Vodafone, Topcon Partner To Locate IoT Devices
Companies say new precise positioning system accuracy tops current GNSS
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Vodafone VOD 0.00%↑ and Topcon Positioning Group [TOPCF] signed an agreement this week to develop a new mass-market precise positioning system that will locate Internet of Things (IoT) devices, machinery and vehicles. The companies say the new positioning system, called Vodafone GNSS Corrections, will have better accuracy than current global navigation satellite systems.
Vodafone and Topcon, which each have terrestrial footprints in Europe, plan to invite “select customers” to join pilot projects that start this month in Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom this month. The companies say the tests will use a variety of devices that are connected to Vodafone’s IoT network, which consists of 150 million connections across 12 countries, to offer a single module configuration that can reach across national borders.
Vodafone believes higher positioning accuracy is critical to Vehicle to Anything (V2X), autonomous machinery, lawnmowers, scooters, e-bikes and robots. The company plans to offer precise positioning to complement its new Safer Transport for Europe Platform, which is will be available later this year.
For its part, Topcon offers its Topnet Live GNSS solution that sends cloud-based corrections to vehicles and devices to improve accuracy in open sky conditions that are free from obstructions. There are thousands of GNSS reference stations in Topcon’s European network.
Vodafone is no stranger to testing location technology as it and Sapcorda (now owed by u-blox) tested its positioning service to remotely track a vehicle to within 10 centimeters. “Our customers want to be able to better locate their devices, and the collaboration with Topcon complements our existing asset tracking and fleet telematics solutions,” said Justin Shields, director of Vodafone Business Platforms & Solutions, in a statement.
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All Hyundai Vehicles in Europe Will Have TomTom Maps
All of Hyundai Motor Group’s European vehicle lineup will have TomTom [TOM2] maps and real-time traffic data. The deal, announced late last week, is potentially a huge one as millions of HMG vehicles, including all Hyundai and Kia cars, will come equipped with TomTom maps and traffic information as a standard feature.
TomTom, which last year announced that it was supplying map and traffic technology to HMG’s premium brand Genesis vehicles in Europe, will provide in-dash navigation and level-two automated driving features for Hyundai and Kia customers.
The announcement is a big one for TomTom, which has been financially battered this year. In late May, the company announced that it would cut roughly 10 percent of its workforce—500 employees.
HMG’s Highway Driving Assist feature will rely on the TomTom ADAS Map for road information, including gradient, lanes, curvature, speed limits, safety, comfort and eco-performance, the company said. Data from the maps will enable HDA to change speed if the posted limit changes, slow down and navigate freeway transition ramps and curves, the company said. The speed limit information is critical because the European Union’s new intelligent speed assistance (ISA) regulation compliance, which has been in effect since July.
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NTSB Asks FCC for C-V2X Automaker Waiver
In a letter sent this week, the National Transportation Safety Board wants the Federal Communications Commission to grant automakers a waiver to deploy Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) safety systems. The letter, written as part of an FCC public comment period, asks the commission to consider C-V2X technology rather than Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC), according to Ars Technica.
NTSB continues a long-running saga that started in 1999 when the FCC set aside 75 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 gigahertz band for DRSC that was meant to improve road safety through connected technologies. However, by 2020, the commission decided to shift 30 megahertz of spectrum, out of 75 megahertz reserved for DSRC, to C-V2X for intelligent transportation systems. In addition, the other 45 megahertz was allocated for Wi-Fi use.
Washington, D.C.-based Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials unsuccessfully challenged the FCC’s move to shift the DSRC spectrum in August.
Judge Justin Walker, in his opinion, said that by 2020, there were “no commercially-marketed vehicles” using the 5.9 gigahertz band to provide safety features.
In its letter, NTSB said that connected vehicle technology would reduce traffic fatalities. In addition, like ITS America said in its August statements, NTSB wants to make sure that the FCC doesn’t allow Wi-Fi devices to encroach on the remaining 30 MHz of spectrum.
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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:
🛳 Hapag-Lloyd Starts Installation of Tracking Devices on Its Dry Container Fleet. “Up to 200 depots worldwide will eventually equip 1.6 million dry containers. The container fleet is currently being equipped with devices from the established TradeTech partner Nexxiot and devices from ORBCOMM.”
🛰 Latest Galileo Satellites Join Constellation With Enhanced, Faster Fix. “Galileo satellites 27-28 were launched at the end of last year and underwent their in-orbit test review at the end of April, held between ESA, satellite manufacturer OHB and navigation payload maker Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL).”
🌏 EUSPA Taps ESSP for Egnos Service Provider Role. “EUSPA formally announced that it has signed its new EGNOS service provider contract with European Satellite Services Provider.”
Maps:
👍 The Long Journey of Apple Maps: Abject Horror to Surprise & Delight. James Killick: “It now has some pretty useful features — some of which are now better than the competition. But let’s also agree that while the accuracy and reliability of Apple Maps has been vastly improved there’s still work to be done.”
📱 2 New iOS 16 Apple Maps Features Are Coming to iPhone. “Some of the upcoming features include high-resolution imagery for apps like Zillow and new tools for developers, like making Bird scooters and bikes easier to find. Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ said it will roll out its redesigned map in 11 more countries later this year. Those features include cycling directions and Look Around, a new 3D city experience.”
🗺 Apple Maps Turns 10 — And It's Finally Worth Using. “[A]s Google quickly began to create an iOS competitor of its own in Android, Apple and Google GOOG 0.00%↑ grew into bigger rivals. Maps, in particular, was a sore spot: Google appeared to be holding back critical features from the iOS version of Maps, leaving iPhone users without turn-by-turn directions.”
🌄 Google Maps Eco-friendly Directions Are Coming to 40 European Countries. “As part of a handful of Maps announcements today, Google says the feature will be available in ‘nearly 40’ European countries, though we didn't get a list of everywhere it'll be available.”
🙂 How a Google Maps Competitor Developed a Wrong-Way Driver Warning Feature. “Whenever you’re behind the wheel and a wrong-way driver is believed to be heading towards you, Sygic’s GPS Navigation app can issue a warning to help prevent an accident.”
🤨 Cellphone Tracking Tool Offers Police 'Mass Surveillance on a Budget' by Using Data From Waze, Starbucks and Other Apps. “Sold by Virginia-based Fog Data Science, Fog Reveal has been used since at least 2018 in criminal investigations ranging from the murder of a nurse in Arkansas to tracing the movements of a potential participant in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.”
Financial:
✔ Ovo Automotive Raised $3.5M in Funding.
✔ One Step GPS Makes the Inc 5000 for the Second Year in a Row.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
😲 Self-Driving Tech Company Floats Possible Sale to Apple or Microsoft. “Aurora’s AUR 0.00%↑ Chris Urmson inadvertently sent board memo to staff.”
🚘 Mary Barra Confident in GM's Self-driving Vehicle Tech and Goal To Beat Tesla in EVs. “It’s hard not to argue that a huge factor in the decision to take a $35 billion gulp of the lithium ion Kool-Aid was to gain some market share back from Tesla, which has been donning the crown as America’s EV darling for over a decade now.”
🚗 HARMAN Acquires CAARESYS Passenger Monitoring Systems.
😮 GM's Cruise Recalls 80 Autonomous Robotaxis After Public Crash. “According to a report from Reuters, the GM's GM 0.00%↑ Cruise autonomous driving firm recently announced that it recalled 80 of its Chevrolet Bolt EV-based self-driving vehicles for a software update after a crash in San Francisco that injured two people.”
Lidar:
🛳 Innoviz and HiRain Technologies Deploy InnovizOne Across Shipping Ports in China. “Using InnovizOne INVZ 0.00%↑ Lidar and HiRain's Convolutional Neural Network, the combined solution is now being used at ports across China, including on autonomous trucks and AGVs, and for Vehicle to Anything (V2X) applications.”
👌 RoboSense Adds GWM WEY to Its List of Design Wins on Top of 50+ Models. “RoboSense will provide Lidar for Great Wall Motor WEY Mocha DHT-PHEV.”
Drones:
🛩 Massive GPS Jamming Observed Around Israel. Are Anti-drone Weapons to Blame? “In past occurrences, it was thought that Russian military systems in Syria were the cause of the disruptions, but it is also possible that Israeli systems have contributed to the effect too.”
Tracking:
🏭 Sensolus and Deutsche Telekom Launch IoT Asset Tracking. Sensolus’ portfolio of GPS trackers use Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) for the sensors that last five years.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Taoglas Waste Technologies Transforms Into Superfly
Taoglas Waste Technologies is now Superfy, a company focused using its digital platform to allow companies to achieve their sustainability goals. The new company offers sustainability, waste, recycling, operations, workforce and fleet management solutions.
The new entity will be headed by Taoglas’ co-founder and CEO, Ronan Quinlan. “The operations focused platform allows organizations to enhance and automate their sustainability reporting with accurate analytics. We also have the option of adding IOT sensors as a service which automatically report into the platform,” he said in a statement.
Contact: John Dillon, Superfy jdillon@superfy.com, www.superfly.com.
MiX Telematics Grabs Australia Contract
MiX Telematics M 0.00%↑ IXT has been awarded a contract from Horizon Power, in Western Australia, for a driver behavior and engagement and video telematics solutions. Horizon Power, which is responsible for one-quarter of Australia’s electricity, will outfit its 130-vehicle fleet. Financial details were not disclosed.
Contact: MiX Telematics, www.mixtelematics.com.
Quectel 5G Modules Now Available With NVIDIA SOM
Quectel Wireless Solutions modules are now available with the NVIDIA $NVDA Jetson AGX Orin 32GB system-on-module. Quectel says that by adding 5G modules to the Jetson ecosystem, it is easier for users to manage and build out deployments in smart cities, manufacturing, IoT, industrial applications and other connected businesses and processes.
The latest NVIDIA Jetson offering has been integrated with the Quectel RM500Q series 5G sub-6GHz module. Key features of the RM500Q series include LTE, in addition to 5G, as well as multi-constellation GNSS connectivity, the company said.
Contact: Ashley Liu, Quectel, media@quectel.com, www.quectel.com.
Nexar Launches Driver Behavioral Mapping
Nexar has released its Driver Behavioral Mapping data that provides insight for road segments, driver types, weather and road conditions. Nexar's dash cams, which capture the crowd-sourced driving data of human driving behavior, integrate the information on a high-definition base map for autonomous and assisted driving. "A self-driving car that drives only according to a raw map would be an immediate danger due to its robotic style of driving," said Eran Shir, Nexar co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
Nexar's Driver Behavioral Map accounts for speed distribution, acceleration distribution, turn probability at intersections, switching lanes probability, and virtual cross-walks, among many others. The maps cover all 50 U.S. states.
Contact: Nexar, data.getnexar.com.
Sanborn Completes Geospatial Data for 4,250 Line Miles
The Sanborn Map Company has announced that it successfully completed the collection of geospatial data for 4,250 miles of highway throughout the western United States. The geospatial data collection allows the company to expand its Sanborn M-Map product line.
The Sanborn M-Map, an HD map product line developed for the autonomous vehicle market, offers precision datasets, the company said. The company first rolled out its M-Map for the U.S. market in 2018.
Contact: Jason Caldwell, Sanborn Map Company, (719) 593-0093, jcaldwell@sanborn.com, www.sanborn.com.
CMT Launches DriveWell Crash & Claims
Cambridge Mobile Telematics has launched DriveWell Crash & Claims that allows insurers to offer real-time services to their customers. The product’s telematics crash data helps insurers streamline the customer claims experience. CMT’s AI-driven DriveWell platform detects car crashes from sensor data to auto insurers to proactively help customers with emergency and tow services within seconds of a crash, the company said.
Contact: Matt Fiorentino, Cambridge Mobile Telematics, mfiorentino@cmtelematics.com, www.cmtelematics.com.
Pedrigree Adds Tracking Tags to Platform
Pedigree Technologies has added tracking tags to its OneView platform. By attaching to outdoor tools, equipment, and remote assets, these Bluetooth tags offer customers increased visibility at a fraction of the cost of GPS devices, the company said.
However, the tracking tags will connect and sync with truck and trailer GPS devices, Pedigree applications on handsets and tablets, Pedigree's Cab-Mate ELD and yard-based receivers. Using Bluetooth wireless signals, the tags transmit messages with an asset's unique identifier and displayed on the OneView platform.
Contact: Deidra Schwindt, Deidra.Schwindt@pedigreetechnologies.com, www.pedigreetechnologies.com.
Incognia Food Delivery Report Indicates Location Spoofing
Incognia has announced the results of their first Mobile App Fraud Insights Report – Food Delivery. The results highlight “a high volume of location spoofing” on food delivery driver apps, the company said. “Fraudsters are using location spoofing to accept deliveries from busy locations, charge for deliveries that were not made, and report longer rides,” said André Ferraz, Incognia founder and CEO, in a statement. “The implementation of location intelligence in the mobile apps can verify a driver’s real-time location and detect location spoofing, to prevent location-based fraud.”
Key insights include: 11.9 million location events classified as GPS Spoofing on food delivery apps; 80,000 devices generating locations with GPS Spoofing on food delivery apps; and rate of location spoofing on food delivery driver apps is 6.5 times higher than other types of apps.
Contact: Madeline Kalicka, for Incognia, (240) 427-8961
incognia@karbocom.com.
Garmin Rolls Out Two GPS Smartwatches
Garmin International GRMN 0.00%↑ has announced the Venu Sq 2 and Venu Sq 2 –Music Edition GPS smartwatches that feature health monitoring, fitness tracking and connected features. The smartwatches, with up to 11 days of battery life, have more than 25 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps.
Using the Garmin Connect app, users can choose from dozens of additional pre-made workouts or create their own using more than 1,600 exercises, the company said.
Contact: Stephanie Schultz, Garmin, (913) 397-8200, media.relations@garmin.com, www.garmin.com.
Flybuy Integrates Location-Based Delivery ETA Capability
Radius Networks’ Flybuy technology platform has announced that it has launched an integration on the Toast platform to provide brands with ETA to predict the arrival time of incoming off-premise customers. This integration enables restaurant staff to time the order preparation and handoff, the company said. After integration, Toast Online Ordering customers will be able to opt-in to a location-based customer and delivery driver pickup solution in just days, the company said.
Contact: Flybuy, www.flybuy.com.
ProStar Says CompassData Adopts PointMan Technology
ProStar Holdings [MAPS] said that Denver-based CompassData has adopted its PointMan cloud and mobile software to assist in infrastructure mapping. CompassData, which uses GNSS technology and field experience, collects data for GIS applications, photogrammetry and remotely sensed data, the company said.
Contact: Joel Sutherland, ProStar, (970) 822-4792, investorrelations@prostarcorp.com, www.prostarcorp.com.
Cognosos Mobile RTLS Tech Helps Auto Auctions
Cognosos has launched a mobile version of its OnSpot lightweight RTLS technology to help the automotive auction industry optimize workflows and reduce costs, the company said. The technology allows auctioned cars to be in their assigned lanes on auction day with geofencing capabilities. It also directs users to the location of vehicles not in their lanes, as well as those at risk of missing their assignments, the company said.
Contact: Casey Bush, for Cognosos, cognosos@globalresultspr.com, www.cognosos.com.
Teltonika Telematics Wins Wialon’s Top 10 Hardware Leader Award
GPS and IoT platform Wialon named its 10 leaders of 2022 in the telematics hardware market. The first place prize, which was awarded at the recent Telematics Vilnius 2022 conference, went to Teltonika Telematics. The company said the top 10 most popular brands were identified from 690 hardware companies whose devices are integrated with Wialon.
Contact: Kristina Kruchkova, Wialon, kris@gurtam.com, https://gurtam.com/en/blog.
People
Wise Systems has appointed Umesh Chandra as Vice President of Engineering. Chandra was Vice President of Product & Engineering at HERE Technologies’ Location Services Division.
JAVAD GNSS has appointed Simon Baksh as Vice President of Product Development. Baksh has held executive positions at Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑
Novatel, Altus and other companies.
Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ has hired Gregory Baratoff, Vice President of Autonomous Vehicles Lab from Hyundai MOBIS. Baratoff spent nearly 12 years at Continental in Germany as Head of Camera Sensors Development.
Esri has named Cliff Holle as Senior Partner Manager - Mapping, Location Services and Analytics. Holle was General Manager and Business Development Manager at YellowScan.
Jobs
Manager, RTLS Product Manager (MachineQ). Comcast.
Sales Director. Taoglas.
Business Development Director - Public Infrastructure. Taoglas.
