Member Info for Seeing-2020

Https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2023/07/06/ford-continues-its-sales-momentum-as-americas-no--1-brand--truck.html

Of course bluecruise has been available for awhile in the US

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/business/consumer-reports-ford-bluecruise-tesla/index.html

“We’re the first and only [manufacturer] doing this in Europe,” said Jack Baker, a manager charged with rolling out the service. Ford is hoping at first to pick up “seasonal use” customers such as people making “one journey in the summer”, he said at the company’s Stratford office.

Under UK regulations hands-free mode is only available on motorways, with physical barriers separating cars from oncoming traffic. The regulations for now also ban automated lane changing (which incidentally gives drivers a new incentive to hog the middle lane to avoid being stuck behind lorries).

An infrared camera on the dashboard monitors the driver’s eyes – even if they are wearing sunglasses, according to Ford. This meets UK regulations which as yet only allow “hands-off, eyes on” technology on public roads.

Bluecruise UK launch also got some wider coverage

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/08/ford-unleashes-the-uks-first-legal-hands-free-drive-car-but-who-will-buy-it

also a sm comment

perhaps the last word should go to kyle, as seeing machines is actively working with a number of other global car manufacturers to develop features that build on its state-of-the-art driver monitoring. “as driver adoption increases over time, accelerated by regulatory tailwinds, the optical and processing systems put in place can then be harnessed to offer a range of value-adding features to both the manufacturer, the driver and indeed passengers. this includes features based around convenience (simulating augmented reality using eye position), comfort (adapting the ****pit to the driver’s profile) and also extending the safety of other occupants in the vehicle. moreover, over-the-air updates mean that these features can be sold to models already on the road.”

The last sentence of this section is golden for SM

"Leggett stresses: “Effective driver monitoring has the potential to address a huge number of crashes and fatalities caused by fatigued and distracted driving, while also having an important role in preventing over-reliance on current assisted driving systems.”

Indeed, such is the importance of DMS to the Mach-E that it is intended to work even if the owner doesn’t take out Ford’s monthly subscription for BlueCruise."

I always try to find 3rd party evidence, so this is very powerful

"Tom Leggett, is the vehicle technology specialist at Thatcham Research which evaluates such technology for car insurers. He explains: “BlueCruise allows the driver (only on motorways) to take their hands off the wheel, while the car maintains speed and keeps the vehicle in the centre of the lane. Crucially, to ensure safe operation—BlueCruise requires the driver to keep their eyes on the road. If the driver looks away from the road for more than five seconds, the system issues a warning to return their eyes to the road ahead. This is the first type of this technology permitted by the Vehicle Certification Agency in the UK, and without driver monitoring it would not be possible. We expect more of this type of technology to hit UK roads in 2024.”

Https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/how-driver-monitoring-is-coming-to-every-car

Ford held an invite only press day a few weeks back in London, so mere mortals like I didn't attend, but Chris Menon from www.safestocks.co.uk was in attendance and we are lucky he published an article afterwards

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.

Https://www.linkedin.com/posts/colin-barnden-1081376_mercedes-benz-tests-chatgpt-in-cars-to-answer-activity-7075745228694900736-oOFm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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.