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Connected car platform Mojio has announced that it's closed a $15m series A round of funding, meaning it can now expand its hardware agnostic, cloud-based product.
Mojio's platform provides elements needed to launch secure, branded connected car apps and services.
Its new funding from partners such as Deutsche...
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It’s a sobering fact that even in this technological age, we still see 1.2 million deaths on our roads each year. Furthermore, studies show that nearly 95% of road accidents are actually the fault of a human driver.
Autonomous technology has the potential to deliver persistent situational awareness, i.e. it can be aware of aware of everything that is happening around it at all times, it never gets distracted or inebriated and it always obeys the rules of the road.
But the level of...
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Move over Uber, BMW is doing some autonomous vehicle testing of its own in Germany next year, according to Reuters.
The rise in popularity of car-sharing apps such as Uber is part of the catalyst for this, according to the news service.
It reports that BMW will test 40 cars with a self-drive function around Munich’s inner city, before expanding this out to others in due course.
According to Reuters, tech companies such as Uber and Lyft have...
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Technical innovations happen constantly in small and big ways across our modern society, but relatively few breakthroughs ever have far-reaching impact.
Consider Wi-Fi and the smartphone, to name a couple. Increasingly, savvy observers are adding blockchain technology to the list of creations that could transform our universe.
Decidedly a hot topic today, blockchain is the protocol behind bitcoin digital currency, but it was around as a...
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The federal transportation authority is calling for a national set of standards on driverless car safety. Tesla just announced its Autopilot feature for all future models, and meanwhile, the White House recently announced an initiative for a vehicle charging network covering 25,000 miles of US highways.
These recent developments are bringing about the reality of widespread autonomous vehicles – sooner than many had realised. Of course, a number of other pieces must fall into place to...
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Uber has aquired a machine learning company and set up a new division dedicated to research in AI.
Uber AI Labs will be based in San Francisco and its initial core will be formed ofthe team of 15 from recently acquired Geometric Intelligence, an AI research startup.
Machine learning will be central to Uber's mission of using tech to "negotiate the real world", the company said.
"It manifests in myriad...
Driverless vehicle technology is a new and exciting industry. However, even with the recent advancements we have seen, there are still several obstacles that autonomous technicians need to overcome before we see a lot of self-driving cars out on the streets.
Some of these roadblocks include finding the best minds to work with and strict restrictions set by local governments. In response to these challenges, it seems we have seen several companies that are developing self-driving technology shifting their work...
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Toyota has announced plans to expand the development of its hybrid technology over the coming years.
The car maker said it’s doing so as fuel consumption regulations “continue to strengthen” in some major countries.
Therefore, regions such as China, the US and Europe will need more environmentally friendly cars over the coming years.
As such, Toyota said by 2021, at least 60% of its...
The rumours about a possible Apple foray into self-driving car technology have possibly been assuaged somewhat - but in true ambiguous Apple style.
The company has reportedly written a letter to the US' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), expressing their excitement about the potential of automated systems "in many areas, including transportation".
The letter doesn't say whether Apple is intending to build its own autonomous vehicle, but did say it has heavy investment in...
An electric car company to rival Tesla has chosen Arizona as the base for their car factory.
Lucid Motors - formerly Atieva - was founded in California back in 2007. It's since developed battery technology, as well as making an aluminium prototype, which was only recently unveiled.
The company markets itself as a 'new era of luxury mobility" and claims its cars will redefine the auto experience.
Lucid said its factory site selection process began over a...
It certainly seems to be a fact-finding mission at the moment where driverless cars are concerned, highlighted by yet another survey delving into what people think about the emerging tech.
This time it’s Nissan that has done the digging, and in addition to what people see autonomous cars being useful for, they’ve also looked at the financial impact of the vehicles on European roads.
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The future of the connected car is going to have many services that rely on the quality of the connection within the vehicle. Telecoms providers therefore need to make connectivity simple, reliable and most importantly, available.
JC&C Bowers, Pangea’s strategic partner and service provider in the automotive space, knows all too well of the opportunity and importance of telecoms providers to the connected car.
As JC&C’s CEO, John Bowers, explains: “It’s...
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Several large motor companies are planning a high-powered DC charging network for battery electric cars covering long distances around Europe.
The ultimate goal by the group - which includes BMW, Daimler AG, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche - is to build a "sizable" number of stations.
The planned ultra-fast charging network, with power levels up to 350 kilowatt, is set to be quite a lot faster than the most powerful charging system already out there.
The project is planned...
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Driverless cars are still a few years off yet, but people already have quite strong views on how they would impact everyday life.
As Ford recently announced it would start European testing of autonomous cars next year, it also commissioned a survey asking people from various countries how they would pass their time when travelling in one.
In response, 80% said they...
By the year 2020 there will be 250 million connected cars on the world’s roads, with over 25 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices globally, according to the research firm Gartner.
And in many ways it will be the connected car – and, ultimately, the self-driving (or autonomous) car – that will drive the rapid growth of the IoT over the next decade and beyond.
While it can be difficult to foresee how new IoT smart devices, applications and infrastructure...
While we're on the subject of 2017 connected car predictions this week, The Economist Intelligence Unit has also released some interesting numbers that provide some food for thought next year.
In its newly published Industries in 2017 report, the researchers take a look at the key trends in the automotive sector for next year and find that combined car sales in the 60 biggest markets will rise by 2.4% in 2017.
This may be slower...
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As 2016 winds down, the connected car industry is ramping up for another interesting year.
We’ve seen several innovative initiatives such as Uber testing autonomous ride sharing in Pittsburgh to Hyundai giving Blue Link users the ability to start their car by talking into their watches. Well, 2017 will be no different.
That being said; not all ideas will succeed.
As new technology continues to alter the driving experience as we know it,...
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The automotive retail sales model is on the cusp of radical change. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and dealerships are moving away from the traditional approach based on fixed display assets and hard-copy brochures towards a new paradigm, focused around real-time visualisation.
Such innovation is delivering a new generation of virtual experiences both in store and online, driving experiential retail solutions that allow customers to digitally explore and customise their new...
New Tesla owners will get Enhanced Autopilot features within a matter of weeks, Elon Musk tweeted recently.
The Tesla boss was answering a query from a car owner, who said he was “upset” the Model S’ new hardware meant it is missing some features that older models have.
He tweeted a copy of an email that reportedly came from Tesla, saying that some features, including auto windshield wipers, park assist and side collision warning, wouldn’t work on the new...
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Using devices while on the road is something truly connected cars could actually combat. One of the causes of the rising number of fatalities on the road around the world is driver distraction, and part of the blame perhaps rests with smartphones.
This is why the US has released new, voluntary guidelines to help address the issue cause by mobiles and electronic devices in vehicles.
The US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic...