Google Replaces Android Auto App on Smartphones
App Will Be Phased Out When Android 12 Launched
After it announced a Driving Mode feature two years ago, Google said it is replacing the Android Auto app for smartphones with the arrival of Android 12 later this year. Mobile phone users will have to use Driving Mode in Google Maps, while Android Auto will be exclusively used for infotainment systems
Google released a statement to several media outlets explaining the decision: “Starting with Android 12, Google Assistant driving mode will be the built-in mobile driving experience. We have no further details at this time.”
At least one trade publication has noted that voice commands on Android Auto “have been quite a struggle, with Google Maps most recently impacted as well. The article says that a switch to Waze becomes tempting to users because of the problems users experienced with Android Auto 6.4.
Scrapping the Android Auto app is an interesting decision for Google. The search engine giant had more than 1 billion Android Auto downloads.
Polaris Wireless and Qualcomm Partner for E911 Emergency Services
Polaris Wireless has partnered with Qualcomm [QCOM] to offer the company’s vertical (z-axis) location capability through the Qualcomm Location Suite. The companies plan to integrate the product into regular phones and cellular devices not served by iOS and Android operating systems.
Polaris says its z-axis location technology exceeds the FCC’s 3-meter accuracy requirement. For its part, Qualcomm plans to provide the z-axis location information via a standards-based interface, known as LPPe, which is the delivery method favored by mobile service providers, the company said.
By focusing on non-Android and non-iOS phones, the companies hope to accelerate the delivery of 3D location capabilities for E911. The Qualcomm Location Suite can be integrated into device chipsets, software and cloud services.
Contact: Becky Obbema, for Polaris, (408) 589-3546, info@polariswireless.com.
Honeywell Rolls Out BVLOS Technologies
Honeywell [HON] has developed a new technology suite for light drones that allows them to fly three times longer and with less human intervention, the company said. Honeywell says drones equipped with its Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technologies can fly farther, carry more weight, avoid hazards up to three kilometers away and stream video of their progress anywhere in the world.
The company said applications include last-mile package delivery, military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, pipeline and power line inspection, search and rescue, or use by first responders.
In addition to avoiding other aircraft, the integrated radar can detect obstacles, map terrain and identify landing zones. It can act as a radar altimeter and provide mapping for alternate navigation if GPS guidance fails, the company said.
Contact: Adam Kress, Honeywell, (602) 760-6252, Adam.Kress@Honeywell.com, www.honeywell.com
Other Location News:
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🚗 AT&T Marks First 5G Connected Car Deal With GM. “Over the next 10 years, GM and AT&T said they expect to have 5G in “millions of GM vehicles coming off the assembly line.”
😒 With Chinese and Russian Knives at the Throat of GPS, Senate Calls for a Study, Waits for Administration To Follow Law. Threats include Russian “nesting doll” satellites that contain projectiles and “kamikaze” satellites designed to crash into other spacecraft; Chinese “kidnapper” satellites with robot arms that can reach out and damage or destroy other satellites. “Analysts have projected that by the end of the decade China will have enough of these satellites to put one next to every American GPS satellite.”
🛩 With Location Technology, Drone Business Models Are Impossible To Ignore. “According to Deutsche Bank, drone delivery costs only 5 cents per mile, compared to $2 per mile with USPS, or $6.50 per mile via ground carrier.”
😮 AECOM Moves Headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas. “The engineering firm has 47,000 employees worldwide, and its professional services business had revenue of $13.2 billion in 2020.”
🛴 Bird Is the Latest Operator To Integrate Its E-Scooters and E-Bikes With Google Maps. “Bird’s announcement comes just a day after Spin also announced its integration with Google Maps and just a few weeks after Lime, which has been integrated with Google Maps since 2019, announced an integration with transit planning app Moovit.”
👍 U-Blox Reports Half-Year Financial Results. “The components market has been oversold since the beginning of the year, with delivery lead times increasing to several months and quantities limited by supply constraints.”
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Location Industry Briefs
Send your news to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.comfor even more news and an archive of stories.
HERE Partners With WeatherOptics
HERE Technologies has partnered with WeatherOptics to provide improved Estimated Time of Arrivals (ETAs) and optimized routing before and during high-impact weather situations, the company said. WeatherOptics not only uses weather data, but also non-weather factors and ground truth impact data to analyze how weather impacts drivers, the company said.
WeatherOptics will use HERE Routing to provide customers real-time routing and vehicle data services. The company’s services are now on the HERE Marketplace, to allow transportation and logistics customers to receive predictive insights, including weather-adjusted ETAs, road conditions, and business disruption levels, the company said.
Contact: Jordan Stark, HERE, (312) 316-4537, Jordan.stark@here.com.
CenTrak, Cisco DNA Spaces Expand Wi-Fi RTLS for Healthcare Industry
CenTrak’s Real-Time Location System (RTLS) is being integrated with Cisco DNA Spaces, an indoor location and IoT Services platform that leverages Wi-Fi connectivity for data collection and analytics. CenTrak's RTLS application is available in the Cisco DNA Spaces app store to support asset tracking, temperature and environmental monitoring, and other healthcare facility applications, the company said. The Cisco DNA Spaces platform replaces on-premises servers and data processing with a cloud-based format for location monitoring and data analytics.
Contact: Heather Fretz, for CenTrack, hfretz@garfieldgroup.com, www.centrak.com.
TRX Grabs NIST Funding
TRX Systems, a developer of GPS-denied location products, has been awarded funding through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP) to test, validate, and harden the NEON Personnel Tracker product for public safety deployment.
TRX is partnering with the Arlington County, Virginia, Fire Department (ACFD) to test the company’s 3D location technology that will be used by all personnel at Station 5, which serves Pentagon City and Crystal City, the company said. Over the course of this program, TRX will partner with ACFD to conduct an 8-month field trial that tests the TRX NEON Personnel Tracker in a fully operational environment, the company said.
Contact: TRX Systems, www.trxsystems.com
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Phunware Partners With Cox Communications
Phunware [PHUN] has partnered with with Cox Communications to offer its Digital Front Door product to Cox Business healthcare customers. Phunware’s Digital Front Door provides access to key features and capabilities of the company’s Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) enterprise cloud platform. This includes real-time “blue dot” indoor positioning, including mapping, navigation and wayfinding, the company said. In addition, the company said it offers its Beacon Maintenance to ensure optimal performance of Location Based Services (LBS).
Contact: Phunware, (512) 693-4199, press@phunware.com, www.phunware.com.
BAE Introduces MicroGRAM-M GPS Receiver
BAE Systems has introduced its MicroGRAM-M GPS receiver compatible with next-generation M-Code military GPS signals that are resistant to jamming and spoofing. About the size of a postage stamp, MicroGRAM-M delivers assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) for size-constrained and other micro-applications, the company said.
The receiver is in qualifications testing, but will have full-rate production next year, BAE said. Embedded in the receiver is a M-Code Common GPS Module that encapsulates classified data and signal processing.
Contact: Mark Daly, BAE Systems, (603) 233-7636, mark.g.daly@baesystems.com, https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/gps-products.
TrackX Partners With Morehouse School of Medicine
Denver-based TrackX [TKX] said that the Morehouse School of Medicine has selected its tracing and tracking technology to automate its institutional-wide asset inventory management. The company will deploy its TrackX product that will trace and track high-value hospital assets, the company said. The TrackX solution includes the design and installation of RFID and IoT asset tracking, with real-time item location and condition data collected from sensors and rugged handheld scanners, the company said.
Contact: Tim Harvie, TrackX, (303) 325-7300, investor@trackx.com, www.trackx.com.
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