Toward achieving a target of zero fatal road accidents^*2 in 2030, Subaru is working in research and development for further safety enhancement by integrating AI judgement capabilities into its “EyeSight” driver assist system. Having an office in Shibuya, which is evolving in recent redevelopment as an area for IT companies, will enable smooth and proper hiring of human resources needed for AI development and partnership with IT related companies, aiming for development with a greater sense of speed than before.

While the ideal state of offices is in question amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Subaru Lab offers an environment where engineers, who are expected to combine remote and in-office work, can concentrate on their work. It is a workplace designed to support better communications between workers while preventing the three Cs (Closed spaces, Crowds, and Close contact).

*1.　Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
Head office: Shinjuku, Tokyo / President and Representative Director: Seiichi Miyajima

*2.　Zero fatal road accidents among occupants of Subaru vehicles and people involved in collisions with Subaru vehicles, including pedestrians and cyclists

As part of its global R&D networking in Korea, North America, Europe, China and India, Hyundai Mobis (KRX:012330) will expand its technical center in India, which develops and validates automotive software. Through this, the company aims to strengthen its R&D activities in India, particularly software development for autonomous vehicles. 

Hyundai Mobis announced that it will set up and operate the second technical center in a new IT complex adjacent to its first technical center in Hyderabad, India. The purpose of this move is to strengthen automobile software development, which has recently been growing exponentially, and secure supply stability.

With its over 700 local talents specializing in ICT and software, Hyundai Mobis’ Indian technical center develops and validates various software programs for vehicles and also collaborates with the technical center in Korea. The major items that the Indian center works on are mostly automotive electronic parts, such as IVI applications, airbag control units (ACUs), electronic braking systems (MEB5) and the AUTOSAR platform.

The first technical center will validate and develop software for mass-production products, including IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment), chassis control systems (MDPS, ABS, electronic suspension, etc.) and airbag control units (ACUs), and develop custom products for local customers.

The new second technical center will focus on the development of control logic for autonomous driving and parking and recognition algorithms for autonomous driving sensors (camera, radar, lidar). The strategy is to improve the accuracy of autonomous driving sensor data by developing a deep learning-based image recognition algorithm and signal processing algorithm, while developing various control logic to support mass production.

To this end, the company will also develop software performance improvement tools to improve the reliability of autonomous driving software. One good example is to build databases on image recognition algorithm learning through PC-based virtual environment simulation of various driving situations. This is expected to upgrade the autonomous driving control algorithm and strengthen software development capabilities through efficient analysis of radar/lidar sensor data.

Hyundai Motor Company will establish a Hyundai Mobility Global Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICs) to accelerate its innovation efforts, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The new innovative lab will be located in Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District, a one-stop advanced manufacturing hub developed by JTC Corporation, housing a vibrant ecosystem of researchers, technology and training providers and factories of the future. HMGICs will occupy a footprint of 44,000 m² with the building area of 28,000 m². Construction will begin in May with completion expected in second half of 2022.

As an open innovation lab, HMGICs will help ensure the company’s transformation into a smart mobility solution provider and secure its sustainable growth. The lab will explore business ideas and technologies to revolutionize a value chain encompassing R&D, business and production for future mobility solutions. It also will help define the future business direction for the company.

HMGICs will become Hyundai’s global open innovation hub. The lab, through open innovation on multiple fronts, will explore and prove new future mobility business concepts for eventual expansion into global markets. Combining Hyundai’s open innovations efforts with Singapore’s fertile atmosphere, HMGICs will validate concepts including multi-modal mobility service.

The lab will also spearhead efforts to reach new markets and customers with cutting-edge technologies that will transform automotive R&D, production and sales. Combining AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and other advanced technologies, the lab will create a human-centered smart manufacturing platform that will be validated through a small pilot EV production facility. In conjunction with the platform, an innovative product development process and on-demand production system will be tested and proven.

DENSO will invest about 11 billion yen by 2025 to complete the expansion and increase production. Construction is scheduled to start in July 2020 and to be completed in June 2021. Production is planned to start in stages in October 2021. The number of employees is expected to increase to approximately 1,150 in 2025.

DENSO Hokkaido manufactures semiconductor sensors for automotive engines, air conditioners, and brake and other relevant systems. DENSO is expanding the plant at DENSO Hokkaido, which has manufactured 500 million semiconductor sensors since its opening, in preparation for increased sensor demand as vehicle electrification and safety systems become more complex and proliferate.

Through this expansion and production of a key automotive technology, DENSO Hokkaido will further improve its capability to meet customers’ needs and contribute to the development of the local community.

Profile of DENSO Hokkaido Corporation

Located in Shanghai, the Center will focus on the development and application of the company’s L4 autonomous driving technology.

Velodyne LiDAR Inc., the recognized global leader in Light, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, today announced the opening of a Megafactory that will significantly ramp up production of the latest 3D LiDAR sensors to meet high global demand.

Located in San Jose, CA, the enormous facility not only has enough space for high-volume manufacturing, but also for the precise distance and ranging alignment process for LiDAR sensors as they come off the assembly line. The Megafactory is already producing Velodyne’s HDL-64 LiDAR sensor, with production ramping up across Velodyne’s entire product portfolio and more than one million LiDAR sensors expected to be built in the facility in 2018. That high-volume manufacturing will feed the global demand for Velodyne’s solid-state hybrid LiDAR, the primary and critical instrument needed for autonomous car systems around the world.

“This Megafactory provides Velodyne LiDAR the space it requires to manufacture its cutting edge, long-range sensors in a single location, as well as the ability to scale to meet growing global customer demand for LiDAR while pursuing an aggressive growth strategy,” said Mark Shandley, vice president of operations, Velodyne LiDAR. “In addition, the location in Santa Clara County is ideal, as it allows us to produce LiDAR sensors in the US with a skilled workforce alongside precision robotic manufacturing processes so we can continue to grow and deliver world-class products.”

In addition to the San Jose Megafactory, Velodyne LiDAR has also opened a new research and development facility in Alameda, CA. Known as Velodyne Labs, this location focuses on building advanced LiDAR, ASICs chip technology, and new solutions to complete and compliment the company’s existing LiDAR lineup. The Megafactory and R&D facility join existing corporate and production facilities in Morgan Hill, as well as new or expanding sales offices in Northern California, the Midwest, East Coast, Europe, and Asia. Taken together, Velodyne LiDAR has positioned itself in 2017 to increase its leadership position in the development and production of LiDAR sensors that provide 3D vision for industrial applications, UAVs, and a rapidly expanding autonomous vehicle industry. In fact, Velodyne LiDAR is actively hiring in all locations for talent in a multitude of opportunities.

Source: Business Wire

Intel is reorganizing to better position itself for the next big thing in computing: self-driving cars.

The chipmaking giant is taking its autonomous car efforts out the Internet of Things business group and creating a new business unit focused exclusively on the new market, called the Automated Driving Group.

Doug Davis, the current head of Intel’s Internet of Things division, will be heading up the new unit. In August, Davis had announced he would be retiring from Intel soon, but it looks like he changed his mind.

“Throughout his career, Doug has consistently been on the leading side of disruption – standing up amazing new technologies that redefine how we experience work and life,” said Intel president Murthy Renduchintala in a blog post. ”Doug sees the new Automated Driving Group as another not-to-be missed opportunity to lead through disruption, so much so that he has postponed his retirement to become the senior vice president and general manager of the new ADG.”

Tom Lantzsch, an executive vice president of strategy at rival chip player ARM, is joining Intel to take over its Internet of Things group.

Kathy Winter, a former executive at automotive supplier Delphi, will help Davis run the new group as vice president and general manager.

Intel has been moving fast to catch up in the quickly-evolving autonomous driving market. Other chipmakers like Nvidia and Qualcomm have a multi-year head start on Intel in the autonomous driving market. Tesla announced its Autopilot 2.0 in all its cars would be powered by Nvidia’s Drive PX2, a computer that Nvidia says can deliver 24 trillion deep learning operations per second.

Powerful processing chips are becoming essential in cars in order to sort through multiple sensor readings and make decisions at fractions of a second.

On Tuesday, automotive suppliers Delphi and Mobileye announced a partnership that would be taking advantage of Intel silicon. Intel plans on announcing a new processing chip made specifically for autonomous driving in the “near future,” an Intel spokeswoman told FORBES. Earlier this month, Intel also announced it would set aside $250 million to invest in autonomous driving startups.

Source: Forbes

Engineering and industrial design services provider Tata Elxsi, a Tata Group company, plans to buy smaller companies in areas such automotive, media and healthcare, helping it grow business faster. The over Rs1,000 crore company has built capabilities to provide niche automotive design services for driver-less cars and telematics for connected cars.

“We have reasonable cash on the books and we have always been profitable. Right now, we have Rs 200 crore plus cash. It is starting to give us an opportunity to think about inorganic growth. We will continue to focus on organic and inorganic will come in as layer on top,” Nitin Pai, Head of Marketing, Tata Elxsi, told Business Standard in an interview.

He, however, did not disclose the quantum of money the company might use for any acquisition.

Industry experts say besides exploring acquisition opportunities, the company should have a clear roadmap for growth over the next five to 10 years. “Tata Elxsi needs a clear roadmap for 2025 in terms of where it wants to position itself. I am sure they may have it internally, but it should be spoken out too,” said Sanchit Gogia, chief executive of Greyhound Research.

Among the other business verticals, Tata Elxsi has seen significant growth in services for broadcasting equipment makers and operators. It helps people like multi-service operators (MSO) and equipment makers with back-end operations of airing content on satellite TV and internet protocol TV.

The company is confident that factors like the emergence of internet protocol TV in developing countries and delivery of content on smartphones along with television will give a boost to its business going forward.

In July-September quarter, Tata Elxsi added two more to its existing list of 10 customers in healthcare segment, which gives design and software for diagnostic equipment, therapeutic equipment, in-hospital patient care and connected consumer devices for healthcare.

“We started doing this business three years back with full-fledged medical product designing vertical and attained all the accreditation and certification. We are progressing steadily on the healthcare segment,” Pai pointed out.

The company’s stock price closed Rs 85.95 or 7.43 per cent up at Rs 1,242.85 on the BSE on Friday.

Source: Business Standard

Savari announced the company is expanding its European operations by opening regional offices in Munich, Germany. The new Savari Munich office is led by automotive technology market veteran Jens Kahrweg, General Manager of Savari. The expansion is intended to meet the demand for V2X safety and smart city initiatives in Europe and collaborate closely with European vehicle manufacturers that want connected vehicles to interact with other vehicles, roadside infrastructure, smartphones and pedestrians.

Savari has completed extensive testing with European automakers such as VW, BMW, FCA, and Daimler in the US Department of Transportation’s CAMP and Volpe initiatives, and will extend this collaboration to meet the needs of European drivers. Savari’s V2X communications technology is compliant with European standards, supports ETSI, and the company’s expansion into Europe will enable it to further develop standards that will ultimately make drivers and roads safer. As part of its European expansion efforts, Savari has joined the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium (C2C-CC) as an Associate Member. The C2C-CC is an industry organization created by European vehicle manufacturers and dedicated to further increasing road traffic safety and efficiency through intelligent Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies.

Earlier this year, Savari was a key contributor to the C2C-CC TestFest, where the company showcased its latest V2X software stack and hardware. The TestFest is a series of testing and validation events for V2X technology manufacturers that demonstrates the viability of V2X solutions in real-world traffic conditions.

Source: SAVARI