Mapbox To Go Into 900,000 GM Vehicles
Maps+ To Be Installed In Vehicles That Did Not Have Built-in Navigation
General Motors [GM] is launching an in-vehicle, app-based navigation service with Mapbox to install in select model year 2018 and newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles by the end of the year. Mapbox’ Map+ is expected to be installed in 900,000 vehicles on April 30 as part of GM’s connected services plan.
Maps+ will be offered to current owners of selected vehicles that previously did not have built-in navigation to enable voice assistants, navigation and apps. Although Map+ doesn’t require a phone to be connected to a vehicle, it does cost have a monthly subscription fee through OnStar’s connectivity plan (which starts at roughly $15 per month).
Maps+ features built-in Alexa voice control for music and podcasts using integrated audio apps, the company said. In addition, a search capability offers access to points of interest, shops, restaurants, parking and more. Other Waze-like features include speed limit, road hazard alerts and outing to nearby stations if vehicle is low on fuel.
Key Takeaways:
It’s a big deal when open-source-based Mapbox can grab a big chunk of automotive mapping business from Google, HERE and TomTom.
Current eligible Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners will be notified when their vehicle is eligible for Maps+.
The planning for Maps+ was solid. It gives the opportunity to owners with older cars, or those who opted-out of buying an in-vehicle unit, the ability to gain cutting-edge navigation features.
Another Waze Competitor: TomTom’s New AmiGO
TomTom [TOM2] launched its AmiGO on Android Auto that allows drivers with to interact on a compatible infotainment screen. TomTom’s announcement came the same week Sygic said its GPS Navigation now comes with Android Auto support, which some say is the first real Google Maps alternative.
Overall, TomTom AmiGO is a free navigation and traffic app with Waze-like features that allow drivers to report and share road events like speed traps and accident locations.
One of the first navigation apps to be included in Android Auto’s new third-party driving apps portfolio, TomTom AmiGO can be downloaded for free via Google Play, as well as the App Store and Huawei AppGallery.
Key Takeaways:
Some are calling AmiGO a “Waze replacement.”
It’s free with no ads.
The number of apps going live on Android Auto is increasing because Google has lowered its restrictions.
In other TomTom news:
The company announced that it has repurchased 185,188 ordinary TomTom shares at an average price of 8.23 euros per share from April 6, 2021 to April 9, 2021. TomTom will use the shares to cover its commitments arising from its long-term employee incentive plans, the company said.
The company reported first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 7.3 million euros ($8.73 million). Analysts had predicted a 3 million-euro loss for the period.
Contact: Investor Relations, TomTom, ir@tomtom.com.
Video: Cobrapost.
👍Pizzas Delivered Autonomously…
Domino's and Nuro will allow select customers, who place a prepaid website order from the participating Domino's store, to have their order delivered by Nuro’s autonomous R2 vehicle.
Customers will receive text alerts, which will update them on R2's location and provide them with a PIN to retrieve their order. Customers may also track the vehicle via GPS on their order confirmation page, the company said.
Once R2 arrives, customers will be prompted to enter their PIN on the bot's touchscreen. R2's doors will then open upward, revealing the customer’s pizza.
CloudLocate Offloads Position Calculations From IoT Devices
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox [UBXN] has launched a new service called CloudLocate that will offload position calculations from IoT devices into the cloud. The company said that the service will be used to locate devices that track such large assets as containers, cargo, rental e-bikes and scooters.
While CloudLocate is currently available through the company’s cloud-based Thingstream platform, and can be enabled directly from a customer’s domain, the u-blox can’t mention specific customers, said Franco de Lorenzo, u-blox, product strategy services team, principal product manager.
“Right now we have a few customers that are in the evaluation phase and are considering to move into the commercial phase soon, but we cannot mention customers at this point in time,” he said.
De Lorenzo said that the service is designed for mass market applications which will come from all sectors as the demand for low power tracking devices is increasing. “We see demand for this type of solutions in cattle tracking, logistics, supply chain management, and production logistics, just to mention a few. Especially in LPWAN (low power wide area networks) the demand is almost intrinsic since the power constraints of the architecture are among the driving factors for developing efficient solutions.
The platform allows customers to add "Location Things" to their account, one of which is a CloudLocate Thing, de Lorenzo said. “This provides MQTT connectivity to the Thingstream broker with dedicated MQTT topics for the CloudLocate service. When the broker receives measurements from a CloudLocate Thing it will use the CloudLocate service to calculate the position which is then published back to another pre-defined MQTT topic,” he said. “The customer enterprise system can either subscribe directly to this topic, or use a Thingstream flow to do something else with the location e.g. send an email, or make an HTTP POST.”
Key Takeaways:
CloudLocate is suited for Industrial IoT tracking applications that must operate in the field for months or years without battery replacement and only need a few position updates per day.
CloudLocate can take advantage of the many Industrial IoT solutions use low-power wide-area (LPWA).
Applications include logistics, inventory, supply chain, production logistics, and cold-chain management.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, +41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com.
Skyhook Partners With Microsoft for Precision Location Service
Skyhook said it has partnered with Microsoft [MSFT] to provide its Precision Location hybrid positioning service for the technology giant’s products and services.
The deal’s financial details were not disclosed. However, in a statement, Skyhook said that that Microsoft will leverage the company’s services via its network based Wi-Fi and cellular positioning.
The Skyhook positioning service combines Wi-Fi, cell, GPS, IP address and other location information. It its location network includes 5.1 billion geolocated Wi-Fi hotspots and 200 million cell towers.
Key Takeaway:
While this isn’t in the league of Microsoft’s recent $19.7 billion acquisition of Nuance, it’s a solid partnership for Boston-based Skyhook, which is a subsidiary of Liberty Broadband Corp.
Contact: Isolde Decker-Lucke, (617) 314-9802, Idecker-lucke@skyhook.com.
Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com.
👀 ORBCOMM To Be Acquired By GI Partners for $1.1 Billion. Many of us old-timers remember when the satellite company first tracked containers in the 1990s…
Incorporating Location Information in IoT Deployments. Mainly UK-focused, but interesting retail article.
The Wireless Industry’s Commitment to 9-1-1 Location Accuracy…Party line alert!
👌 Free Guide to Autonomous Vehicles. Morning Brew has a handy-dandy guide to AVs and other types of mobility.
Queclink Partners with Sigfox to Enable Asset Management and Stolen Vehicle Recovery. “The GL52S is an ideal covert device for vehicle and static asset tracking.”
😎 Trimble Stock Shows Crazy One-Year Growth…
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CustomWeather Joins HERE Marketplace
HERE said that CustomWeather has joined the HERE Marketplace, providing software developers access to sets of weather and climate data. HERE says that weather conditions and environmental data are increasingly used by automakers.
Location and weather data are two of the most important pieces of information in business operations, HERE said.
Contact: Jordan Stark, HERE, (312) 316-4537, Jordan.stark@here.com.
Cradlepoint Rolls Out 5G Edge Router
Cradlepoint announced its new R1900 Ruggedized 5G Edge Router, which is optimized for in-vehicle networks.
The R1900 provides precision GPS with dead-reckoning and OBD-II integration. It automatically uploads location and telematics data to NetCloud Manager and back-office applications, such as fleet management and computer-aided dispatch (CAD), the company said.
Contact: Travis Barend, Highwire, (585) 880-2045, cradlepoint@highwirepr.com.
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