore, the assembly is simplified and the connector offers snap-fit without soldering. The KD9351 reuses low-cost MEMs encapsulation and allows SMD reflow assembly with 8 by 7 mm LGA components. It is fully shielded against electromagnetic radiation. The temperature range, from -40 °C to +105 °C, conforms with harsh automotive environmental requirements. - Presentation “Automotive Optical Ethernet Reaching for 50 Gb/s” at Automotive Ethernet Congress 2022 KDPOF will present latest highlights of their optical in-vehicle network technology at the Automotive Ethernet Congress from June 1 to 2, 2022 in Munich, Germany. On June 2 at 10:00 CEST, Carlos Pardo will give the presentation “Automotive Optical Ethernet Reaching for 50 Gb/s”.
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WARWICK ACOUSTICS SET TO DISRUPT AUTOMOTIVE AUDIO MARKET WITH REVOLUTIONARY ELECTROSTATIC TECHNOLOGY
UK-based audio technology company, Warwick Acoustics Ltd, is primed to disrupt the $8 billion automotive in-car audio market with its revolutionary ‘ElectroAcoustic Panels’ based on its patented Electrostatic Loudspeaker technology. With the company’s innovative solutions continuing to be proven in high-end headphone systems and intense automotive R&D having taken place over the last five years, Warwick Acoustics is now exiting ‘stealth mode’ as the world’s first audio technology company to engineer Electrostatic based audio systems for automotive applications. The exceptional audio quality of Warwick Acoustics’ Electrostatic technology has been critically acclaimed in the premium headphone market, where the company has earned over 30 global awards. With a rapidly growing portfolio of fundamental patents on Electrostatic Transducer design characteristics and manufacturing processes, Warwick Acoustics becomes the first organisation worldwide that is capable of delivering the same unrivalled, remarkable and immersive listening experiences to the premium in-car audio sector. Proven Benefits in Automotive Applications Warwick Acoustics’ ElectroAcoustic Panels bring significant whole vehicle system benefits compared to the use of conventional audio technology. Like-for-like, ElectroAcoustic Panels are up to 75% lighter, consume up to 75% less power and offer significant interior design and packaging freedom. As automotive manufacturers (OEMs) set key sustainability objectives, including the decarbonisation of their supply bases to become carbon-neutral, Warwick Acoustics’ ElectroAcoustic Panels deliver breakthrough speaker solutions for OEMs in achieving such targets with the use of 100% by mass upcycled and recyclable materials. Additionally, ElectroAcoustic Panels do not use any unsustainable rare earth elements whatsoever – something that conventional speakers rely upon in the manufacturing process. ElectroAcoustic Panels offer automotive designers and engineers significant freedom over speaker location and cabin integration. Unlike conventional speakers, ElectroAcoustic Panels can be moulded into diverse form factors and incorporated into almost all interior surface designs. This creates additional space within vehicle interiors for passengers, as well as freedom for automotive manufacturers to innovate visual interior designs, creating new and distinctive in-cabin experiences. With Warwick Acoustics’ ElectroAcoustic Panels now automotive-grade ready, the development of this new technology is well-timed with OEMs’ rapid transition to electrification and life cycle sustainability. Mike Grant, CEO of Warwick Acoustics, commented: “We believe that our revolutionary technology is capable of transforming premium audio within the automotive sector through both the extraordinary acoustic quality our solutions deliver to consumers, and the multifarious and significant benefits our solutions deliver to OEMs. “It is exciting to finally exit ‘stealth mode’ after many years of intense R&D. While we have proven our Electrostatic Loudspeaker technology in the high-end headphone market – securing widespread critical acclaim for unequalled, immersive and precise sound quality – it was always clear that it was in the automotive sector where the initial significant opportunity for the company lies. “The relevance and value of our technology have only increased as the transition of the sector to sustainable technology quickly accelerates. The substantial improvements we have made in terms of weight saving and power reduction become even more compelling with EVs than ICE-powered vehicles. In addition, the sustainable benefits of our speakers in terms of the use of upcycled and recyclable materials is a game-changer for OEMs who are all rapidly seeking to decarbonise their supply bases. “Our business is primed for expansion. Our ElectroAcoustic Panels are automotive-application ready. We have assembled a world-class team with an exceptional depth of industry experience. With strong financial backing, the company is now scaling the business rapidly to capitalise fully on the opportunity in front of us to be a global leader in our field.”
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Monolith brings game-changing Artificial Intelligence to automotive industry, cutting product development time and cost by up to 50%
Monolith, a rapidly scaling Artificial Intelligence (AI) software company, is poised to radically reshape the development time of new cars. Its game-changing AI platform can substantially reduce testing and associated costs that automakers currently require to bring new vehicles to market. Monolith software uses self-learning models to instantly predict the results of complex vehicle dynamics systems, reducing the need for physical tests or simulations. This game-changing approach will dramatically accelerate every stage of the automotive development process from initial design, design iterations, validation and production which currently require repetitive, time-intensive and costly tests and simulations. Using Monolith also results in fewer physical prototypes, travel to specialist test sites and on-road testing, making latter stages of validation safer and more sustainable. - The Current Gap between Virtual and Physical Testing To date, automotive companies use a combination of life-like virtual simulations and physical testing during vehicle development. For each design iteration, a simulation solves the physics that underpins the system’s modelling; a notoriously difficult and computationally intensive process. Virtual simulations help reduce the number of physical tests required, but the accuracy and fidelity of the results can be limited. Numerous physical tests are therefore still needed to calibrate and validate the virtual results, as well as to understand performance in operating conditions that cannot be simulated. For example, aerodynamics optimises air flow over a vehicle to reduce drag and is notoriously difficult to solve mathematically which reduces the accuracy of simulated models. Owing to the highly iterative nature of the automotive design process, engineers supplement virtual aerodynamics testing with hundreds of hours of wind tunnel tests in facilities that can cost thousands per hour. - Monolith is Transforming Automotive Product Development Monolith offers an alternative and radical solution to reduce the time and cost of vehicle testing. Virtual and physical tests create significant volumes of valuable data that is presently underutilised. Now, with Monolith, this data can be leveraged to train highly accurate AI self-learning models to instantly predict the performance of systems by understanding their behaviour from data, instead of solving the complex physics of the system, or performing a physical test. Using this approach, engineers can rapidly predict performance in more operating conditions and for areas of the car that were previously impossible to simulate, further reducing the amount of testing required. Monolith is already being used to reduce wind tunnel, track, wheel and tyre, and vehicle dynamics, durability, crash and powertrain testing. Dr Richard Ahlfield, CEO and Founder of Monolith, “Monolith was founded to empower engineers with AI to instantly solve even their most intractable physics problems. We know this resonates especially with automotive engineers who struggle to optimise hundreds of often conflicting criteria with hundreds of complex simulations. Requiring hours or days to solve, engineers have grown frustrated by the considerable amount of physical testing still required to make up for the limitations of the virtual tests. At the same time, the data that is created in the process represents an enormous opportunity when used with AI. By predicting results with self-learning models we can radically accelerate the development process. Today, automotive companies are spending billions developing electrical architectures and software capabilities as they strive to win the race for electric, shared and autonomous mobility. This squeezes R&D budgets and product timelines in other areas, creating enormous pressure on the engineering teams working to develop higher quality vehicle hardware systems in less time and with fewer resources. As Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota put it, “data is the new gold” but the “[vehicle] platform will be the backbone for mobility as a service for autonomy, for car sharing, for any number of services that we want to make possible”. Data to make better vehicles whilst cutting costs and saving time - this is at the heart of how Monolith is uniquely transforming vehicle development. The Monolith platform empowers automotive R&D teams to use AI to learn the best possible insights from years of existing test data, or instantly predict results from a small sample of current tests. Ultimately this means OEMs can bring new vehicles to market faster, which isn’t just vital to reach EV ambitions, but allows automotive engineers to do what they love best - engineering incredible new vehicles." - Mature and Proven Technology, Ready to Scale Monolith has spent the past six years developing its platform and working closely with some of the world’s top engineering teams to stress test it. Today it boasts a mature and proven technology that is being seamlessly integrated into customers’ day to day activities. Engineering teams at leading automotive OEM and tier 1 suppliers around the world are already realising substantial reductions in physical testing after working with Monolith: 1) Sensor and instrument company Kistler achieved a 72% reduction in sensor based testing 2) Honda recorded an 83% faster design cycle 3) JOTA Sports Endurance Racing Team reduced the number of simulations and tests by 50%, and associated costs by 66% Dr Joel Henry, Principal Engineer at Monolith, said, “Optimising a system, or finding a new solution based on a decade of historical data, is like instantly offering an engineer a decade of experience. That’s the power of AI - it supercharges an individual’s subject matter expertise by unlocking the expertise stored within a company’s data. Monolith really is the engineer’s perfect partner.” Built from the ground up by engineers for engineers, the no-code platform offers a seamless user experience with powerful interactive dashboards. The Monolith team is made up of industry and software experts who work with customers to identify their most effective use cases that can rapidly realise the value of AI. Use cases are dependent on the needs of the business and the type of data. For example, an OEM can use its legacy data to find new insights hidden within its decades of expertise and unique data. Alternatively, data captured from a handful of tests using a physical prototype can be used to teach Monolith self-learning models to predict behaviour over more operating conditions; including under non-steady states, when variables of interest have not settled and are still changing over time. Monolith self-learning models predict behaviour under these typically difficult-to-capture non-steady states in a matter of seconds, instead of weeks or months capturing behaviour in all driving and operating conditions. This enables engineers to explore even more parameters and requirements to make products that are even more fit for purpose whilst substantially reducing development time. - The $46 billion Opportunity The business is currently focused on automotive customers but has ambitions and applications in innumerate industries. Monolith can be used for any system which requires data, repetitive testing or Digital Twins for design development, validation, production or data evaluation. Digital Twins, which are real-time virtual representations of a physical object or process, are increasingly used in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, supply chain and retail. The digital twin market is estimated to be worth $46.08 billion by 2026. Monolith is already working in this space with global brands such as L’Oreal and pharmaceutical company Nanopharm. Monolith is poised to swiftly scale with an expert team, network of industry partners, extensive portfolio of IP and £10.6M of funding.
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Zero roadway deaths possible
Neural Propulsion Systems (NPS), a pioneer in autonomous sensing platforms, issued a paper today revealing that compelling new innovations enable vehicles with or without human supervision to see soon enough, clear enough and far enough to eliminate roadway deaths. Achieving zero roadway deaths is necessary for universal adoption of autonomous driving and is the objective of the recently released U.S. National Roadway Safety Strategy. The paper finds that zero deaths require sensing and processing a peak data rate on the order of 100 X 1012 bits per second (100 Terabits per second) for vehicles to safely operate under worst roadway conditions. This immense requirement is 10 million times greater than the sensory data rate from our eyes to our brains. The paper also shows that sensing and processing 100 Tb/s can be accomplished by combining breakthrough analytics, advanced multi-band radar, solid state LiDAR, and advanced system on a chip (SoC) technology. Such an approach will allow companies developing advanced human driver assistance systems (ADAS) and fully autonomous driving systems to accelerate progress. NPS achieved pilot scale proof-of-concept of the core sensor element required for zero roadway deaths at a Northern California airfield in December 2021. One reason for this successful historic event is the Atomic Norm, a recently discovered mathematical framework that radically changes how sensor data is processed and understood. Atomic Norm was developed at Caltech and MIT and further developed specifically for autonomous driving by NPS. “Based on principles from physics and information theory, it is possible for sensors to see well enough to enable zero roadway deaths. This is not wishful thinking — it’s possible today,” said Dr. Behrooz Rezvani, founder and CEO of NPS. “We are solely focused on rolling out this historic technology that sees everything sooner, clearer and farther to provide autonomous vehicles with the stopping distance and time needed to reach zero preventable accidents. Henry Ford said his goal was for every working family to own a car. Our goal is to have nobody lose a loved one in a car crash.” “The key question for companies developing autonomous driving systems should be ‘What must be true to get to zero roadway deaths?’” said Dr. Babak Hassibi, founder and CTO of NPS. “We have concluded that sensing and processing about 100 Tb/s is one of these necessary requirements and this is indeed possible.” “While roadway safety has improved over the past several decades, all countries continue to face formidable challenges,” said Dr. Lawrence Burns, Executive Advisor to NPS. “Today, roadway accidents account for over 1.3 million fatalities and 50 million injuries per year, with half being pedestrians and cyclists. We now have the vehicle sensing and processing technology to see well enough to enable an end this epidemic.” [About the Authors] ● Dr. Behrooz Rezvani is a serial entrepreneur and currently founder and CEO of NPS. Companies founded by Rezvani shipped billions of products and had a major influence on the telecommunications industry, including Ikanos (acquired by Qualcomm) and Quantenna (acquired by ON Semiconductor Corp). ● Dr. Babak Hassibi is co-founder and Chief Technologist at NPS. He is also the inaugural Mose and Lillian S. Bohn Professor of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he has been since 2001. ● Dr. Lawrence Burns is former Corporate Vice President of Research & Development and Planning at General Motors. He advises organizations on the future of mobility, logistics, innovation, manufacturing and energy – including Google Self-Driving Cars/Waymo for over a decade. His most recent book is Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car and How it Will Reshape Our World.
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EPIcenter Presents Research to Advance EV Fleet Operations
The age of the electric vehicle (EV) is now. Wide adoption of EVs by fleet owners across the country is already happening. In its second white paper, EPIcenter, a nonprofit energy innovation hub, presents the advancement and analysis of how fleet owners and the utilities that supply their power can work together to manage costs, optimize charging operations and maintain grid stability. Charging Forward: How Fleet Owners, Utilities, and the Planet Can Benefit from Deliberate and Optimized EV Charging explores how EVs are not only gaining ground in the personal-vehicle market but progressing into the fleet markets of delivery services, school districts, public transit, construction firms, and governmental entities, among others. The paper introduces the benefits and challenges that the advancement of EV technology presents in commercial and rental fleet spaces. “The best-case scenario is where both the fleet-operating companies and their utilities begin talking long before the actual EV adoption process begins,” Kimberly M. Britton, CEO of EPIcenter, said. “This approach allows both to locate and size infrastructure appropriately and to efficiently deliver the power needed while enhancing grid stability. Such collaboration should lead to minimized battery and equipment degradation, maintenance cost savings, and enables EVs to draw electricity when it is most plentiful and least expensive.” The goals of the utilities are similar to those of the fleet owners - mission accomplishment with the least costly financial impact. For example, for fleet owners, the long-term benefits of optimized charging should outweigh the near-term costs of installing new EV charging infrastructure. And for utilities, carefully planning the scale of any new distribution infrastructure that delivers power to the fleet charging station can keep costs down. And when the utility comes out ahead financially, shareholders realize better returns. By intentionally aligning their goals and working together to achieve them, both fleet owners and utilities can surmount the challenges to EV fleet adoption. To learn more or to access Charging Forward: How Fleet Owners, Utilities, and the Planet Can Benefit from Deliberate and Optimized EV Charging, please visit www.epicenterus.org
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Continual Mobility Experience Analytics now available on Google Cloud Marketplace
Continual (TASE: CNTL), a leading provider of Connected Car and subscriber Mobility Experience Analytics, today announced that it is extending its collaboration with Google Cloud to make its cloud-native Mobility Experience Analytics available on Google Cloud Marketplace. The new collaboration with Google Cloud progresses a relationship that has been developing since the company was initially certified as a Google Cloud partner in 2021. Google Cloud Marketplace allows users to quickly access and deploy software solutions and services that run on Google Cloud. With the availability of Continual’s Mobility Experience Analytics on Google Cloud Marketplace, mobile operators can benefit by having their datasets integrated into Continual’s Mobility Experience Platform, allowing them to optimize connected experiences for all subscribers, and also Connected Car drivers and passengers. This collaboration further extends the benefits to automotive and transportation enterprises with smart mobility services based on Continual’s platform. “This collaboration will accelerate mobile operators’ endeavors to optimize the quality of their network for the benefit of travelers,” said Greg Snipper, CEO of Continual. “It will also empower automotive manufacturers and transportation providers as they offer smart mobility services such as quality alerts and connectivity-based route decisions, which are extremely important for autonomous driving.” See Continual at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 28 February – 3 March 2022, in Hall 5, booth 5A83
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REE Commences Trials of All-New Electric P7 Modular Platform For Delivery Fleets
REE Automotive Ltd. (NASDAQ: REE), today announced it is commencing trials of its all-new P7 platform designed for commercial delivery vehicles and walk-in vans. The P7 platform, targeted to a U.S. based delivery van program, was designed based on functional and operational specifications from one of the world’s largest delivery companies. Fully flat from end-to-end, P7 offers greatest interior space and volumetric efficiency for vehicles in classes 3-5. Supporting up to 8,600 lbs. max payload, the P7 platform packs up to 35% more packages than comparable commercial vehicles or the equivalent and can comfortably carry up to 30 passengers, making it the optimal platform for target markets such as delivery and logistic fleet owners, transit authorities, school buses and mobility operators. REEcorner and X-by-Wire technology allows each wheel to move independently for enhanced driving dynamics and safety with all-wheel steer, drive and brake options. The P7 modular platform is designed to radically simplify development times of electric commercial models and is optimized for fleet owners looking to create their own commercial vehicle brand, unique design and market differentiation utilizing the REE configuration and lowest TCO due to Battery as a Service, Data-as-a-Service and fast REEcorner swap. On the path to production, last year REE nominated key suppliers American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) to supply high-performance electric drive units and Brembo to co-develop and supply the braking system. Daniel Barel, REE Automotive Co-Founder and CEO: “The P7 platform is paramount in commercial vehicle design, safety and functionality. True to our vision of providing complete modularity and versatility, this platform can be configured in different sizes and optimized to suit a particular application and use case. The P7 will utilize REE-Hitachi’s Data and Application as-a-service capabilities of injecting intelligence and actionable insight info fleet operations and affording fleet owners complete visibility over their operations allowing faster time to market, lower total ownership costs and suite of lifecycle services.” Core design commonalities in the innovative P7 architecture are designed to provide significant development synergies for additional future REEcorner models across vehicle classes. This architecture approach affords both cost and timing benefits through the development process, as well as further production efficiencies from the resultant economies of scale. Electric and autonomous vehicles built on top of REE’s P7 platforms will be able to achieve driving ranges of up to 370 miles with max speeds of 80 mph and supporting gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) of up to 16,500 lbs. REE’s P7 platform offers unparalleled benefits in terms of virtually unlimited design freedom to meet customers’ exact business needs, highest driving and range performance, enhanced safety and stability and disruptive X-by-Wire technology that affords fail-safe and independent wheel control. [P7 Platform Highlights] Greatest interior space on smallest footprint due to end-to-end fully-flat chassis & low floor design Higher volumetric efficiency yields higher operational margins P7 provides minimal turning radiuses and enhanced driving reliability and stability due to REEcorner™ X-by-Wire tech P7 platforms will support Data-as-a-Service – affording fleet managers with complete visibility and actionable insights over their fleet operations The platform shown is 7.6m in length and 2.4m in width [P7 Platform Specifications] (Parameter - Specification) GVWR : 10,000 lbs – 16,500 lbs (4.5 Tonnes – 7.5 Tonnes) Drive : RWD, FWD or AWD Steer : FWS or AWS Length : 19.7 ft - 24.9 ft (6.2 m - 7.6 m) Width : 5.2 ft - 7.9 ft (1.6 m - 2.4 m) Height : 6.6 ft to 9.8 ft (2.0 m - 3.0 m) Battery Capacity : Up to 120 kWh Peak Motor Power : Up to 100 kW x 4 Max Speed : Up to 80 mph (130 kph) Turning Radius : Minimum 40.0 ft (12.2 m) Max Payload : Up to 8,820 lbs (4,000 kg) Load Floor Height : Minimum 20 in (50.8 cm) Cargo Volume : Up to 1,400 ft3 (39.6 m3)
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Phiar and Qualcomm to Transform Automotive Cockpits
Phiar Technologies, a leading platform for AI-powered Augmented Reality (AR) navigation for driving, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., an industry leader in connected car and digital cockpit experiences, today announced the companies’ work to transfigure how people navigate, interact, and experience the world through vehicles. Through the companies’ working relationship, Phiar will bring its powerful computer vision-based spatial artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to Snapdragon® Automotive Cockpit Platforms to support intelligent AR heads-up display (HUD) navigation and situational awareness for next-generation automotive in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) environments. Today, drivers are facing cognitive overload from having to interpret a multitude of information and notifications from the cockpit, while still trying to interpret directions on a 2D map, resulting in a non-optimal driving experience. Aiming to address this, Phiar is working with Qualcomm Technologies to transform navigation experiences by bringing seamless AI-powered road perception and AR navigation to video and HUD-based automotive IVI environments. Gene Karshenboym, CEO of Phiar Technologies, said: “At Phiar, we're dedicated to delivering drivers an AR navigation experience either on HUD or video screen that is unparalleled because they see intelligent navigation guidance in real-time for more intuitive driving, without the need to look at a map. Working with Qualcomm Technologies and the Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms has empowered us to continually innovate on our existing high standards in AR navigation design, and to deliver the first-rate infotainment services and digital cockpit solutions demanded by modern consumers.” Bill Pinnell, Vice President, Product Management, Automotive, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., said: “There is a growing expectation among consumers and automakers for sophisticated and truly connected digital cockpit solutions. Qualcomm Technologies is delighted that our next generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform is helping bring the future of driving navigation to consumers through Phiar's innovative platform.” To learn more about Phiar solutions and partners, visit www.phiar.net
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Hitachi and REE Automotive Agree on Collaboration to Advance and Simplify the Adoption of Sustainable Electric Vehicles Globally
Hitachi America, Ltd. ("Hitachi") and REE Automotive (NASDAQ: REE, “REE”) announced today a newly formed strategic agreement to ease and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) across the entire EV value chain, including enabling EV manufacturing at scale, delivering commercial vehicle charging infrastructure and energy management, and providing comprehensive digital fleet management and operations for full visibility across EV fleets as organizations transition over the next decade. Hitachi and REE will accelerate the development of advanced digital solutions for REE customers by co-creating a highly scalable Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Analytics-as-a-Service (AaaS) platform, which will enable next-generation connected commercial EVs. Leveraging Hitachi’s Lumada data platform and REE’s platform modularity and horizontal business strategy, the companies aim to bring to market a truly modular, smart EV solution to serve all segments, including delivery, logistics, and mobility-as-a-service. “We are excited to partner with REE to help accelerate the transition to EVs globally,” said Hicham Abdessamad, Chairman and CEO, Hitachi America, Ltd. “Hitachi is deeply committed to sustainability, and with our long history of innovation in energy, mobility, manufacturing and digital, together with REE’s transformative, innovative approach to EV and autonomous vehicles (AV), we are well positioned to accelerate and ease the transition to zero-emission commercial vehicles at scale, a mission that we both share.” Through this partnership, Hitachi and REE are committed to bring data-driven, scalable, sustainable electric vehicle, commercial mobility solutions to market that deliver value while helping to achieve carbon emissions goals and which will enable a complete, connected ecosystem of services for commercial mobility and transportation. “This alliance with Hitachi comes at an ideal time for REE as we value their best-in-class innovation and experience in data science and analytics, enabling us to provide a complete solution to our customers,” said REE Co-founder and CEO Daniel Barel. “With Hitachi’s innovation and invaluable expertise in EV and digital technologies, REE is primed to build on our early leadership position as the leading e-Mobility platform across the globe. In addition, Hitachi is a well-known and respected player in the automotive, energy and digital industry which can drive customer orders, and we are looking forward to benefiting from their extensive sales network and relationships.”
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Live Trial of 5G Connected Car Concept To Launch in Turin, Italy
On 2 December, the City of Turin (Italy) will host a live trial of new driver and pedestrian safety technology allowing near-real-time notification of roadway hazards through 5G-Edge networks. This trial is one of a series conducted internationally by a historic public-private collaboration over the next few years, organized by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and eight member companies representing leading technology companies from around the globe. “This collaboration between the 5G Automotive Association and its member companies is the perfect example of how we can secure safety on roads and build the future of connected mobility,” said Maxime Flament, CTO of 5GAA. “This time, demonstrated use-cases take place in Europe through 5G and Edge networks—I look forward to seeing more in the future in the United States and other continents.” The promise of 5G and Edge technology has long been anticipated to deliver new connected services that will revolutionize daily life, with the estimated new economic opportunity stretching into the trillions USD over the next 10-years1. The global connected car market size alone is projected to reach USD 191.83 billion by 2028. [GJ1] 5G transmission speeds and so-called “Edge” servers—locally installed, high-powered computers capable of running Artificial Intelligence programs—open the door to smart city technologies like near real-time traffic management and innumerable other business applications. The connected car concept uses this high-speed and Edge computing technology to communicate with car sensors and pedestrian smartphones, via a user-authorized mobile app—about traffic hazards, like accidents and road construction—to Pedestrian and in-vehicle driver safety and efficient navigation.[MD2] "The connected car concept is an important validation of the combined value of Edge, of 5G and IOT," said Paolo Campoli, Head of Global Service Provider sector at Cisco, “We are so excited to take part in this event that creates a platform for innovation in 5G IOT. The integration of 5G mobility, applications and data processing at the Edge requires expertise from very different domains—expertise that Cisco and Partners can bring. It includes elements of automation, intelligent infrastructure and workloads control, cybersecurity protection and end-to-end application observability. The live trial in Turin is a great opportunity to show how the intersection of Edge, 5G and IOT based on Standards creates a platform to connect Service Providers and Industries." This live international trial attempts to solve one of the more technical challenges of making the connected car concept a daily reality. The 5G networks underpinning the concept are managed by communication service providers (CoSPs) according to geography, each with different edge solutions that must be able to communicate without interruption of the V2X applications as drivers cross borders. Roaming services—the ability to make a call regardless of the network—is one early success of multi-mobile network operators (MNO). Demonstrating the connected car concept can work in a roaming scenario is the core objective of the live trial and represents the first of any such attempt in Europe. “Telecom operators will have to play a major role by enabling applications and services for the connected car ecosystem,” says Shamik Mishra, CTO Connectivity, Capgemini Engineering. He further adds: “Capgemini is excited to bring its innovative federated MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing) platform and applications to this 5GAA trial to demonstrate the true value of intelligent industry, leveraging data in the vehicles and edge-cloud. The trials serve as a stepping-stone for realizing the potential for automakers to provide services to their connected cars from the network”. The trial will demonstrate how the car manufacturers, MNOs and technology providers come together to help overcome the challenge of when a vehicle moves from one network boundary to another or Inter-MNO handover of MEC service. The Turin live trial addresses three objectives: Objective 1: Multi-MNO scenario: How can a vehicle, which has radio access to MNO A, use a MEC application, which is operated by MNO B -> Interworking between MNO‘s (by NOT losing the benefits of low latency) Objective 2: Global operational Availability: How can an OEM as the MEC application developer be sure, especially on a global basis, that a MEC application works in the same way if it’s operated by MNO A, or if it’s operated by MNO B Objective 3: Multi-MNO with roaming scenario: Where the two operators can seamlessly transfer the V2X service from one operator to the other as the car OEM moves from one geo to the other in a roaming scenario. Typically, when an in-vehicle driver does a cross-border travel that involves two operators. One of the key benefits of the trial is the value demonstrated by bringing in a large ecosystem to help develop not only the technology but also build the business case and model that will help drive the market adoption for 5G and C-V2X to help into the digital transformation of smart cities of the future. To succeed in this endeavor, it will need a village and investment from both public and private sectors to help adopt this new technology to provide a quality of life for all citizens. The city of Turin is delighted to facilitate the 5GAA Multi Operator MEC Trial with its Smart Road infrastructure and the technical support of 5T. We see - Chiara Foglietta, Deputy Mayor for Mobility, Ecological and Digital transition, Innovation says - C-V2X services as fundamental to develop a sustainable and safe mobility for all the citizens, whatever transport means they use. In the future, Turin wants to continue the collaboration with 5GAA and offer its Smart Road infrastructure for further scale in the live traffic within Torino City Lab and the new project “ Turin House of emerging Technologies – CTE NEXT” “As TIM, we are honored to be hosting in Turin such a challenging trial by leveraging our Innovation Lab competencies and our pre-commercial instances of Edge Cloud,” says Daniele Franceschini TIM VP Innovation, Standard and Portfolio. “The federation model implemented with our partners enables a ‘continuum’ between Edge Cloud instances allowing players from the automotive industry and beyond to benefit from a seamless cloud experience across country boundaries.” “Greater connectivity speeds, improved hardware and expanded software expertise have opened new opportunities for Stellantis with safety systems being one of the many areas we focus on,” said Mamatha Chamarthi, Head of Software Business and Product Management. “Through smart and strategic partnerships such as 5GAA, we will capitalize on next-generation systems and prove out the technology.” The demonstration brings new learnings for various players across the value chain and creates a testbed for trying out new 5G connected car services at the Edge in subsequent phases. The Turin Live Trial will run throughout the day on 2 December 2021. [BACKGROUND] In this live trial, Telecom Italia (TIM), Telefonica, BT/EE will demonstrate the NSA 5G networking capabilities and the Edge Cloud solution to deliver connected car use cases at the Edge of their networks for their customers. TIM makes its Innovation Lab facilities available and its commercial 5G network with pre-commercial Edge Cloud specific features such as Local Break Out, that together with the federation of edge platforms in TIM, BT/EE and Telefonica make the use cases available for roaming users from BT/EE and Telefonica. The three companies are hosting Capgemini’s ENSCONCE MEC platform, built upon the Intel Smart Edge Open toolkit, the Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit, and Intel hardware to enable connected car use cases at the Edge on 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor equipped Cisco Servers. Intel Smart Edge Open (formerly known as OpenNESS) is a royalty-free edge computing software toolkit for building optimized and performant edge platforms. “The international live trial of building and provisioning Connected Car edge services in a multi-operator scenario is a transformative 5G and Edge use case,” said Renu Navale, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Edge Platforms Division at Intel. “This trial demonstrates the possibilities that 5G connectivity and edge computing can bring to connected car solutions, when the broad ecosystem collaborates and uses Intel technologies such as Xeon processors, Smart Edge Open and OpenVINO.” Capgemini’s ENSCONCE MEC Platform provides multi-tenancy and multi-MNO MEC federation capabilities. The visual compute applications for pedestrian detection and tracking supported by Capgemini’s Orbital Car Situational Awareness V2X platform. To realize the Active and Passive Vulnerable Road User (VRU) use cases, Cisco provides the Edge infrastructure based on CISCO UCS Servers (the Unified Computing Systems that combines computing, network and management in a cohesive architecture) hosting the ESCONCE platform, used to demonstrate Virtual-RSU and host V2X applications that are based on the Intel Xeon Scalable Processors and Intel HDDL-R Visual Accelerators. Harman International and Capgemini provide the Virtual-RSU and RSE solutions respectively to realize various V2X use cases with location-aware and AI inferencing technologies. Harman also offers V2X Application Server and a 5G enabled TCU that integrates seamlessly with Stellantis/FCA car and hosts V2X applications. “It is key that operators and industry partners collaborate to explore the technical feasibility and benefits to unlock the new business opportunities and services to our customers. In this project, we are jointly evaluating the potential to federate edge cloud compute capabilities across multiple geographies to support low latency use cases, including key connected car use cases being delivered as 5G edge services in a multi-MNO, multi-OEM environment,” said Sunil Joshi, Senior Manager, Global Roaming Products at BT/EE. “Telecom operators will have a key role in supporting V2X services and this trial demonstrates the value of leveraging mobile architecture, federating edge platforms and allowing local break out in visited network. Such an approach as defined in the GSMA Operator Platform Group allows customers and developers to deploy their applications across multiple operator domains, and our end users to have the best latency and customer experience when accessing their services,” saidJuan Carlos Garcia, Senior Vice-President of technology innovation and ecosystems, Telefonica. “At Harman, we are focused on building connectivity solutions at the intersection of 5G, V2X and Edge Computing that will build more equity on the road for all users,” said Mahsa Nakhjiri, Director, Product Management. “While these technologies can unlock many new use cases and experiences, the most important element of any solution in this space is safety. As programs such as this one fueled by the collaboration of industry leaders and organizations like 5GAA bring a new degree of safety to users, they will also lead to a higher level of confidence in autonomous vehicles.” ### Source: Harbor Research1.