Texas Sues GM Over Location Privacy in Connected Cars
Two major legal proceedings this week focus on location privacy…
The Texas Attorney General's Office has sued GM GM 0.00%↑ over the alleged unlawful gathering and sale of location information from 1.5 million state drivers. According to the lawsuit, data from 2015 and later OnStar Smart Driver and other services was sent to insurance companies—without the consent of the drivers.
The lawsuit indicates that driving data was used by two third parties for driving score generation.
“Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways. Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it.”
Paxton went further, saying “General Motors deceived many of its customers when it compelled them to enroll in its products, including OnStar Smart Driver, as part of its vehicle ‘onboarding’ process and told them that failing to enroll would result in the deactivation of their vehicle’s safety features.”
The lawsuit follows Paxton’s June 2024 announcement that opened an investigation into other car manufacturers who allegedly collected mass amounts of data about drivers directly from the vehicles and then sold the information to third parties.
For its part, and based on customer feedback, GM said in April it would discontinue Onstar Smart Driver.
Geofence Warrants Are Now Unconstitutional?
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week Appeals decided that geofence warrants are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Geofence warrants identify suspects within a location and time.
In the decided 5th Circuit case, which involved a robbery, Google complied with a warrant to give law enforcement phone data from a certain area around a post office. The court relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Carpenter v. United States, which held that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy surrounding the geofence warrants’ location data.
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Woolpert Grabs $50 Million U.S. Army Contract
Woolpert received a five-year, $50 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to provide professional and non-professional mapping and management services for projects in Europe.
Woolpert said it completed a five-year, shared-capacity GIS/mapping, surveying, and photogrammetric mapping services contract under a joint venture arrangement. Services under this contract will include aerial photography and lidar collection and processing, photogrammetry, land surveying, CAD/GIS mapping and data migration, as well as site, utility, and space utilization survey, the company said.
“Leveraging our past experience with the district, our local presence, and skilled subcontractor base, we are privileged to continue our work with USACE Europe and their stakeholders,” said Darius Hensley, Woolpert vice president and national security program director, in a statement.
Woolpert has been seeing government aerial lidar contract wins recently as it won $6.8 million to collect lidar data for the U.S. Geological Survey last month.
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Wialon Installed in 4 Million Connected Vehicles
Gurtam has announced that its Wialon fleet management and IoT platform is now installed in 4 million vehicles in 160 countries. With this milestone, the company says it is one of the largest fleet management, GPS tracking and IoT software platforms installed worldwide in connected vehicles.
The company, which processes 5 billion data points daily, powers fleet management in such platforms as public buses, agricultural vehicles and equipment, construction vehicles and equipment, energy generators, fuel tanks, waste management trucks and others, the company said. Wialon, which surpassed 3.8 million installations only a few months ago, has been marketing its fleet management solutions to mainly smaller and medium-sized companies.
The 4 millionth vehicle connection was deployed by South Africa-based GotYou Telematics, which is a provider and integrator of security services for fleet management. The company has seen strong growth in North America, particularly in Mexico, with security fleets.
Overalll, Wialon provides fleet management software solutions through a network of more than 2,700 channel partners in more than 160 countries. The company’s technology is currently in more than 3,500 device models for data capture and GPS tracking.
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Other Location News
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Top News:
🏛 White House Advisory Group Blasts Us Government, DOD Inattention to GPS Woes. “The independent White House advisory group on GPS is taking the US government to task for failing to adequately address increased risks of interference with the Pentagon owned satellites, and for lack of progress in finding alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems — suggesting that control of GPS functions should lie outside the Defense Department.”
😮 GPS Spoofers 'Hack Time' on Commercial Airlines, Researchers Say. “There has been a 400 percent surge in GPS spoofing incidents affecting commercial airliners in recent months, according to aviation advisory body OPSGROUP. Many of those incidents involve illicit ground-based GPS systems, particularly around conflict zones, that broadcast incorrect positions to the surrounding airspace in a bid to confuse incoming drones or missiles.”
🚍 Element Acquires Autofleet in $110 Million Deal. “Israeli company Autofleet is being acquired by Canada’s Element Fleet Management, the largest publicly traded, pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world.”
👍 U.S., Australia Collaborate to Enhance GPS Resilience in Contested Environments. “The combined effort brought together experts from both nations. Personnel from the Australian Joint Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Directorate worked alongside JNWC personnel to evaluate the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver.”
🤔 Quantum Sensing Milestone Draws Closer to Exquisitely Accurate, GPS-Free Navigation. “For the first time, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have used silicon photonic microchip components to perform a quantum sensing technique called atom interferometry, an ultra-precise way of measuring acceleration. It is the latest milestone toward developing a kind of quantum compass for navigation when GPS signals are unavailable.”
✈ New Warning as 'Frightening' GPS Attacks Hit Passenger Planes—Fasten Your Seatbelts. “This 400 percent increase in GPS attacks relates to the wider GPS ecosystem itself, rather than targeting specific aircraft.”
🌍 Ukraine Destroys an Offshore Platform Used for GPS Spoofing. “According to a spokesperson, Ukraine's military attacked and destroyed an idle gas platform off Crimea, which Russian units had used as a broadcasting station for GPS interference equipment.”
🛰 Glonass Launches Assisted Navigation for Smartphones. “Russia's satellite navigation system Glonass announced that it designed a new service to improve location services on smartphones, with accelerated delivery, reports Rb.ru citing Aleksey Raykevich, the CEO of the company. The A-GNSS service is similar to the A-GPS used in other countries to augment satellite navigation. The solution could be downloaded onto smartphones powered by local OS in Russia.”
Maps:
🏎 Mapping F1: Teams, Power Units and Tracks.
👍 Celebrating 20 years of OpenStreetMap. “The openness of OSM has been a huge factor in its growth, playing on the natural human intrigue of maps.”
👏 One Man Decided To Take on Google Maps, 20 Years Later OpenStreetMap Is Still Going Strong. “OpenStreetMap is the handiwork of Steve Coast, a University College London “dropout” (Coast’s own words) who has since gone on to work in various map- and location-related roles at Microsoft MSFT 0.00%↑, TomTom [TOM2], Telenav, and — as of today — Singaporean ride-hailing firm Grab.
😕 Apple Announces a New Apple Maps Update, Too Little, Too Late. “The iPhone maker has recently shared a new announcement that it hopes would convince more Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ users to refuse the switch to Google Maps. Apple Maps now offers real-time transit information for Tokyo, Japan, with 20 railway, bus, and tram lines in the metropolitan area now supported by the app.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
💲 China's Autonomous Vehicle Startup WeRide Seeks Us IPO at $5 Billion Valuation. “WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, is officially gearing up for a U.S. public debut, over a year after China started easing its effective ban of foreign IPOs. The company is seeking a valuation as high as $5.02 billion in its initial public offering.”
🌎 DOD Needs Solutions for the Proliferation of Autonomous Vehicles, Defense Official Says. “While there hasn't been a direct assault on a U.S. military base yet, autonomous systems remain a threat and something the Defense Department is seeking solutions for.”
🚗 Waymo To Begin Testing Driverless Robotaxis on San Francisco Freeways. “Waymo plans to start testing its fully autonomous vehicles with no human safety driver on freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area this week.”
🤨 Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Doubts Tesla's Robotaxi Fleet Management Plans. “While a certain portion of the fleet will be owned by Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑, individual customers can also add or subtract their vehicles to the robotaxi fleet at will. As for riders, they can summon a car using the Tesla App, Musk said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call last month. Khosrowshahi, however, is not sure if a car owner is going to want his car to be ridden in by a complete stranger.”
🛺 Serve Robotics and Shake Shack Roll Out Autonomous Robot Delivery Via Uber Eats. “Customers who order from select Shake Shack restaurants in Los Angeles through Uber Eats may receive their order via Serve's autonomous robots.”
🚘 Trial Run of 8 Vehicles Under Way in Hong Kong’s $127 Million Push. “The government had so far invested $60 million (Hong Kong) into driverless cars and another $67 million (Hong Kong) into technologies related to the internet of vehicles (connected) under the Smart Traffic Fund.”
📈 Luminar's Revenue Delays, Debt Renegotiations, And Looming Equity Dilution. “Luminar's LAZR 0.00%↑ Q2 results show the delayed path to mass production with Volvo, reducing revenue forecast from $250 million to $74 million in 12 months.”
🤞 Cadillac Lyriq Gen 2 Super Cruise Is Tamer Alternative To Tesla FSD. “General Motors’ GM 0.00%↑ second generation of its driver assist technology is more ambitious but stops short of Tesla Full Self Driving or FSD.
🙂 The Self-Driving Startup Everyone Forgot About. “Nuro is currently focused on delivery things, not people. In particular, it’s got a contract with Uber Eats UBER 0.00%↑ and has been delivering food with some of its test vehicles, which have been Toyota Priuses up till now.”
Financial:
📈 u-blox Reports Resilient Half-Year 2024 Results. “Year-over-year, revenue declined similarly in all regions and markets, while more pronounced in the connectivity and industrial businesses.”
✔ NextNav Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results.
😐 Pending Acquisition by Keysight Slowed Customer Orders in the First Half, Spirent Says. “Spirent reported orders for the first six months of 2024 were down 6 percent from the same time last year, to about $284 million. Revenues dropped 12 percent to $197.3 million.”
✔ MapmyIndia Reports 13.5% Revenue Growth in Q1 Fiscal Year 25.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
The Indoor Lab to Install Innoviz Lidar at Major U.S. Airports
Innoviz Technologies INVZ 0.00%↑ entered into a distribution agreement with The Indoor Lab to deploy InnovizTwo lidar at Denver, Tampa, and Nashville International airports. The Indoor Lab is pioneering the shift from cameras to lidar-based solutions, the company said.
The InnovizTwo lidar will offer a solution that identifies, classifies, and informs infrastructure and transit management professionals about potential challenges or threats that may occur, the company said. The lidar enables AI-based perception systems to interpret what cameras and other RF-based sensors cannot, therefore improving safety across entry and exit points, tarmacs, baggage check, terminals and runways, the company said.
Contact: Innoviz Technologies, www.innoviz.tech.
Skylo SOS Connectivity on Google Pixel 9 Series
Skylo has announced it will provide connectivity for the satellite SOS feature on the new Google Pixel 9 series in the United States. For the first time, without cellular or Wi-Fi in the U.S., Pixel users can connect to emergency services via satellite to get help and share location with contacts, the company said.
Skylo’s Radio Access Network infrastructure is installed in Earth Stations globally and is powered by partnerships with multiple satellite operators worldwide, the company said. Skylo uses licensed mobile satellite spectrum for connectivity.
Contact: Pete Saladino, Skylo Technologies, press@skylo.tech, www.skylo.tech.com.
Sheeva.AI Partners With EV Connect, Gets Additional Funding
Sheeva.AI and EV Connect have partnered to bring SheevaConnect in-car payments to EV Connect’s chargepoint operator (CPO) customers and worldwide EV drivers. The collaboration allows drivers to find, navigate, initiate, and pay for EV charging services directly through the vehicle's infotainment system, the company said.
In other company news, Hagiwara Electronics Co. announced additional investment in Sheeva.AI today. Financial details were not disclosed. The new capital will help “accelerate the launch of the in-car payment service in Japan and to further expand business globally,” the company said.
Contact: Trevor Curwin, Sheev.AI, (415) 646-6063, tcurwin@sheeva.ai, www.sheeva.ai.
Garmin Technology Gets FAA Certification
Garmin GRMN 0.00%↑ has announced the certification of Runway Occupancy Awareness (ROA), marking the first certified software solution using the Surface Indications and Alert (SURF-IA) technology, the company said. ROA uses ADS-B traffic to alert the crew of potential runway incursions caused by nearby airborne aircraft, aircraft on the ground and ground vehicles, the company said.
Garmin said it expects receive FAA certification next month for ROA in their G5000 STC covering the Cessna Citation Excel, XLS, XLS+ and XLS Gen2.
Contact: Mikayla Minnick, Garmin, (913) 397-8200, media.relations@garmin.com.
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INRIX Launches Analytics Tool
INRIX has launched its INRIX IQ Curb Analytics that digitizes and visualizes the curbside to help cities maximize accessibility, availability, revenue, and safety for people driving, walking, and riding on micromobility devices. The city of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will be the first public agencies to use Curb Analytics.
INRIX IQ Curb Analytics provides visibility into curb space, enhances urban mobility and public-private ecosystem collection. INRIX Curb Analytics is available in more than 125 cities worldwide, the company said.
Contact: INRIX, inrix.com/products/curb-analytics.
Queclink Launches GV850 Telematics Gateway
China-based Queclink has introduced the GV850 telematics gateway. The gateway is a 4G Linux-based device for fleet management and industrial applications.
Fleet operators can configure hundreds or thousands of geofences, based on their routes, the company said. GV850 includes a CAN bus library that supports various vehicle types, including HGVs, LGVs, passenger cars and heavy machinery, the company said.
Contact: Queclink Wireless Solutions, www.queclink.com.
Navtech GPS Becomes SBS Systems’ Distributor
Navtech GPS has announced that it will be a distributor of SBG Systems’ products. SBG Systems, a provider of inertial systems, products include autonomous navigation, pointing and stabilization, motions and dynamics and surveying.
Contact: Franck Boynton, NavtechGPS, (703) 256-8900, ext. 106, fboynton@navtechgps.com.
Designium Develops Geo-Located AR App With FoundAt
Designium has partnered with FoundAt to integrate geospatial augmented reality technology into their app. Designium’s technology allows users to take pictures, leave messages and embedding videos and soundtracks within AR environments, the company said.
Applications using geospatial AR technology have expanded to multiple platforms, including mobile apps, web AR, AR glasses, VR headsets and Apple Vision Pro, the company said. Designium's AR technology capabilities enhances location-based maps into applications through visual positioning systems (VPS).
Contact: Yu Hata, for Designium, 819060153830, 381486@email4pr.com, www.designium.jp.
People
Bryan Galusha has been named senior sales director Suntech International USA.
Ven Dixit has been appointed starting a new position as senior director of sales at Suntech International USA.
Jobs
Principal Business Lead, HondaLink & AcuraLink. American Honda Motor Co.
Vice President of Operations. Xona Space Systems.
Project Manager (UK). Xona Space Systems.
Vice President, Marketing. Kontakt.io.
Technical Sales / Application Engineer. Trimble.
Director of Product Management, Data and Product Services. Mobilisights.
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