Feds Open Investigation of Autonomous Vehicle Companies
Biggest series of investigations since the advent of autonomous driving…
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for autonomous vehicle companies as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening investigations, and expanding others, into the alleged safety performance of Alphabet’s Waymo, Ford’s F 0.00%↑ BlueCruise, Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑, GM’s GM 0.00%↑ Cruise and Amazon’s AMZN 0.00%↑ Zoox.
NHTSA said it was opening an investigation of Waymo’s robotaxis that allegedly violated traffic safety laws. The agency said its preliminary evaluation, for hundreds of Waymo vehicles, includes 22 reports of 22 incidents—including 17 collisions, according to published reports.
NHTSA said it was opening a new investigation to assess whether Tesla fixed the 2 million cars it recalled in December. The alleged safety concerns surrounded the company’s Autopilot driver assistance system.
The federal agency is looking into two crashes involving Zoox. In addition, NHTSA is investigating the details of Ford’s BlueCruise-equipped vehicles that were involved fatal crashes.
NHTSA investigated Cruise last year after pedestrian injury reports. Recently, Cruise reached a settlement, worth between $8 million to $12 million, with a woman its driverless vehicle last year pinned and dragged on a San Francisco street, according to Bloomberg.
“These companies are pioneers that have propelled the industry forward, but progress comes with a high price tag. One key challenge for manufacturers has been balancing the cost and performance of current systems,” said Carl Jackson, Provizio’s head of corporate strategy.. “Take [lidar] as an example, where the cost of the technology is so high it is prohibitively expensive to put it in all vehicles. However, continuous improvement is essential.”
Jackson says that it’s clear that full autonomy is a tough problem to solve, though manufacturers have made huge strides to getting there. “Affordability of safety technology has long been a major obstacle to its scalability and widespread implementation. It's also no secret that humans have a poor safety record driving globally,” he said.
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Swift Navigation Partners With SK Telecom
Swift Navigation this week announced a partnership with SK Telecom SKM 0.00%↑ to launch AI-powered, location products in the Republic of Korea. The companies have designed and deployed, and now are jointly operating, Swift’s Skylark Precise Positioning Service throughout Korea.
As part of the deal, SK Telecom is introducing the service to its customers—to include the Korea Forest Service—which uses Skylark to conduct high precision surveying for forest management and road design in mountainous areas.
“SK Telecom is ready to provide precise GNSS positioning services for various mobility platforms including [urban air mobility], autonomous vehicles and smartphones by collaborating with Swift,” said Takki Yu, SK Telecom vice president and head of Infra Tech Office, in a statement.
SK Telecom deployed Skylark during a 24-day, 8,000 kilometer drive. Skylark was integrated into in-vehicle receivers and smartphones to achieve lane-level positioning for more than 99 percent of the drive, the company said.
Swift Navigation, which raised $100 million in D Series funding nearly two years ago, said Skylark is featured in more than 20 automotive OEMs and suppliers. The company said the service is “a critical component” in more than 8 million connected and autonomous vehicles, including unmanned aerial aircraft and robotics equipment.
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Tile Owner Launches Satellite Tracking Service
It looks like Bluetooth tracking company Tile is going with a satellite-based solution to compete with Apple’s AAPL 0.00%↑ Find My network and Google’s GOOG 0.00%↑ Find My Device service.
Life360, the family locator service company that bought Tile in 2021 for more than $200 million, has announced a partnership with satellite company Hubble Network. Life360 plans to launch Find with Lift360 on Hubble’s satellite network—with the newest Tile trackers part of the new tracking service.
Hubble, which currently operates two satellites, plans to launch 96 more by 2028. Life360 said it plans to leverage that satellite infrastructure for Find Life360, which will be offered to the 66 million smartphones in the company’s global network.
Life360 isn’t worried about going against the two tech giants, saying the satellite tracking network has the “potential to herald a new era in location tracking and surpass the finding network capabilities of Apple and Google.”
When it announced the launch of a revamped Find My Device, Tile was named as one of the three compatible companies that could offer tracking devices on Google’s network.
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Mapbox Touts Springs Product Rollouts
Among several spring release products and enhancements, Mapbox says its Mobile Maps SDK Flutter Plug-in and advancements in Search Box API are the most important new features for developers. Search Box, which Mapbox says has attracted thousands of developers, added location data coverage in the United States, Canada and Europe.
“The Mobile Maps SDK Flutter Plug-in allows developers who use Flutter to sync maps across mobile platforms, instead of having to code individually for iOS and Android, which increases efficiency by streamlining the process,” said Alex Barth, Mapbox vice president of automotive. “Mapbox’s enhancements in Search bring a wealth of data about addresses and points of interest and can be fine-tuned for whatever location experience our developers are building. Search Box API really simplifies a developer’s ability to to add search to a map, while Search SDKs made it much easier to add search specifically to mobile apps on iOS and Android.”
Other spring release product rollouts include Mapbox Boundaries, which now includes a flat file option in GeoJSON format, enabling deeper geospatial analysis, the company said. In addition, Mapbox rolled out a Geocoding version 6, which allows unit-level geocoding; Movement version 4 that increases data density and coverage in metropolitan and rural areas; and Snowflake Native App 2.0, which features Distance & Duration and Isochrone tools.
Other Location News
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Top News:
😧 Solar Storms Made GPS Tractors Miss Their Mark at the Worst Time for Farmers. “Farmers had to stop planting their crops over the weekend as the strongest solar storms since 2003 battered the GPS satellites used by self-driving tractors, according to 404 Media. And the issues struck just days ahead of a crucial date for planting corn, one of the US’s biggest crops.”
👌 Google Launches Emergency Location Service in Canada for Android Users. “Google GOOG 0.00%↑ announced the debut of Android’s Emergency Location Service in Canada on Monday, saying its goal is to reduce response times by helping emergency personnel locate people in need quicker.”
🙁 'No Silver Bullet:' Military Will Need Multiple Systems to Back Up GPS. “The difficulty, however, is that each technique available now or in the foreseeable future for what is often called “alt-PNT” comes with a need to make size, weight, power and cost trade-offs based on what type of platform is being used, as well as the nature duration of the mission, according to experts.”
🌏 Google Partners With Airtel To Offer Cloud and Genai Products to Indian Businesses. “As part of the collaboration, Airtel and Google Cloud will provide businesses with products like geospatial analytics, location intelligence for spotting trends, predictive capabilities, market assessment, site selection, risk management, and asset tracking.”
😕 Estonia Summons Russian Envoy Over GPS Jamming. “Estonia [last week] summoned Russia's charge d'affaires over GPS interference, which the NATO member said was Russian ‘hybrid activity’ that had disrupted civilian air traffic. Estonia and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania last month warned that widespread Russian GPS jamming increased the threat of an aviation accident.”
✈ Unjammable Navigation Tech Gets First Airborne Test. “A UK aircraft has tested ground-breaking quantum technology that could pave the way for an unjammable back-up for GPS navigation systems. The government, which helped fund the research, said it was the first test of its kind to be publicly acknowledged.”
👍 Booz Allen IDs Top 10 Emerging Technologies for DOD and National Security. “Alternative Positions, Navigation, and Timing (Alt-PNT): more secure, robust alternatives to existing, vulnerable GPS-based PNT technologies.”
Maps:
🗺 Open Map Data from Overture Maps Foundation Draws More Industries and Companies. Overture Maps Foundation announced several new members, including Trip Advisor, Cariad (VW’s automotive software group), GlobalLogic (a Hitachi Group company), Hyundai Motor Group, Niantic Labs (makers of Pokémon Go), Precisely (data integrity) and Nearmap (aerial imaging and location intelligence). These new members brings Overture, founded by AWS AMZN 0.00%↑, Meta META 0.00%↑, Microsoft MSFT 0.00%↑, and TomTom [TOM2] as part of The Linux Foundation, up to 28 members.
🙂 Doohly and Mappedin Collaborate to Elevate Interactive Digital Signage.
🚘 Next-Gen Apple Maps Could Include a Big Update for Alternative Routes. “A patent called ‘devices and methods for comparing and selecting alternative navigation routes’ describes how the proposed update would work, with Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ explaining that the new features would be available on a ‘touch-sensitive screen.’”
🤔 Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: Is the iPhone Maker Really Catching Up? “Apple is now trying to regain the lost share in the mapping world by investing more aggressively in Apple Maps.”
😮 Waze Sent This Guy Into a Plantation, Six Hours Later He Was Still Trying to Find an Exit. “Waze does not support offline maps, so if an Internet connection is no longer available, the application cannot search for alternative routes if you miss a turn. Waze can continue navigation on a current route when the Internet connection drops, but once it goes offline, the app can't update traffic information and look for other routes.”
🤦♂️ Waze Rival Plagued With One-Star Reviews After Starting Charging for Android Auto.
👌 Google Maps for Android Gets a New Feature You Didn't Know You Need. “In the browser, Google Maps not only puts a pin on the map to indicate where the street is but also highlights it on the map using the familiar blue color (though the feature is only available for a limited number of users). This approach allows users to see where the street begins and ends, so it's easier to plan a route or find a specific address.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
💲 Waymo Says Its Robotaxis Are Now Making 50,000 Paid Trips Every Week. “The Alphabet-owned company has announced on Twitter/X that it's now serving more than 50,000 paid trips every week across three cities. Waymo One operates 24/7 in parts of those cities.”
☹ Motional Cut About 550 Employees, Around 40%, in Recent Restructuring, Sources Say. “[Last week], TechCrunch reported that Motional is pausing commercial operations and delaying plans to launch a robotaxi service with its next-gen Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxis until 2026 as it undergoes restructuring. Now, we have more clarity into how deep the cuts are.”
🛺 Autonomous Vehicle: Renault Group to Soon Launch an Ambitious Level 4 Offer for Public Transportation. Renault Group, with WeRide, is planning a large-scale deployment of Level 4 vehicles, within a defined area, the company said.
👍 Google Announced an Update for Android Auto With New Apps and Casting Support. “Google just announced at an update coming to Android for Cars that should make paying attention to the road just a tiny bit harder.”
🤞 GM's Cruise To Start Testing Robotaxis in the Valley With Human Safety Drivers on Board. “Testing will start in Phoenix and gradually expand to Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Paradise Valley.”
👉 Beep Announces Autonomous Mobility Shuttle Pilot Program at Mississippi State University. “Beep has announced an agreement with Mississippi State University (MSU) to launch the first-ever autonomous shuttle pilot program in the state of Mississippi on the university’s campus.”
🚍 Aurora Aims to Double Loads per Week This Year. “The Pittsburgh-based tech firm is now regularly scheduling over 120 loads per week, the company reported for its Q1 earnings, up from its Q4 update of over 100.”
📈 Baidu's Robotaxi Unit Expects To Turn Profitable Next Year. “Apollo Go operated about 839,000 rides in the last three months of 2023, according to Baidu’s latest earnings report.”
😦 Samsung Halts Self Driving Research. “Samsung Electronics has discontinued its research and development (R&D) into autonomous driving, according to South Korean reports, following the lead of a number of global technology companies, including Apple, which have already pulled the plug on this segment.”
Financial:
✔ MapmyIndia FY24 Revenue Surges 35% to Rs 379 Cr.
✔ BeWhere Holdings Reports First Quarter 2024 Results.
✔ LeddarTech Reports F2Q24 Results.
✔ Spire Global Announces First Quarter 2024 Results.
✔ ProStar Holdings Announces Corporate Update.
💰 Magic Lane Secures 3 Million Euro to Enhance Location Intelligence Capabilities. “Magic Lane is enhancing its market position through its SDKs, which allow other companies to integrate advanced mapping, location, and navigation features into their vehicles, apps, and platforms across various programming languages.”
😒 Luokung Technology Faces Nasdaq Compliance Issue.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Taco John's Introduces Location-Based Order Fulfillment
Fast Mexican food giant Taco John's has partnered with Flybuy to introduce location-based order firing to the industry. By adding Flybuy’s technology allows Taco John's to optimize the order fulfillment process by automatically firing the order to the kitchen when the customer is within close proximity. Flybuy provides location technology insights that predict the exact time the kitchen needs to begin preparing the order, the company said.
Contact: Laurel Getz, Flybuy, (203) 767 5963, laurel.getz@gmail.com, www.flybuy.com.
Hacobell Integrates HERE Location Services
HERE Technologies and Japanese logistics tech leader Hacobell will integrate HERE’s Location Services to power its logistics Digital Transformation (DX) system that connects shippers to carriers and drivers. The Japanese logistics industry is facing a major turning point triggered by the implementation of the Work Style Reform Act, which limits drivers' overtime hours to 960 a year, the company said.
Hacobell has implemented HERE Location Services for its map data, scalability to manage large datasets, performance and range of configurable features, the company said. These location features enhance vehicle dispatching and route planning operations, the company said.
Contact: Camy Cheng, HERE Technologies, 65 9088 4127, camy.cheng@here.com, www.here.com.
RTX introduces Collins Airport Surface Awareness System
Collins Aerospace, an RTX RTX 0.00%↑ business, has introduced the Airport Surface Awareness System for real-time tracking, monitoring, and recording of both aircraft and ground support equipment at airports. Key features include aircraft tracking with automatic dependent surveillance that uses broadcast and radar feeds from both approaching aircraft and those on the ground for surface monitoring.
Other features include asset tracking and an interactive map application that uses geofencing to allow operators to set up location and speed restrictions, the company said.
Contact: Collins Aerospace, corporatepr@rtx.com.
Ispace Europe Signs Payload Services Contract With CDS
Ispace Europe has signed a payload services agreement with Control Data Systems SRL (CDS) to transport precise location measurement equipment to the Moon, the two companies announced. CDS’ technology, which combines precision localization with telecommunications, uses Ultra-Wideband for determining positions because of lack of a GPS-like system on the Moon, the company said.
The technology will be integrated into the APEX 1.0 lunar lander as part of ispace technologies’ U.S. Mission 3, currently scheduled for 2026. A lunar rover will transport the CDS equipment on the surface to test the localization technology using an antenna that will remain on the APEX 1.0 lander, the company said.
Contact: Andrew Ames, ispace, pr@ispace-inc.com, www.ispace-inc.com.
Parkopedia Expands Partnership With BMW Group
Parkopedia has expanded its partnership with BMW Group to provide EV drivers with additional EV Point of Interest (POI) data. This new functionality provides EV drivers with photos and ratings for charging locations, alongside Parkopedia-provided information such as the precise location of the charger, the charging speed, connector type and dynamic data including charging availability and whether units are operational or out-of-order.
Parkopedia now provides coverage for Spain, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg, adding to the previous coverage in Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. The service will shortly be expanded to new markets, addressing global driver demand for an improved EV charging process, the company said.
Contact: Adam Calland, Parkopedia, 44(0)7838219129, adam.calland@parkopedia.com.
Calian Integrates Point One Navigation’s Correction Service
Calian, formerly Tallysman Wireless, has integrated Point One Navigation’s Polaris RTK Correction Service into their latest antenna release. The antennas are used for such applications as precision agriculture and autonomous vehicles.
By using RTK, positioning accuracy can be improved to about one centimeter, the company said. For the end user, this means an all-in-one, real-time positioning system that can provide accurate measurements for everything from detailed construction surveys to self-driving race cars, the company said.
Contact: Mark Shapiro, for Point One Navigation, (619) 249-7742, mshapiro@pointonenav.com, www.pointonenav.com.
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Sheeva.AI and VehicleCar Enable Booking and Payment for Car Washes
Sheeva.AI and VehicleCare have announced that they have enabled booking and payment for car washes as a new service using Sheeva.AI’s platform. The car washe announcement follows Sheeva.AI’s news earlier this spring that owners of the Citroën C3 Aircross AT can purchase fuel at many Indian gas stations, allowing payment, confirmation and rewards all from inside the car, the company said.
For VehicleCare, the partnership provides a new opportunity in an increasingly omnichannel marketing universe for car wash operators, the company said. Sheeva.AI’s platform is currently in production in India.
Contact: Trevor Curwin, Sheeva.AI, (415) 646-6063, tcurwin@sheeva.ai.
AEye Partners With LITEON
AEye LIDR 0.00%↑ has announced a partnership with LITEON Technology to provide the company with a customer channel and industrialization partnership. Both companies will supply AEye’s 4Sight-based lidar products to automotive OEMS through automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Contact: Leigh Bannister, AEye, (925) 400-4366, lbannister@aeye.ai.
Ecotrak Launches Location-Sharing Services
Ecotrak has launched a suite of inventory, dispatch and technician management solutions. The new tools provide multi-site businesses with real-time visibility to inventory levels, dispatch operations and internal technician activities, the company said.
Key features include real-time location-sharing services for internal technicians. This enables customers to assign and dispatch technicians with the right skills who are closest to the job, the company said.
Contact: Shawna Moore, Ecotrack, (310) 365-7634, shawna@ecotrak.com, www.ecotrack.com.
ARway SDK 3.1 Provides Location-Based Augmented Reality Navigation
ARway.ai has launched its ARway V3.1 update to its spatial computing platform that provides augmented reality navigation and immersive experiences. The new V3.1 updates include improvements to the range and accuracy of AR experiences across large scale venues and increased speed of deployment of AR indoor navigation experiences, the company said.
V3.1 also includes improved route guidance to redirect users back to correct routes if they stray, the company said. The new Mini Map feature offers a real-time preview of the navigation route, displayed below the AR navigator for improved Visitor orientation.
Contact: Evan Gappelberg, ARway.ai, (866) 274-8493.
SpacePNT Completes In-Orbit GNSS Receiver Tests
SpacePNT has announced the completion of the in-orbit validation tests of its NaviLEO spaceborne GNSS receiver. The GNSS receiver is designed to deliver decimeter-level positioning and ns timing accuracy in LEO for GTO/GEO/Moon missions, the company said.
After its successful deployment in low Earth orbit onboard its hosting Orbital Transfer Vehicle (D-Orbit ION OTV SCV-011 satellite) on June 13, 2023, a series of experiments have been conducted to successfully validate the key functionalities of the radiation tolerant technology, the company said.
Contact: SpacePNT, info@spacepnt.com, www.spacepnt.com.
Azuga Telematics Whitepaper for Auto Insurers
Azuga has announced a white paper that shows how telematics can help U.S. commercial auto insurers with profitability. The white paper examines global insurance trends, the reasons for adopting the IoT paradigm and the current state of the U.S. telematics market, the company said.
Contact: Tami Strand, Azuga, 858-997-1234, tamistrand@azuga.com, www.azuga.com.
People
The Open Geospatial Consortium has announced the appointment of Peter Rabley as CEO.
Ericsson ERIC 0.00%↑ has announced that Fadi Pharaon, senior vice president and head of market area Middle East & Africa, will leave the company to pursue other opportunities.
Guillermo Perez-Iturbe has been named vice president of marketing and customer support at PTx Trimble.
Lantronix has announced that Mathi Gurusamy will be chief strategy officer. Gurusamy was CEO and COO at Mobilogix and Telit Cinterion, respectively.
Pete Wilson has been named head of channel strategy and sales - cyber, cloud & IoT at Telefónica Tech.
Kris Bellinghausen has been named senior director, product planning & strategy car audio aftermarket at HARMAN International.
Jobs
VP Automotive Sales EMEA. HERE Technologies.
Data Acquisition Manager. HERE Technologies.
Events Manager. HERE Technologies.
Sr Account Executive. HERE Technologies.
Senior Project Manager. Autonomous Robotics Research Center.
Sr. Project Engineer, Bridge Design. Woolpert.
Security Program Manager. einride.
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