Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Its not just BMW and VW, another one of our design wins from back in 2018 is hitting the headlines with the recent launch of Ford blue cruise on the UK roads
Good discussion if you haven't had a chance to watch so far
https://seeingmachines.com/video/the-human-factor-in-aviation-vehicle-autonomy/
His conclusion is interesting and points towards further evidence of the success QC will have in auto.
How does that feed into a SM win, in my view they are an 'enabler' and our wins will be still via a Tier One, eg Magna or Valeo
CB Apple part 3:
The Mercedes-Benz AG S-Class uses eye tracking from Seeing Machines to create a 3D image on the instrument cluster. BMW Group is likely to be the first #automaker to commercialize AR HUD combined with DMS in the 2025 #NeueKlasse, with DMS also judged to be Seeing Machines.
Apple is probably onto something with spatial computing, but whether most people want to wear the technology isn't clear. 3D TV suggests not. Does Vision Pro comply with Steve's Law? If we even have to ask, then probably not.
Augmenting the driving experience using eye gaze, gesture and voice with AR HUD has a promising future. But Apple's success in #automotive looks mostly limited to #CarPlay. Instead, the company with the right partnerships and the right technologies is Qualcomm.
CB Apple part 2:
Has Apple just introduced another iPhone, or another #Newton? Remember Newton? Wired told that story beautifully in 2013. Link: https://lnkd.in/ejZjHhYJ
If Apple needs to explain the "why" of spatial computing, then Vision Pro is probably closer to a Newton. How does it enable connection, like Apple’s other winning products, when the launch images all show people in isolation?
The key technology within spatial computing is #augmented #reality #AR and how understanding the wearer's #eyegaze can be used to project information into their line of sight. The first useful application of AR is more likely to be seen in the auto industry, with AR head-up display #HUD and driver monitoring systems combining image projection and eye gaze vector to redefine the customer experience in the vehicle.
CB Apple part 1:
This week we saw Apple launch Vision Pro, its first #spatial #computer, which "utilizes the most advanced materials possible, for incredible performance, mobility, and wearability." Great. But what does it do, and will it succeed? Let's dive in.
Steve Jobs gave us "Steve's Law," which states: “You've got to start with the #customer #experience and work backwards to the #technology. You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where to sell it.”
Let's use this to compare Apple's hit products:
#iPod: stored an entire #music library. Music is all about #connection.
#iPhone: integrated iPod with communicator and phone. Later camera, gaming, and apps with #AppStore. iPhone 4 brought #Retina #display and changed video forever. iPhone is about connection.
#iPad: a great way to consume lots of content. #FaceTime made video calling common long before Zoom. iPad is about connection.
iPod, iPhone, and iPad are all useful. They connect people. At launch, Jobs didn't have to explain what they did. People got it. But what is spatial computing? What does it do? Will the masses pay $3,499 for "incredible performance, mobility, and wearability"?
In this post CB creates a link from Apple to SM
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/colin-barnden-1081376_remembering-the-apple-newtons-prophetic-activity-7073199616321576960-YnQK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
text from cb post
the verge reports mercedes-benz ag plans to test #chatgpt in cars, to answer "complex questions." stepping aside from the obvious efforts by mercedes to grab attention by getting on the #genai bandwagon, this development reinforces the number one trend in the #automotive market: the integration of #eyegaze #gesture and #voice to completely redefine the human-vehicle interface #hvi. mercedes is also taking advantage of another trend in the auto industry, and is using over-the-air updates to add chatgpt to vehicles already on the road.
despite the hysteria over general motors's decision to drop apple #carplay, the automakers are now moving away from smartphone mirroring (and with it, away from apple) towards proprietary user interfaces which fundamentally change the driving experience. we are only in the very early stages of this trend right now, but apple's new vision pro headset shows the direction for the auto industry.
vision pro uses eye gaze as a cursor to interact with the displays. cars are taking the same route, using eye gaze as an input and an augmented reality head-up display projected onto the windshield as output. bmw group is likely to be the first #automaker to commercialize ar hud combined with eye gaze in the 2025 #neueklasse, using driver monitoring technology judged to be from seeing machines.
underpinning the entire trend to the digital ****pit is qualcomm. its ****pit applications processors will be used by almost every major oem (except tesla, which is using amd). qualcomm has a clear path forward in the automotive sector which doesn't threaten the oems and supports them in creating proprietary user interfaces to change the driving experience.
the digital ****pit is where the greatest #technology innovations will be seen in the auto industry in the coming years, with the use of eye gaze, gesture and voice to understand and interact with the driver.
Colin is very impressed by BMW, the industry will see this also and can only bring more wins our way, lets not forget SEYE got to 1m cars on the road based on their relationship with BMW , industry will have observed that failure also
cb part 3
without boring the reader, the #safety standards and certification processes for aviation (do-178 and #sil) are vastly more demanding than for #automotive (iso-26262 and #asil). so the consequence for the automotive industry is that seeing machines is now developing aviation-grade technology and innovation that no other #dms supplier has the partnerships or funding to match.
the innovation will mostly filter down into automotive applications, not least of which will be the combination of eye tracking with head-up displays #hud to power the immersive user experiences #iux of the ****pit of the future. bmw group is far in the lead here, and is partnered with seeing machines.
#automakers are rapidly segmenting into those that view #driver #monitoring as #ncap and #gsr minimum, versus those that are pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation and #humanfactors research to bring new features and services into the #digital #****pit to drive future subscription based business models.
as doug field observed yesterday at the ford motor company capital markets day: "speed is our best defense." tier one suppliers that want to define the ****pit of the future are advised to focus on identifying and creating features to support subscription based business models using advanced eye tracking algorithms.
CB part 2
Now it is the aviation division which will act as the technology and #innovation engine within the company, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with head, face and #eyetracking. Collins will pay US$10 million, and fund non-recurring engineering payments to develop the solutions, evolving into royalty payments as shipsets are released to customers.
So the key point: A licensing agreement has turned the R&D cost center for aviation into a profit center, AND funded the next technology and innovation engine for the company.
That is why management persisted with the apparent black hole of the aviation sector, where "imminent" means four years, short term means decades, but IP moats are wider than the Atlantic.
CB part 1
he significance of the #aviation agreement between Seeing Machines and Collins Aerospace isn't easy to grasp. Let's review it from a #business and #technology perspective. From a business point of view, it shows Seeing Machines has again used the Amazon model of turning a cost center into a profit center.
Guardian (Fleet) is a profitable business unit, which also serves as the R&D platform to capture raw real-world video to train the #AI #algorithms for #distraction, #drowsiness and #impairment. These algorithms are then shared back across the 3 business units (aviation, fleet and automotive).
Again I refer to the expert to explain it
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/colin-barnden-1081376_seeing-machines-join-forces-with-collins-activity-7066744506267619328-7I8k?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
We waited a long time for the aviation license but it was with a real biggie in Collins
It also makes we think what happened between the original BMW design win RNS and now, I assume BMW were so impressed by the SM team and tech that they just kept adding models
Seize, the simpler post would have been we will be in every BMW new model or mid life refresh going forward so something like 2m cars per annum.
I though it was better to provide some evidence
Direct quote from Colin to think about
"it is probably the most valuable business unit"
The market hasn't worked that out yet, but some of us did years ago
CB part 3
G3 will be very high volume (hence the need for exhaustive testing). G1+G2 led to about 50K connections. This total could be passed just in the first order for G3. Tenders for 50K-100K boxes will be unsurprising and are more in line with the telematics business model.
The G3 manufacturer is unknown (it isn’t Magna International) but we are looking at serious #EMS players, so Flex and Celestica are two possibles, with production probably moved to a country like Malaysia or Singapore. The choice of processor is also unknown. As experts in automotive aftermarket, the top candidate is probably Ambarella Inc, but could also be Texas Instruments. It won’t be Qualcomm or Nvidia.
What G3 will absolutely do is greatly accelerate R&D through the capture of vastly more real-world data as the installed base rises dramatically. Guardian’s role as the data capture platform for the company is largely overlooked by financial analysts, but it is probably the most valuable business unit, while everyone focuses on automotive.
So synthetic data is interesting, but the secret sauce is real-world #data and understanding human behavior. Seeing Machines found a way to not only do this, but created a path to profitability that also drives the innovation engine for next generation features. That is really smart. More details at https://lnkd.in/efgp8xHa
CB part 2
As Seeing Machines’ #Guardian system approaches 13 billion km on road, and with launch of the third generation (G3) product near, let’s forget automotive for now and look at G3.
The picture below shows G3 is an all-in-one #telematics box. Its first requirement is to have a fast installation time. No 8-hour jobs, a 30-60 mins install would fit into a truck driver’s rest stop. Screw the box on, connect power, sync with the Guardian server, and go.
A telematics box will need #OTA upgradability of the feature set using the 4G/5G modem. OTA is a key benefit but an #engineering nightmare. Brick the installed base in the field by doing an update, and you have a massive problem. Guardian G2 nearly killed the company, so G3 is certain to have been tested to destruction. Literally. That is probably why release has taken longer.