Worldwide Semiconductor Chip Shortage Forces TomTom To Cut 2021 Outlook
Reuters: TomTom Posted Quarterly Net Loss For The Last Two Years
Citing the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips that have curbed automotive markets, TomTom [Tom2] said the company will cut its 2021 outlook.
TomTom posted a loss of 23.6 million euros, nearly 8 million euros more than analysts had predicted.
“In the first half of the year, we have seen that the widespread shortage in semiconductors have impacted the automotive supply chain, which impacts car production. As automotive [division] revenue is invoiced based on the number of cars produced that embed our this is expected to lead to lower Automotive operational revenue and free cash flow,” said Taco Titulaer, TomTom chief financial officer. “Taking this into account, we have updated our guidance for this year.”
Titulaer said the automotive group expects revenue around 500 million euro to 530 million euros. The location technology group forecasts revenue from 400 million to 430 million euro, he said.
In other TomTom news, the company signed a multiyear deal with Loop, a community-driven auto insurance provider, to provide speed profiles, traffic stats and maps. The location information will help Loop customers make safer driving choices and receive insurance rates that are based on fair, bias-free criteria, the company said.
Toyota Buys CARMERA To Bolster Automated Mapping Platform
Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings has acquired CARMERA to roll it into its Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) organization. CARMERA, which specializes in road intelligence and automated mobility, will allow AMP to shift from an R&D stage to commercialization by boosting the development of HD maps, the company said.
Woven Planet, which recently purchased Level 5, Lyft’s self-driving division for an estimated $550 million and invested in Ridecell, said AMP is a connected crowdsourced software platform for automated mobility HD maps. The trend seems to be automakers and larger semiconductor manufacturers buying digital mapping companies for HD map development.
The company’s purchase of CARMERA, with offices in Seattle and New York, will allow it to have a sophisticated map update from crowdsourced and camera inputs, change management and increase IoT sensing technology, Toyota said.
Contact: Woven Planet, pr@woven-planet.com, www.woven-planet.global.
Hexagon Acquires Spatial Mapping Company
Hexagon AB has acquired Immersal Oy, a spatial mapping company that uses visual positioning products for augmented reality (AR) applications. Hexagon said that AR has the ability to “weave context-specific, 3D information into physical spaces provides endless opportunities.”
These opportunities include surveying, construction, public safety and manufacturing to maintenance, training and navigation applications, the company said. As part of this process, the Immersal SDK allows developers to merge digital content with real-world objects. The SDK enables a user’s mobile device to locate and orient itself using machine-readable maps, which are hosted in the Immersal Cloud Service, the company said.
Helsinki, Finland-based Immersal will be integrated into Hexagon’s Geosystems division, the company said.
Contact: Kristin Christensen, Hexagon AB, (404) 554-0972, media@hexagon.com.
Iot, Automation, Electric Vehicles, and Location Technology Are Among APAC Logistics Industry’s Key Investment Priorities
New research from HERE Technologies and Frost & Sullivan indicate that approximately a third of logistics companies in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are considering IoT (37 percent), warehouse automation (33 percent), and electric vehicles (32 percent) as key investment priorities in the next two years. More than half of the logistics companies are also leveraging map-based solutions with real-time location data for fleet tracking, the companies say.
‘The State of Movement’ white paper surveyed 152 logistics companies in six countries in APAC: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
COVID-19 has disrupted, and revealed vulnerabilities in supply chains, putting logistics companies still relying on traditional systems at a disadvantage. “With multiple moving parts within the supply chain, these companies are exploring connected systems and vehicles to improve their fleets, asset tracking, and shipment monitoring,” according to the report.
According to the report, while GPS (77 percent), RFID (31 percent), and QR codes (20 percent) are commonly used in fleet management, IoT is swiftly gaining popularity with 21% of respondents having adopted it. Two out of five logistics companies will be implementing IoT solutions across all assets over the next two years, the company said.
To access the white paper, click here.
Contact: Melissa Tan, Frost & Sullivan, 65 6890 0926, melissa.tan@frost.com.
Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com.
😧 Velodyne Lidar CEO Resigns In Latest Internal Drama. “Velodyne Lidar CEO Anand Gopalan is leaving the lidar company at the end of July as the sensor supplier continues to struggle with internal drama.”
👍 Researchers Create Drone Swarms That Can Detect Gas Leaks, Other Threats. “The research may be particularly relevant to the military, which is increasingly interested in small drones that perform well together with little human control and in tight places where GPS can’t reach—like underground.”
✔ 5 Trends to Watch In 5G Connected Vehicles. “Telstra considers that once all cars can communicate with each other, with the surrounding infrastructure, and with pedestrians, the possibilities are unlimited.”
🤦♂️ Google Maps Is Giving Out Potentially Fatal Directions to Mountain Climbers. Google: "To help both novice and experienced hikers more easily find trails that suit their level of expertise, we’re now updating our driving routes to take people directly to the visitor center, where they’ll be able to speak with staff about the best trail to take."
🤦♀️ Thieves Snoop on Us With Drones, Say Farmers. “There are also concerns about rising thefts of tractor GPS systems which are being targeted because they are of high value and easily transportable.”
😑 Robotaxis: Have Google and Amazon Backed the Wrong Technology? “The costs are just too exorbitant, the testing hours too prolonged and it remains unclear whether there is really a business case for shared robotaxis.”
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Location Industry Briefs
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HERE Partners With Lyft
HERE Technologies said that Lyft Inc. [LYFT.O] has selected HERE Map Content and HERE Location Services to power the ridesharing company’s location searches and real-time road closures data. HERE said that ride made through the Lyft platform will now come with an improved search database for places and addresses and more accurate driver ETAs.
Lyft rolled out its HERE Geocoding and Search Service, which enables riders to search for pickup and destination addresses and points of interest directly through the app. Lyft will also use the HERE Places Extract Portal, which delivers location data, and HERE Point Addressing, which allows Lyft to assess pick-ups and drop-off locations, the company said.
In other company news, PCS Software has partnered with HERE Technologies to integrate LBS and mapping capabilities into an asset tracking and management product. The product will allow real-time location and status of freight and equipment, the company said. The platform also helps customers improve route planning by leveraging location data and advanced algorithms to calculate more efficient route generation, the company said.
Contact: Jordan Stark, HERE, (312) 316-4537, Jordan.stark@here.com.
OCTO Telematics To Hire 100 Employees
OCTO Telematics said it plans to hire more than 100 people as part of its ‘Smart Data, Smarter People’ program. Most employment will be for the Rome office, but other employment will be in the U.S. and other European offices, the company said. The company also named Vernon Bonser, joint OCTO Telematics as UK Commercial VP.
Contact: Adriana Zambon, OCTO Telematics, 39 339 3995640, press@octotelematics.com.
JAVAD Hosts Radio Solutions Workshop
JAVAD GNSS’ monthly workshop will be July 29 to learn more about the company’s radio solutions. Matt Johnson, PLS, will lead the workshop with some examples of his daily work with the company’s radios. Register 10am PST: https://lnkd.in/ewhdP4D;
register 10am CET: https://lnkd.in/e-Epr67.
Swift Navigation Partners With KDDI Corp.
Swift Navigation has partnered with Tokyo-based KDDI Corp. to bring its Skylark precise positioning service to the Japanese market. Swift, which partners with Deutsche Telekom in Europe, said KDDI will use its patented wide-area corrections product that combines precise point positioning and real-time kinematics.
The product’s ease of access and higher accuracy can benefit such customers as automotive manufacturers, delivery companies to improve operational efficiencies and mobile app companies to improve analytics using accurate data to create better maps, the company said.
Contact: Swift Navigation, swiftnav.com/kddi.
Fibocom Launches LTE Cat 1 Module MC116
Fibocom has introduced its LTE Cat 1 Module MC116. The module, which supports GNSS, is suitable for such IoT applications as telematics, smart payments, public security and asset tracking, the company said.
Based on a Qualcomm platform, the MC116 module adopts LCC+LGA form factor and is pin-to-pin compatible with the Fibocom LTE Cat 4 module NL668, the company said.
Contact: Ellie Cai, Fibocom, pr@fibocom.com, https://www.fibocom.com.
Telit Receives Deutsche Telekom 5G Certification
Telit said that Deutsche Telekom AG has certified its FN980 Sub-6 5G module for use on the operator's 5G networks across Europe. The ME310, ME910 and ML865 have variants for regional European and global IoT applications such as smart metering, security/surveillance, point of sale, health monitoring, fleet management, asset tracking and wearable trackers, fitness and wellness devices.
Contact: Leslie Hart, Telit, (919) 415-1510, Leslie.Hart@Telit.com.
Phunware Grabs Contract from Unnamed Luxury Resort
Phunware [PHUN] has announced it will license its Smart Hospitality Solution to an unnamed, yet one of “largest international luxury resorts in the world.” Capabilities of the product include location-based services to enable mapping, wayfinding and positioning, both indoors and outdoors and analytics to drive better insight into guest behavior and engagement.
Contact: Matt Glover, (949) 574-3869, PHUN@gatewayir.com.
