Google May Rake in $100 Million by Selling Map Data to Renewable Energy Companies
Document says Google has data on 350 million buildings, with big companies lined up
Google GOOG 0.00%↑ is hoping to earn $100 million by licensing mapping data to renewable energy companies, according to CNBC. The company will sell access to APIs with solar and such energy information as air quality, according to a document that CNBC viewed.
The renewable energy companies would, in turn, integrate the mapping data into new products, CNBC said. The total revenue expected in its first year would range between $90 million and $100 million, according to CNBC.
CNBC said that while Google doesn’t reveal how much revenue its Maps business makes, it has been one of the company’s most “under-monetized products.”
It is not known whether the document came to light during this week’s Google Cloud Next ’23 conference, which was attended by dozens of location industry companies. However, the CNBC report said that there could be “a potential to connect with Google Cloud products down the line.”
The company has been consolidating resources lately. In June, Location Business News reported that Google was laying off employees at its map company Waze.
Last year, Google planned to merge its Geo staff with the Waze group. At that time, Google, which acquired Waze 10 years ago, said it was under pressure to reduce costs and be more productive by merging “overlapping product areas.”
In related Google Cloud news:
Canoo GOEV 0.00%↑ has announced that it has selected Google Cloud as its primary cloud service provider. Canoo will deploy Google Cloud's AI, data management, and security technologies to maximize the value of the data coming from its electric vehicles, the company said.
Woolpert has earned the Application Development Specialization through the Google Cloud Partner Specialization Program. Woolpert also earned the Location-Based Services Partner Specialization in 2018.
Geotab has been named a Google Cloud Customer Award Winner for 2023 Communications and Service Providers Industry. Geotab, which is the largest EV telematics provider, said it won because of its sustainable fleet solutions.
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Globalstar Hires Former Qualcomm Boss Jacobs as CEO
In an effort to spur growth, Globalstar GSAT 0.00%↑ this week appointed former Qualcomm chief executive officer Paul Jacobs as its CEO. Jacobs, son of Qualcomm QCOM 0.00%↑ founder Irwin, takes over at a time when the company currently offers a satellite-based Emergency SOS for the new Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ iPhone models.
The phone-to-satellite market that Globalstar is pursuing is growing, with such companies as SpaceX involved. The company, which offers SPOT GPS messages via its low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, also has a large IoT hardware and software products business for tracking and monitoring assets—to include cloud-based telematics solutions.
The company’s involvement with Apple features the satellite-based Emergency SOS service, upgraded GPS and car crash detection. Other companies have planned emergency services such as the T-Mobile TMUS 0.00%↑ and SpaceX partnership that offers an end to coverage “dead zones.”
Since the announcement of Globalstar being used as the service provider for Apple’s SoS service, there have been a number of enhancements, including additional satellites launched and additional ground stations deployed. These enhancements indicate that the Globalstar signals will become available in more locations around the globe and potentially from more satellites. According to Reuters, Apple is investing $450 million toward satellite infrastructure, with most of that investment going to Globalstar.
In conjunction with Jacobs’ appointment, Globalstar has also entered into a “perpetual licensing agreement” for access to certain key XCOM technologies and personnel, the company said. The license, which will cost Globalstar 60 million shares, covers a number of XCOM’s technologies for wireless spectrum innovations, the company said.
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Digital Matter Offers Worldwide Asset Tracking With New GPS Devices
Digital Matter has announced the expansion of its battery-powered IoT asset tracking portfolio with the addition of 4G Cat 1bis and 2G connectivity to enable worldwide asset visibility.
The Oyster3 and Remora3 Global GPS devices feature ‘deploy once’ battery life and enable asset tracking and management across most of the world’s cellular networks.
“Many of our partners require a truly global connectivity solution. In regions where LTE-M and NB-IoT are not available, 4G Cat 1bis with 2G Fallback has proven an excellent solution to enable asset visibility anywhere in the world with a cell network,” says Ken Everett, Digital Matter CEO and founder.
The company’s Global product range also presents a tracking solution for regions such as Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia—particularly as 2G and 3G network sunsets continue.
“We’re seeing a growing reluctance to deploy 2G-only products as the lifespan of these networks is limited, but in many countries 2G still offers the best coverage. With our new Global range, partners can deploy today on 2G and migrate to 4G Cat 1bis when they are ready,” Everett said.
In addition to GPS, the Remora3 Global features Bluetooth to communicate with nearby Bluetooth tags, sensors and beacons. This enables flexible tagged asset and condition monitoring, including temperature, humidity, impact detection and more, the company said.
Through the deployment of GPS asset tracking in global supply chains, businesses can optimize routes, reduce idle times, and enhance asset recovery security. Additionally, IoT asset tracking technologies enable predictive maintenance, ensure compliance, and support data-driven decision-making, ultimately fostering increased efficiency and sustainability in the global marketplace, the company said.
Featuring a broad range of over-the-air configurable parameters for scalable device management, Digital Matter's asset tracking solutions are simple to integrate and ready for use on any existing platform, the company said.
For more information about the Oyster3 Global, Remora3 Global, and Digital Matter's comprehensive range of battery-powered asset tracking devices, visit www.digitalmatter.com.
Contact: Shay Kettner, Digital Matter, shay@digitalmatter.com, www.digitalmatter.com.
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TomTom and StreetLight Partner To Deliver Transportation Data
TomTom [TOM2] has partnered with StreetLight Data to provide mapping and traffic data to StreetLight’s line of cloud-based products for transportation companies and government entities. Streetlight Data, a subsidiary of Jacobs J 0.00%↑, is a Big Data company that provides information on how people, goods and services move.
StreetLight offers its InSight platform that gives information on traffic patterns. TomTom will offer its historic and real-time traffic analytics on speed data from more than 600 million connected devices, the company said.
The market for Insight includes transportation professionals who are working on transportation and infrastructure projects. “By combining our data from millions of trips globally with StreetLight’s industry-tailored solutions, we enable transportation planners, road authorities and businesses to make informed decisions,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom vice president for traffic and travel information, in a statement.
In June, TomTom partnered with PTV Group to integrate origin and destination traffic data into the company’s automated transport modeling solution, PTV Model2Go.
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Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Top News:
CalAmp CEO Jeff Gardner Dies. “Jeff Gardner, the president and chief executive officer of telematics company CalAmp CAMP 0.00%↑ passed away on Sunday due to presumed natural causes, the Irvine-based company said. Gardner was appointed CalAmp’s president and CEO on July 2, 2020, after serving as the interim president and CEO since March 25, 2020. He was scheduled to step down by Oct. 30.”
🤞 Pentagon Bets on Quick Production of Autonomous Systems to Counter China. “The Pentagon is about to make a huge bet that it can field thousands of autonomous systems within two years — an attempt to use technological innovation to counter China’s much larger stockpile of traditional weapons.”
😐 U.S. To Extend China Chipmaking Export Waivers. “The exemptions allow chipmakers to expand their operations in China by importing U.S. equipment and supplies.”
🛰 NOAA Eliminates Restrictive Operating Conditions From Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite Licenses. “These license conditions had previously restricted the operations of the commercial satellites, preventing them from offering their full remote sensing capabilities to the public.”
🌎 GM Is Using Google's AI Chatbot To Handle Simple OnStar Calls. “General Motors GM 0.00%↑ is using conversational AI chatbots to handle simple OnStar calls, freeing up the service’s human employees to address more complex requests, the company said Tuesday. GM offered more details about its use of AI to coincide with Google’s Cloud Next conference.”
Maps:
🗺 Install This Update to Resolve Google Maps Location Problems.
🤷♂️ Google Maps vs. Waze and Apple Maps: The Feature No Competitor Is Interested In. “Apple Maps still lacks offline maps, so despite serving as a fully featured alternative to Google Maps, it offers turn-by-turn guidance only when you have a working Internet connection. The feature will land for Apple Maps users next month with the release of iOS 17 (available only for iPhone XS and newer, so owners of older iPhone models still won't get offline maps).”
👍 Update to iOS 17 Will Add Useful and Stress-Saving Feature to Apple Maps Not Found on Google Maps. “In iOS 17, you'll also be able to select how you want a map downloaded (via Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi/Cellular), if you want automatic downloads, or whether you want to use only offline maps. Downloaded maps can be resized, renamed, and deleted.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
😮 GM Looks To Catch Up in China After Getting Ok To Begin Testing Autonomous Driving Tech. “General Motors GM 0.00%↑ has recently been given permission to begin testing Level 4 autonomous driving technology in China. Together with self-driving startup Momenta, GM will begin rolling out autonomous Cadillac Lyriqs as it looks to catch up with several other genuine competitors in the country.”
🚗 Cruise Is Bringing Its Robotaxis to Seattle and Washington, DC. “Cruise, the self-driving subsidiary of General Motors, said Monday it has begun manual data collection in Seattle and Washington, DC, the first step toward launching commercial services in the cities.”
🤔 Camera Crushes Lidar, Claims Startup. “Nodar says its tech has better range and resolution even at night or in thick fog.”
🛺 Beep and Oxa Partner To Deploy Autonomous Vehicles Driven by Oxa in US. “Marking UK-based Oxa’s entry into the US market, the strategic partnership will see Oxa’s autonomy software installed in a variety of vehicle types operated by Beep, from current passenger shuttles to future vehicle platforms.”
🛳 Panama Approves Autonomous Navigation for Korean LNG Bunker Vessel. “The demonstration project is the next step in efforts with Samsung Heavy Industries to proceed with the commercial development of autonomous navigation technology.”
Drones:
🛩 Walmart + Google = Drone Delivery In Dallas. “Walmart WMT 0.00%↑ has announced that it is partnering with Google sister company Wing to expand drone delivery in Dallas.”
Financial:
✔ U-Blox Reports First Half 2023 Results With Double-Digit Revenue Growth.
✔ Phunware Announces Purchase Agreement for up to $30 Million With Lincoln Park Capital Fund.
✔ BeWhere Holdings Reports Second Quarter 2023 Results.
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Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
TrustPoint Announces CRADA With Naval Postgraduate School
TrustPoint and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) have announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) focused on next-generation Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies for U.S. Navy and U.S. Defense Department applications. NPS faculty and students, along with TrustPoint engineers, will conduct research on high-stability timekeeping, satellite architectures, signal processing, and associated technologies, the company said.
Both entities will “synthesize defense-specific modifications of new commercial GNSS capabilities required for military applications and operations,” the company said. TrustPoint will provide GNSS software, firmware, and reference designs to NPS for experimentation, assessment, and evaluation.
Contact: Burcu Erkmen, TrustPoint, media@trustpointgps.com, www.trustpointgps.com
Telit Cinterion and Nestlé Brazil Partner
Telit Cinterion has completed a proof-of-concept trial of private 5G for factory automation. Conducted in partnership with Nestlé Brazil, the trial focused on how Nestlé could use 5G to connect autonomous manufacturing robots and automated guided vehicles at their plants like the one in Caçapava, Brazil. The trial used the Telit Cinterion 5G FT980-WW evaluation kit, which features the FN980 module.
Contact: Telit Cinterion, www.telit.com/modules-overview/cellular-5g.
Polestar Selects Mobileye to Bring Autonomous Technology to New Car
Polestar PSNY 0.00%↑ and Mobileye MBLY 0.00%↑ have partnered to bring autonomous technology to Polestar 4-- with potential for other vehicles--using the Mobileye Chauffeur AV platform that will be manufactured and integrated by ECARX. Polestar 4, which is available in China and globally in 2024, features the Mobileye SuperVision-based advanced driver assistance system.
Chauffeur will offer hands-off and eyes-off, point-to-point autonomous driving on highways, as well as eyes-on automated driving for other environments, in identified operational design domains, the companies say. Both SuperVision and Chauffeur feature Mobileye’s EyeQ systems-on-chip, RSS-based driving policy, 360-degree surround camera system, and REM-powered Mobileye Roadbook map.
Contact: Justin Hyde, Mobileye, (202) 656-6749, justin.hyde@mobileye.com, www.mobileye.com.
Precisely Joins the Overture Maps Foundation
Precisely has joined the Overture Maps Foundation. As a contributing member, Precisely will provide location intelligence and data enrichment expertise to simplify interoperability between different datasets, the company said. Precisely will provide its location intelligence and data enrichment experience to the foundation’s Global Entity Reference System (GERS).
Contact: Emma Forrest, Precisely, press@precisely.com, www.precisely.com.
Hyundai Mobis and Autotalks Collaborate on V2X Technology
Hyundai Mobis has rolled out its MTCU (Multi-functional Telematics Control Unit) connectivity modules. The modules support V2X services by offering applications that alert drivers in dangerous, non-line-of-sight situations, to avert a possible collision with a vehicle or bicycle at an intersection, the company said. Hyundai Mobis selected Autotalks' 3rd generation chipset to power its next-generation connectivity module solution, MTCU Gen2.
Contact: Jihyun Han, jihyun.han@mobis.co.kr, www.mobis.co.kr.
Ecopia AI and Nearmap Partner
Ecopia and Nearmap have partnered to create 3D mapping products across more than 1,800 urban areas in North America. The deal calls for Ecopia’s AI-based mapping systems to extract map data across 1 million unique square kilometers from Nearmap stereo and oblique imagery. Some 3D vector mapping data created include advanced 3D buildings, transportation networks and advanced road features, surfaces and sub-classifications of roads and detailed land cover such as vegetation and individual trees.
Contact: Taylor Cenicola, Nearmap, taylor.cenicola@nearmap.com, www.nearmap.com.
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Azuga Launches Telematics-Driven Collision Reconstruction Solution
Azuga has rolled out its Collision Reconstruction solution, a telematics-integrated accident analysis tool. The solution, which took seven years to develop, provides real-time insights, GPS positioning, per-collision route analytics, synchronized video playback and others.
Contact: Tami Strand, Azuga, (408) 430-5777 ext. 1234, tamistrand@azuga.com, www.azuga.com.
Parkopedia and JustPark Partner in UK
Parkopedia has partnered with JustPark to host the former’s available parking locations, allowing customers to book and pay for on-street and off-street parking through their vehicles. The integration allows Parkopedia to build its footprint of pre-bookable parking in the United Kingdom, while giving JustPark exposure to millions of Parkopedia users, the company said.
JustPark’s locations are a combination of commercial parking operations, such as public on-street, multi-story commercial car parks, shopping center and hotel car parks and less traditional, community parking spaces, the company said. Parkopedia’s connected car drivers will be able to pre-book JustPark’s reservable locations and pay on-demand for on-street parking at selected locations through their navigation system.
Contact: Adam Calland, Parkopedia, 44 (0)7838 219129, adam.calland@parkopedia.com, www.parkopedia.com.
SCE Energy Deploys Tigo Fleet Manager
Tigo Energy TYGO 0.00%↑ has announced that SCE Energy Solutions has deployed its Tigo Fleet Manager, an extension to the Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI) platform. SCE uses the EI Fleet Manager to monitor system performance and manage operations and maintenance across the more than 20,000 solar modules deployed in its fleet of customer systems, the company said.
Contact: Cait Caviness, for Tigo, tigoenergy@technica.inc.
GPS Tracker Launched on Kickstarter
Seeed Studio has launched its card-size tracker SenseCAP T1000 on Kickstarter. The tracker works indoors and outdoors and costs $28, with a Kickstarter discount.
SenseCAP T1000 is a compact card-size LoRaWAN tracker that uses GNSS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth for global location tracking, the company said. It features self-geo-adaptive capabilities, local data storage and battery life for months, the company said.
Contact: Lily Li, Seeed Studio, 86 13590636871, 364110@email4pr.com, www.seeedstudio.com.
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Synopsys has named Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ president and CEO Rob Painter to its board of directors.
Mourad Mouhouty has been named IOT channel sales lead for the Middle East and Africa at Cisco CSCO 0.00%↑
Autonomous vehicle industry veteran Amitai Bin-Nun has joined Cruise as staff system engineer, to assess AV driving against human driving.
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I am curious what companies are willing to pay for this data when there are websites like https://solarenergymaps.com that give the data away for free?