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Looking at the trades this morning, someone has raided the settee and the kids piggy bank

Oh ****, that project is a tram crash in progess. They could have implemented a proven system, but they decided to roll in the bin lorry crash and now Covid detection!

They are banking on a yet to be proven wristband. That is starting R&D now. There are diagrams to show how wristbands will talk to microcomputer in the cab and send data to the central server which might send a haptic response back to the driver, but no detail of what the wristband is measuring. It is all questionaires and phone calls to academia and Scottish suppliers. No wonder the the tram system itself was so late and over budget.

Sorry, Alastair I bet you tried to talk them around, but looks like you can try again in 3 years time.

JC,
Great company name, where do they get their ideas from?
Although a single page website with only one "product" that didn't impress me that much. Ok an array of cameras that match the pixels in 3d preserving colour giving apparently accurate depth to a moving 2d image. The problem is when the vehicle stops and nothing is moving you loose accuracy, especially when sky is grey and too many flat surfaces. How does it perform in fog, snow and rain?

Certainly an acquisition hopeful, but many companies in this space have surely already developed this sort of tech. And if as Alex Roy says, there will only be 5 companies to buy this technology, the list of suitors is shrinking fast.

Well I am sure that Alastair knows a thing or two about Edinburgh, their trams and how to implement a system rather like the one they implemented in Croydon for TfL.

Can anyone remember how much Progress Rail is contacted to pay out?

Lewbo, they certainly are. A simple speed indicator could be anywhere on the screen. But for AR, you need to make sure your turn marker lines up with reality outside. For that you need accurate eye centre positioning.

Yes it is liked by Tim
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tobias-tropper_mbux-mercedesbenz-sclass-ugcPost-6686730618199396352-Hue_

Ford Europe has confirmed that the Bronco isn't coming this way:

Team in the US revealed the super-cool Bronco last night. Usually don’t share vehicles that don’t come to Europe, but love this thing so much I had to post. #Bronco @mrlevine https://t.co/eAPvvSDeWH

Over on Avansa, someone was asking about Smart Eye design wins:

Last I have heard is 81st, their closest competitor Fotonation has 20 and Seeing Machines 15 then long down to eyeSight with 3 and CanControl 1st. No doubt who will be the industry leader.
A year ago, the situation was more unclear and I myself was very unsure if they would even reach 40%.

SEE were particularly ****y and stuck out their chins and they were almost expected to take a big slam. Now it's pretty quiet from them :-).

...

Morning JC,

Certainly this could be seen as a budget smart phone with built in PERCLOS DMS functionality, or just as a dedicated DMS unit. Interestingly, to me was the ability for your phone to identify your impairment to prevent you texting and tweeting while tired.

The difference between this an many earlier PERCLOS systems is the acknowledgement of different people's max eye opening being so different across the world or even within multicultural markets meaning that as part of the user set up process they will need to trigger max eye opening. Useful tie-in to photography too as they will ensure selfies are optimised to get the widest eyes.

Of course I don't see any revenue for See from this

Sorry UD, I originally pooh poohed your idea, but now I might be sold on it

UD, I wouldn't have thought so. Just cash up front per car.

So Airbus include us in their pitch to sell the Nightjar helicopter. I presume that is for the flight simulator, rather than for eye tracking in the helicopter as this is supposed to be COTS (https://www.tenders.gov.au/Atm/ShowClosed/736d6e43-30e2-4ab4-b7f6-bf67838d820f?PreviewMode=False)

There is more detail here https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2018/10/05/australia-will-acquire-special-operations-helicopters-under-the-project-land-2097-phase-4/

I wonder if we will be included on any of the other teams pitches?

Good to see that we are already working with Airbus, although I guess it is Kratos that we will be implementing with (see related Australian project https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/19/1962773/0/en/Kratos-Awarded-3-Million-Contract-for-Aviation-Trainer-Enhancements-by-Australia-Department-of-Defence.html)
Also Toll Helicopters are in on this bid

Great news Klick,

I tried to find out some more details on the project: https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/special-forces-helicopter-industry-brief-for-land-2097-phase-4

Under Land 2097 Phase 4, the Commonwealth is looking to acquire up to 16 helicopters in the four-tonne weight range for use by Special Forces based out of Holsworthy. The capability will be an off the shelf purchase with a range of requirements for various mission roles.
Kell O’Brien from Special Operations Command outlined that the craft would have to be able to perform domestic and maritime counter terrorism, special operational recovery and combat SAR missions with a strong focus on recovery, interdiction and assault.

“The capability needs to be able to insert and/or extract six operators at precision landing points,” O’Brien said. “This helicopter is replacing Black Hawk but this is not a Black Hawk replacement program, as that program is transitioning to the MRH-90 Taipan.”

This helicopter is replacing Black Hawk but this is not a Black Hawk replacement program
He also explained the need to be able to perform in a range of environments and deploy four platforms from the back of a C-17.

Colonel James Brown, director of the battlefield aviation program, was clear in his need for a platform that is ‘ready to go from day one with no special tools or cradles in place’ when it comes to C-17 transport.

“A corporal needs to be able to do this without looking a manual every other moment or needing special tools,” COL Brown told the 100+ room of industry people, confirming that the program is ‘an adjunct to Taipan’ rather than a replacement.

Colonel Brown was also blunt in his assessment of the sustainment environment.

“Reliability, availability and maintainability are key,” he said. “We’re after a mature supply chain. We do not have the people to throw at this program. Fleet size and concurrency of operations across training, ready to go at short notice and deployment under a joint task group scenario are my priorities here. 6th Aviation’s response time is measured in minutes.”

Lieutenant Colonel Travis Hunt from the CASG program office went into further detail about his team’s expectations; a certified aircraft already operating in this role with the engineering work done for fast roping, a sniping position, FLIR fit-out and arming possibilities (a forward-facing machine gun was mentioned). Colonel Brown said the Land 2097 Phase 4 helicopter was not a light attack helicopter (no missiles please) and arming is to be presented as an option rather than a requirement.

The office is looking at running an RFT in Q1 2020 with 4-6 months consideration and an announcement in Q4 2021 to cover both acquisition and support. LTCOL Hunt confirmed that radios and GPS will be supplied as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) with other GFE options still being explored.

The schedule was outlined as: phase-in 2022-2023 (flying, learning time); capability reali

Terry, I like to go to the source for these stories.

https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/lexus/33020537.html

It worries me that we have had no RMS so unless there is some super NDA, we don't think we have won any Japanese work yet despite our efforts with TRI I do think that we have been involved though with some engineering work, let's hope it comes good with the volume Toyota sales. It certainly looks like they have elements of TRI guardian in there

Boom - convenience and safety!

This will certainly set the standard for the competition.

So it looks like SEE are looking for driver microsleeps, plus tracking gaze for many convenience features and the gaze and head position are also required for the various 3d and HUD options. I am going to guess that the gestures are from TOF and are not ours.

Truly impressive! Well done Seeing Machines

MBUX Interior Assist: Using cameras in the overhead control panel and learning algorithms, MBUX Interior Assist recognises and anticipates the wishes and intentions of the occupants. It does this by interpreting head direction, hand movements and body language, and responds with corresponding vehicle functions. For example, if the driver looks over his/her shoulder towards the rear window, Interior Assist automatically opens the sunblind. If the driver is looking for something on the front passenger seat in the dark, it automatically switches the light on. Merely looking at one of the outside mirrors is enough to allow adjustment, without having to select it first. Natural hand movements are also recognised, and the driver or passengers can open the sliding sunroof touch-free. Preferred functions can be accessed with the help of the favourites gesture (hand with the index and middle finger spread in a V-shape). The driver and passengers can link personal favourites with the system. As well as enhancing operating convenience, MBUX Interior Assist improves safety. It checks whether a child seat on the front passenger seat is correctly attached, for example.

In the large head-up display, relevant information is projected into the driver's field of vision at a virtual distance of approx. ten metres
Coloured augmented reality content can be integrated into this (see above)
As this is superimposed directly onto reality, the result is directly perceptible information that is important for the current driving situation
The major innovations in detail

Augmented reality head-up display (AR-HUD): Two different head-up displays (HUDs) are available on request, one of them an innovative variant with a particularly large image. The aperture angle of the display is 10° horizontal and 5° vertical, and the image appears virtually at a distance of 10 metres. This display area corresponds to a monitor with a 77-inch diagonal. The AR-HUD provides a great deal of augmented reality content for driving assistance systems and navigation information. For the driver this blends into the surroundings ahead of the vehicle, and can therefore contribute to further reduced distraction. The image-forming unit (DMD, digital mirror device by Texas Instruments) consists of a high-resolution matrix of 1.3 mill. individual mirrors and a highly efficient light source. The technology is also used by beamers in cinemas. In the S-Class it is used by Mercedes-Benz for the first time to generate images in the head-up display.

3D driver display: An impression of spatial depth is created when the eyes of a viewer perceive different perspective views of an object in the display. In this innovative auto-stereoscopic display, this is achieved by the sophisticated combination of a conventional LCD display with a special pixel structure and a controllable LCD aperture grille. What is known as a barrier mask is positioned a few millimetres in front of the LCD. It is so precisely adjusted to the head position of the viewer that the left and right eye see different pixels of the LCD. This creates the desired impression of depth. A stereo camera system is integrated into the display. This is used to precisely determine the eye position of the viewer. Thanks to methods developed by Mercedes-Benz to adapt distances and a very low-latency system configuration, the driver enjoys a wide range of free movement. The image in the driver display is continuously adjusted.

https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko.xhtml?oid=46757031
...
Alongside the classic entry of a PIN, a new authentication method ensures a high level of security. Fingerprint, face and voice recognition are combined. This allows access to individual settings or verification of digital payment processes from the vehicle.

However, the unique feature of MBUX is its networking with a wide range of vehicle systems and sensor data. For example, the exit warning function in the S-Class now uses cameras to recognise that an occupant wants to leave the vehicle. If another road user is approaching in the blind spot, the active ambient lighting becomes part of the exit warning system and flashes red. MBUX Interior Assist checks whether the child seat is correctly attached to the front passenger seat. The driver's attention level is also monitored. The driver is warned by ATTENTION ASSIST if there are signs of microsleep.
...
*** Looks like some of this is optional ***

Alongside entry of the Mercedes me PIN, new biometric and interconnected authentication functions ensure a high level of security. These are fingerprint, face and voice recognition.
The driver display is optionally available with two cameras. These are used e.g. for face recognition
Simplified, intuitive operation:
depending on the equipment level, MBUX Interior Assist recognises up to 20 control wishes
New safety functions include recognition of an unattached child seat on the front passenger seat and the blind spot warning. This detects the intention to leave the vehicle by the movements of the occupant. This allows an even earlier warning of other road users and obstacles at the side of the vehicle
New convenience functions include prepositioning of the driver's seat and outside mirrors according to body size, and operation of the rear roller blind by glancing over the shoulder. The sliding sunroof can also be operated by hand gestures
...
Two different head-up displays (HUDs) are available on request
The larger HUD provides augmented reality (AR) content
When navigating, for example, animated turn-off arrows ("fishbones") are virtually projected onto the road lane. For the assistance functions, information from e.g. Active Distance Assist is shown.
...
As an addition to touching and swiping, voice control and natural hand gestures, gaze control extends the operating options
However, key functions such as the lights or windscreen wipers can still be operated directly. The climate control panel is permanently at the lower edge of the display
The user interface (UI) follows human intuition
MBUX Interior Assist responds to gestures and movements

In the large head-up display, relevant information is projected into the driver's field of vision at a virtual distance of approx. ten metres
Coloured augmented reality content can be integrated into this (see above)
As this is superimposed directly onto reality, the result is directly perceptible informatio

At least there wasn't an Antenna at the bottom of this RNS!