Location Based Systems

German automotive supplier ZF has acquired a 40 per cent stake in Hamburg-based Ibeo Automotive Systems, a specialist in LiDAR technology and the development of environmental recognition software with a particular focus on applications for autonomous driving. The two companies plan to develop the next generation of LiDAR technology for vehicle applications and autonomous driving, without the rotating mirrors contained in current LiDAR systems. According to ZF, LiDAR expands its current sensor portfo

In a deal worth around US$2.4 billion, US-based Verizon Communications is to acquire Fleetmatics Group as it seeks to accelerate its position as a provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions. Fleetmatics has developed a wide range of software as a service (SaaS)-based products and solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. According to Verizon, the combination of products and services, software platforms, strong customer bases, domain expertise and experience, as well as the recent

UK company Delphi Automotive has been selected by the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) as a strategic partner to implement autonomous mobility concepts. The company will provide a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles and will develop a cloud-based mobility-on-demand software (AMoD) suite and will conduct a trial of an urban, point-to-point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service in Singapore's Autonomous Vehicles Test Bed located at a business park in the western area of the city. D

A new study from Juniper Research has found that new in-vehicle infotainment services such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will generate large amounts of new cellular M2M data traffic. Over the next five years, this will account for up to 98 per cent of all M2M data traffic. According to the new study, M2M: Strategies & Opportunities for MNOs, Service Providers & OEMs 2016-2021, data intensive applications such as Internet radio, music streaming applications and information services will generate appro

The US Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Watchdog and former National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) administrator Joan Claybrook have told NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind that "you inexcusably are rushing full speed ahead" to promote the deployment of self-driving robot car technology instead of developing adequate safety standards "crucial to ensuring imperfect technologies do not kill people by being introduced into vehicles before the technology matures." In a letter to Rosekind in response

According to a new IHS Automotive global consumer survey, Connected Cars, 55 per cent of annual global new vehicle sales in 2020 will be connected vehicles and at that time, nearly half of the global fleet of vehicles in operation will be connected. Findings indicate that new advanced technologies and increased connectivity are driving consumer preferences as they consider new vehicles. More than 4,000 vehicle owners intending to purchase a new vehicle within the next 36 months were surveyed, representi

Here, the location cloud company, has introduced its mobile trip companion Here WeGo, designed to simplify urban mobility by making it on-demand, personal and stress-free. Centred around route planning and giving directions, Here WeGo covers the user’s journey from start to finish, including parking suggestions and walking directions for the last mile. Its features include voice-guided, turn-by-turn drive and pedestrian navigation for more than 130 countries, with or without an internet connection. It a

Ford Motor Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are collaborating on a new research project that measures how pedestrians move in urban areas to improve certain public transportation services, such as ride-hailing and point-to-point shuttles services. The project will introduce a fleet of on-demand electric vehicle shuttles that operate on both city roads and campus walkways on the university’s campus. The vehicles use LiDAR sensors and cameras to measure pedestrian flow, which ultimate

TomTom Telematics is to collaborate with accounting software specialist Sage in a deal which will combine TomTom WEBFLEET and Sage Live to deliver real-time accounting for companies with fleets of vehicles. WEBFLEET is used by small to large businesses to help improve vehicle performance, save fuel, support drivers and increase overall fleet efficiency. The combined solution will allow Sage Live customers to automatically view fleet data from connected vehicles – including trucks, light commercial vehic

South Korea has embarked on a year-long pilot of a next-generation Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS) project in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Dutch secure connectivity company NXP Semiconductors and Korean automotive electronics specialist eSSys are to be technology partners in the project, which begins this month, promoted by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. NXP will supply eSSys with its RoadLINK V2X chipset, a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and v