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The US government has released its official verdict on autonomous cars, claimed to be rooted in the US Department of Transportation’s view that such ventures bring “enormous potential benefits” for safety and mobility.

Key to the policy is a 15-point safety assessment for manufacturers on how to achieve a ‘robust’ design for highly automated vehicles (HAVs). Different approaches are allowed so long as the main criteria are met.

Among the more interesting...

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Industrial IoT (IIoT) continues to garner most of the investment activity and generate most of the revenue in the space. In the instrumented construction equipment space, for example, the market is so mature that equipment users expect that predictive maintenance savings are already reflected in pricing.

Increasingly they also expect to be compensated for allowing the equipment supplier to make use of “their” data. Conversely, business models for consumer IoT...

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Vinli has expanded its portfolio by joining hands with Meineke Car Care and Cox Automotive to offer connected car services that will be powered by T-Mobile. T-Mobile’s wireless connectivity will offer customers with an in-car telematics solution, with service supporting apps, safety services and advanced diagnostics.

Vinli will help Meineke with an open and transparent vehicle maintenance and fleet service programme, due to which, car owners will be able to receive real-time...

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Hyperdrive Innovation, a company which supplies lithium-ion battery solutions, has announced it has become the first company to commercialise a product that is based on LEAF lithium-ion battery technology from Japanese automaker Nissan.

It has incorporated the new and used UK-made battery modules in its own new intelligent battery systems.

The company's intelligent battery systems can be deployed by automakers to power their hybrid or fully electric vehicles, as well as providing energy...

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Automotive giant Ford has announced different services in the connected car, transportation and mobility spaces, acquiring Chariot Shuttle and launching the GoBike initiative in San Francisco.

Ford Smart Mobility is set to acquire San Francisco-based crowd-sourced shuttle service Chariot to grow its dynamic shuttle services worldwide. The company is also collaborating with bike-sharing provider Motivate for expanding its transportation solutions in city centres.

A new City...

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The collaborative open source project Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), which develops an open Linux-based platform for connected cars, has announced the addition of six new member companies: Synopsys, sdtech, Pocket Soft, Link Motion, Irdeto and Auto IO Technology.

Auto IO Technology specialises in the design, development, production and commercialisation of programmable full TFT instrument clusters, including the Auto IO operating system and JetCast protocol. It uses the Linux...

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Bosch has been named the leading connected car supplier, according to the latest rankings from ABI Research.

According to the analysis, Bosch ranked first due to its strong sales growth in 2015, high development expenditures, multiple strategic partnerships, and commitment to advanced driver assistance solutions.

Harman ranked second in the list, followed by Continental and then Delphi and Visteon, rounding off the top five Tier One vendors. The top five were recognised for their broad...

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CalAmp, a California-based wireless products, services and solutions provider, has launched its new mobile application, SureDrive by LoJack, that offers new connected car services for consumers. The app includes advanced security and safety technologies for vehicle owners.

The app utilises the company's telematics cloud service to integrate the vehicle with the connected life of the consumer. This app, when integrated with the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System, helps consumers protect...

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In a famous episode of UK sitcom Only Fools and Horses, the protagonists chase an ambulance through London after a deal goes awry – and then lose it as it goes straight through a red traffic light. “How could you possibly lose an ambulance?” exhorts Del Boy. “It’s a ruddy great big white thing with a flashing blue light on the top! And in case your peepers ain’t too clever, it makes a sound like an air...

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Skyworks Solutions has announced that many of its semiconductor solutions are powering LG Electronics’ Online Connectivity Units (OCUs), which are being supported across Volkswagen automobiles for enhancement of convenience and connectivity. Through OCUs, drivers are offered direct access to features such as smart home and location-based services from their vehicles.

There are expectations of more than a quarter of global vehicles connecting to the internet by 2020, and Skyworks is...

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Vodafone has announced it is providing connectivity for the new Skoda Kodiaq, launched last week.

In a short news alert, the telco confirmed the Kodiaq will be equipped with a specialised SIM card, which keeps the vehicle connected to the Vodafone network and enables the vehicle’s driver to keep on top of various information, including whether the car is locked, its location, as well as automatically contacting the Skoda emergency call centre in the event of an accident.

The...

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The Baidu World Conference in Beijing, China saw CEO Robin Li and Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang announce a partnership for utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a cloud-to-car autonomous car platform for China and international markets.

The partnership will combine mapping technology and the cloud platform from Baidu, and the self-driving computing platform developed by Nvidia. It will develop solutions for Level 3 autonomous vehicle control, HD maps and automated...

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US-based telematics technology provider Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) and Japanese insurance company Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance (ADI) have formed a strategic partnership aiming to introduce a behaviour-based telematics programme in Japan.

Insurers are increasingly looking for ways to introduce behaviour-based telematics to customers. In the last five years, CMT has introduced behaviour-based insurance with smartphones and successfully deployed solutions in Asia, Africa, Europe and North...

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By Kevin Taylor, EVP head of technology and Dick Williams, VP automotive, GfK

“They’re digging in the wrong place!” This is one of our favorite quotes from the first Raiders of the Lost Ark film, evoking that beautifully captured moment when, deep down in an Egyptian tomb, Indiana Jones and friends realise that the Ark of the Covenant isn’t buried where they thought it was. 

From what we are seeing, the same could also be true when it comes to automakers and technology...

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Market researcher Nielsen has released its 2016 Nielsen AutoTECHCAST report, which assess consumer preferences for emerging and advanced automotive technologies. The report covers nearly 12,000 new car buyers in the US and 44 auto-related technologies, and highlighted the challenges to adoption of these technologies.

More specifically, the report found a glaring lack of consumer awareness of many automobile technologies, despite their growing advancement. Base familiarity was...

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Consumer interest may be less than expected for ridesharing and other car-related technological developments.

According to TECHnalysis Research founder Bob O'Donnell, popular automotive technologies like ridesharing and self-driving cars may not be as interesting to customers as the industry says.

Ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft are gaining traction among investors for their larger vision of turning cars into services. This vision of...

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The latest figures from analyst firm Berg Insight have shown that the market for installed fleet management systems in Europe will hit 10.6 million by 2020, up from 5.3m in Q4 2015.

The figures come out a couple of weeks after the analyst house published numbers around fleet management in Australia and New Zealand. Earlier this month, Berg argued that the number of...

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Israel-based technology company Mobileye and British automotive parts manufacturer Delphi Automotive are partnering to jointly develop a complete SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Level 4/5-accredited automated driving solution. The partnership will see the development of a production-intent, end-to-end, fully-automated vehicle driving solution.

The new solution will have the functional safety and performance level for rapid integration into various vehicle platforms. The turnkey...

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With the potential to improve the entire driving experience, as well as advance safety standards across the board, there’s a good reason why many drivers are excited to see what the future of the connected car has in store.

However, alongside this excitement, there have been concerns voiced around the security of the connected car. With examples such as Nissan admitting some of its Leaf cars can be easily hacked, allowing their heating and...

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The usage based insurance (UBI) market is an ever-growing industry, with an estimated 100 million vehicles set to be insured worldwide with telematics policies by 2020. This is set to grow to nearly 50% of the world’s vehicles by 2030, generating more than €250 billion in premiums for insurers.

But insurers and OEMs face a growing conundrum: what do their UBI or connected car propositions include? Currently the insurance market is using policy premium discounts through driver...