focusIR May 2024 Investor Webinar: Blue Whale, Kavango, Taseko Mines & CQS Natural Resources. Catch up with the webinar here.
Wondering who this may be, my guess would be between:
Aptiv
Bosch
Magna
Continental
ZF
Interesting Aptiv have partnered with Affectiva announced recently.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aptiv-partners-with-affectiva-to-enable-the-next-generation-vehicle-experience-300772369.html
Found this interesting...
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=33&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&p=1&S1=Nanoco&OS=Nanoco&RS=Nanoco
'Method for integrating a light emitting device'.
Abstract
Light emitting devices and methods of integrating micro LED devices into light emitting device are described. In an embodiment a light emitting device includes a reflective bank structure within a bank layer, and a conductive line atop the bank layer and elevated above the reflective bank structure. A micro LED device is within the reflective bank structure and a passivation layer is over the bank layer and laterally around the micro LED device within the reflective bank structure. A portion of the micro LED device and a conductive line atop the bank layer protrude above a top surface of the passivation layer.
Lists "Matters--Commercial volumes of quantum dots: controlled nanoscale synthesis and micron-scale applications," Nanoco Group PLC in 'Other references' - cited by applicant.
http://www.nanocotechnologies.com/media/press-releases/material-matters-commercial-volumes-quantum-dots-controlled-nanoscale-synthesis
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Here too is patent listed
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2018182746A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=4&date=20180628&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
Lists 'Light Emitting Diode Display Panel' patent - AU Optronics in 'Cited documents'
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/citedDocuments?CC=US&NR=2018182746A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=4&date=20180628&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
And many Luxvue/Apple patents in 'Patent Family'
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/inpadocPatentFamily?CC=US&NR=2018182746A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=4&date=20180628&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
Thanks RFrost.
I haven't had a chance to read/research older semicast posts (on my to do list if I ever get the time). I'm only familiar with the more recent ones. In regards Nauto, in my view their product is inferior as a DMS device to our tech (cheap & cheerful comes to mind).
So many avenues to research/try to keep track of in this space. Lots of events/news to come in the next few weeks.
ATB
Looks like Uber are using Nauto for their Dms.
You can see 2 green lights on their device beside interior rear-view mirror in Uber video at 1m 3s.
https://youtu.be/0E5IQJj_oKY?t=61
Compare with Nauto video at 8s https://youtu.be/JZNaTG885rM?t=7
Graphic fits too.
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Found review from Uber driver after installing Nauto in case accident or crazy passenger (see comments)
'Nauto Driver Camera UBeR Rideshare Review Day one'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQwKENFzADc
'UBeR Nauto Driver Camera Review Day #2'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q72sa5RUm2M
'Nauto UBeR Driver Camera Day 3 - over sensitive'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K03Hyux0tBk
'Nauto Driver Camera UBeR Rideshare Review After 2 weeks'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDiWyh960no
'Nauto Camera UBeR. Don’t do it!'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtz1Iq4Zw1k
LOL
On the plus side can't find it in use anywhere else. Not in any Waymo vids.
Good to read positive musings re: Ford's Lincoln brand. Hopefully it will do well and Ford will continue to support the brand and port SM tech into these cars. The 'Continental', 'Navigator' and most recent 'Aviator' are good looking cars and seem to be well received - even Topgear like the look of the new Aviator :)
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/27/the-lincoln-aviator-suggests-the-brand-has-got-its-mojo-back.html
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/la-motor-show-2018/should-we-lincoln-aviator
Merry Xmas all.
Agree with your points Curiouser. All we can do is speculate until news arrives. Just found last paragraph interesting in red eye link when searching for evidence to backup Porsche theory.
Just when I find a link with Xilinx, I figure we have a favourable chance re: DMS...
Here's latest post from Xilinx of some interest
https://forums.xilinx.com/t5/Xilinx-Xclusive-Blog/Xilinx-Continues-Momentum-in-Auto-with-BYD-Design-Win-in-China/ba-p/922170
Some excerpts:
Xilinx has a strong pedigree in automotive and has been selling chips to automakers and Tier 1 automotive suppliers for over 12 years. More than 160 million Xilinx devices are in automotive systems today, and approximately 55 million of these are used for ADAS alone. In the majority of recent deployments, Xilinx devices are being used by Tier 1s to provide processing power for the camera and sensor systems they are developing for ADAS and autonomous vehicles.
And that’s not all: Xilinx technology is credited with breaking performance, energy and price records, too! Significantly, Xilinx ADAS solutions are delivering to BYD top performance and reduced power consumption at a lower cost than competitive options. According to BYD data, the company has been able to slash the overall costs of its ADAS features by more than 60 percent by using Xilinx chips.
We’ll have more to share on the automotive front from CES 2019 and Automotive World Japan. Stay tuned!
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FCA a good shout Seeing2020
Here's your link working https://www.autonews.com/assets/PDF/FCA-5-year-plan-Technology-Update.pdf
Aptiv looking for Advanced Active Safety FPGA Engineer
https://www.aptiv.com/careers/posting/advanced-active-safety-fpga-engineer-j000573969
About this Position
We currently have an exciting opportunity for an Advanced Active Safety FPGA Engineer in our Kokomo, IN location. Applicants will engage with software and system engineers to design, implement, bring-up and verify FPGA solutions for driver assistance and/or automated driving technologies.
Responsibilities and Duties
Design, synthesis and verification of Xilinx based FPGA designs
Software development for SoC Xilinx FPGA in C/C++
Analyze/Optimize FPGA routing, resource utilization and timing
Troubleshoot FPGA designs thru simulation, SIL and HIL
Also reading this link:
https://www.redeye.se/company/smart-eye/581530/smart-eye-next-generation-audi-zfas-aptiv
Excerpt:
Smart Eye’s tier-1 partner Aptiv has announced that it has won a ”high end multi domain compute platform for Audi and Porsche’s next generation architecture”.
On the conference call Aptiv said the following about the new compute platform:
"During the third quarter, we booked a high-profile compute platform with Porsche and Audi, representing another industry first for Aptiv and our third area of vehicle domain centralization with the VW Group. We're providing automotive OEs with a highly complex hardware and software architecture, including the functional safety components necessary to combine the body, chassis and powertrain controls across multiple vehicle types and powertrain configurations. In short, this new business award from Porsche and Audi validates our approach to domain centralization and the evolution to smart vehicle architecture, which is unique in the industry and is helping us win in the marketplace."
We are not sure but it could perhaps be related the next generation of the central driver assistance controller, the so called ZFas. As we understand it, the driver monitoring technology of Audi is integrated in ZFas and we find it likely that this could be the case for the next generation as well. It what would be the case it would be positive as it might indicate that Audi could go for a similar DMS as in the previous version.
Thus, the stakes are getting higher and we are getting closer to contracts for the tier-2 players like Smart Eye, as well. As we have previously reported, Aptiv has won a DMS contract from Fiat Chrysler and now it seems that possibly Porsche and Audi could be added to Aptiv’s list. Aptiv looks very strong and we believe that Aptiv’s chosen tier-2 partner therefore has a good chance of becoming the market leader. We have not yet found any link from Aptiv to Seeing Machines which kind of narrows it down. However, we will continue to research this matter. Additional Audi wins for Smart Eye is already discounted in our valuation but it would still be a significant catalyst for the share price.
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Seems like a good link to Seeing Machines to me ;)
Not sure if the comm confusion over OEMs won has been clarified or not (in past posts) but...
Could the 4th OEM be the Porsche Taycan? (Or has this already been discussed)
Here are pics of when it was called 'Mission E' (I think even though it says taycan)
https://www.porscheconshohocken.com/new-porsche-taycan-pre-order-in-conshohocken-pa.htm
and new cockpit design with more streamlined eye-tracking system and gesture control interface as shown here.
https://porschecentresaskatchewan.com/national/447/new/taycan.html
Maybe similar to Byton camera in centre console?
Also
Checkout page 14 - 'DMS in the news' in 'Investor Presentation December 2016.pdf'
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://docs.publicnow.com/viewDoc.asp%3Ffilename%3D69135%255CEXT%255C4379509CA451462D65A7EC01FBA4476A59790B23_46121C9E1EA7932D213AFEC0AFF2A27C51A12F4B.PDF&ved=2ahUKEwijiqq-zq_fAhVQQRoKHTrzDDoQFjAFegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw1MqWlS_mU3C1gnp0lY1Msq
Could just be coincidence?
Chinese EV-maker BYD chooses Xilinx for driver-assist tech
https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/chinese-ev-maker-byd-chooses-xilinx-driver-assist-tech
Good to see Xilinx increasing market share in Adas. Hopefully bodes well for SM.
Excerpt:
The deal with BYD comes one week after Xilinx provided new insight regarding its partnership with Daimler AG, which formally started in June. Together the two companies said they're developing an in-cabin personal assistant that recognizes gestures of occupants and can predict their needs, with Xilinx technology underpinning the cabin-facing cameras and artificial intelligence which makes such features possible.
Such technology might mean occupants can turn features on and off without actually touching buttons, but it could also someday allow ride-hailing vehicles to sense when a passenger has left their sunglasses behind. Or more critically, alert a tired parent that they may have forgotten a child still strapped in a seat.
"The evolution of this interior cabin could be a huge movement," Tu said. "With autonomous-driving vehicle, you might know whether a car with expensive equipment has been vandalized or if late-night partiers might have had an accident. … But with the two, with Daimler and BYD, you can see companies identifying the same trends that involve the challenges of putting AI into their products."
Daimler joins Xilinx at XDF Frankfurt to Disclose its new AI Interior Technology.
https://forums.xilinx.com/t5/Xilinx-Xclusive-Blog/Daimler-joins-Xilinx-at-XDF-Frankfurt-to-Disclose-its-new-AI/ba-p/919221
Excerpt:
'When designing the MBUX Interior Assistant, the Daimler team was faced with a unique challenge. It had to design the entire MBUX Interior Assistant computing subsystem within the roof of the vehicle, which is a very thermally constrained environment, particularly in the summer. Daimler engineers benchmarked many powerful computing platforms, but Xilinx was chosen because it had the best performance-per-watt and lowest latency, combined with automotive grade qualification. The teams from the Daimler development centers from Germany, India, and the U.S., in collaboration with Xilinx, successfully completed the ambitious project in less than two years. This was accomplished in part thanks to the enabling software provided in the Xilinx AI platform. '
'China will bring in DMS in the near future iam sure. They just made it law in trucks in Shenzhen, cars will follow i would think'. Agreed Terrym, esp if more accidents appear like the latest Tesla crash in Taiwan.
Tesla crashes into two Taiwan police cars while on 'autopilot'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtQXeqMvQMo
Potential future business in Melbourne (with Aus gov backing us) - the largest Tram network in the world.
No mention of monitoring but for 'We are also looking at various innovations to improve safety.'
https://www.informa.com.au/insight/operating-worlds-largest-tram-network-yarra-trams-ceo-nicolas-gindt/
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Further news on future UK tram contracts soon...
As posted by morgui RE: 'Team Safety Debate' - in the house of commons:
"vigilance devices, also named as driver inattention devices which can monitor the alertness of the driver and detect when the driver is likely to lose concentration. Again a full report is due to be published for UK tram members next week"
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/12/waymos-lame-public-driverless-launch-not-driverless-and-barely-public/
Also check out his (Timothy B. Lee) twitter feed
https://mobile.twitter.com/binarybits/status/1071098533862871040?s=21
Agreed Sewingmachine.
I was thinking as stated in safestocks blog (26th Nov 2018) with the delay in EuroNCAP dms being positive for SM (removes Takata penalty), another positive in delay maybe Xilinx introduction of their ACAP Versal chip - AI Edge series to ship in 2020 but i am sure they will be sending samples much sooner (2019) to OEMs etc for testing. If you read the white paper, it's a compelling argument for use in the ADAS automotive arena (amongst others...aerospace, defence etc).
I feel assured we have such close ties with Xilinx, maybe more to play with relationship? They have much to gain from our success.
Xilinx Versal whitepaper:
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/white_papers/wp505-versal-acap.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiGp7OPvozfAhXLy6QKHexxBQ4QFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw3EFAjAuUFyyndvEMSNXCii
Excerpt from Xilinx Unveils Versal:
"With the explosion of AI and big data and the decline of Moore's Law, the industry has reached a critical inflection point. Silicon design cycles can no longer keep up with the pace of innovation," says Peng. "Four years in development, Versal is the industry's first ACAP. We uniquely designed it to enable all types of developers to accelerate their whole application with optimized hardware and software and to instantly adapt both to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology. It is exactly what the industry needs at the exact moment it needs it."
https://www.xilinx.com/news/press/2018/xilinx-unveils-versal-the-first-in-a-new-category-of-platforms-delivering-rapid-innovation-with-software-programmability-and-scalable-ai-inference.html
Also upon reading safestocks interview with KK (6th Feb 2018) in which he talks about the German OEM - “It is extensively pushing the boundaries in driver monitoring, taking it to a whole new level. That is underway. That is a real state of the art delivery, very technically challenging but it sets a completely new performance standard for DMS.”
and
“We have the best technology, there is no doubt about that at all. SmartEye has an okay technology, which is cheaper…we’re much better positioned to take the premium car models that are interested in performance, who need this to work because it is a safety critical feature. For models that are being rolled out where it is nice to have comfort features in the car, which only require rudimentary head and eye-tracking, SmartEye is a viable option. “Right now we definitely have a leadership position from a technical perspective. That is very much respected by the auto OEMs.”
In Japan strong market opportunities are being helped by the effort of Kevin Tanaka working out of the West Coast in the US. Also Kroeger confirmed:
“There is a very strong alignment with Xilinx in Japan, who are doing a lot of our on the ground marketing for us. It is definitely getting well received by the Japanese.”
Just thought i would post to highlight we are still very much in the rac
We followed Waymo's self-driving cars around Arizona for 170 miles: Here's what we saw. (Arizona Republic news)
'We wanted to see how Waymo cars drive in real-world conditions, so we followed the cars for more than 170 miles over a few days.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spw176TZ7-8
And article in USA Today.
Some interesting excerpts:
'Company officials bragged a year ago that some of the cars in Arizona had operated without a safety driver behind the wheel. We never saw a vehicle without a driver.
The vans don't appear to run autonomously for the entirety of their trips, either. Sometimes the test cars leave the garage while manually operated, which is apparent with the drivers' hands turning the wheel. Touching the wheel causes the vans to pass control to the driver.'
Other times, the steering wheel spins on its own.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/12/05/google-self-driving-cars-waymo/2213133002/
Interesting podcast on 'Autonomous Cars with Marc Hoag' last week talking about UK startup Wayve. He goes on to describe how Wayve have a different dynamic machine learning approach to selfdriving in teaching vehicles how to understand and learn from the world around them compared to eg Waymo or Uber's brute-force rules based method i.e. more sensors, see a red light = stop, see a pedestrian = stop etc.
He cites this article (link below) questioning why are Waymo focusing on a rules-based approach and not the AI approach particularly as they have their subsiduary DeepMind. (Sorry if link already posted)
https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/22/wayve/?guccounter=1
Excerpt:
The problem, thus far, the pair argue (Wayve), is that companies like Google and Uber are throwing an engineering mindset at making vehicles autonomous, in the sense of designing rule-based systems that try to pre-empt and deal with every edge case, whilst in tandem adding more sensors and capturing more data. This might produce encouraging results in the specific, narrow setting it has been engineered for, but won’t have maximum payoff longer term.
Wayve CEO Amar Shah says “The big teams are distracted by getting something working because they have stakeholders who have been investing for a decade into autonomous driving. They are getting impatient,” the Wayve co-founder pushes back. “How will Alphabet tell their shareholders ‘we’ve invested X billion USD into Waymo and its predecessor with a team of 1,000s, but we are now throwing that approach all down the drain and hiring more AI people to solve driving’. It’s a hard sell having spent billions and when they are close to a simple product. Same reason politicians make bad long-term decisions… their output is only short-term”.
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Could a similar analogy be made between Seeing Machines and the competition? Seeing Machines focus is on enabling machines to understand human behaviour aswell as driver performance in real-time, the Human Machine Interface with it's Human Factors group, The Advanced Safe Truck Concept, Can drive, research with universities etc.
Also
Did anyone hear the webinar 'Software on Wheels: Driver Awareness and CAN drive Trial' held at SM offices 14th Nov. 2018?
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Event/software-wheels-driver-awareness-and-can-drive-trial
Weather might pose big problems for self-driving systems..
http://www.autonews.com/article/20181130/MOBILITY/181139992/self-driving-weather-michigan-state-study?cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Excerpt:
'New research from Michigan State University suggests light rain and drizzle can confound the algorithms that autonomous systems use to detect pedestrians, bicyclists and other road users.
The findings raise the prospect that until these algorithms can better handle a variety of weather conditions, self-driving vehicles may be limited to Sun Belt states, or fleets of vehicles might need to be grounded when weather conditions are subpar.
"When we run these algorithms, we see very noticeable, tangible degradation in detection," said Hayder Radha, an MSU professor of electrical and computer engineering who oversaw the study. "Even low-intensity rain can really create some serious problems, and as you increase the intensity, the performance of what we consider state-of-the-art mechanisms can almost become paralyzed."
Although radar and lidar are often used to detect obstacles, Radha said the research focuses on measuring the competence of computer vision systems because cameras are most often the primary sensor automakers and tech companies use to classify pedestrians and other road users.
But the problem is not the cameras, Radha stressed; it's the algorithms distilling information from them.
"Once you throw in a few drops of rain, they get confused," he said. "It's like putting eyedrops in your eye and expecting to see right away."
Cold weather can also cause problems for autonomous vehicles. Last winter, he found temperatures of 10 degrees Fahrenheit and lower increased the "noise," or amount of poor-quality or irrelevant returns from lidar sensors. He says manufacturers told him they could not guarantee the sensors would operate in extreme cold, and that they're working to expand the range of the sensors.
Whether it's cold weather, foliage or light rain, Radha says the shortcomings underscore the fact that weather diminishes the capabilities of self-driving technology for the foreseeable future.
"Frankly, at first we thought we'd look at this for a couple of years and then be done," he said. "But I'd say now that challenging weather conditions are going to be a problem for many years to come."
Interesting opposition to the US AVStart Act.
https://mobile.twitter.com/CRAdvocacy/status/1069712887231496192
Join us for a Twitterstorm today (4th Dec) 2-3pm ET to tell Congress: #StopAVSTART - learn how this #selfdriving car legislation would put consumer safety at risk and speak out!
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Also
Uber hires an NHTSA veteran to bolster its self-driving car plans
https://www.engadget.com/amp/2018/12/03/uber-hires-nhtsa-official-self-driving-car/?__twitter_impression=true
'Uber has hired a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) official to join its autonomous vehicle team, Reuters reports. Nat Beuse will be joining the company after serving as the NHTSA's associate administrator of vehicle safety research, and he's doing so at a critical time when Uber is working to mend its safety image following a fatal crash involving one of its self-driving cars.
This is the latest public official to join a private company. In recent years, NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board members have been hired by Waymo, GM, Zoox and Faraday Future.'
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Signs industry waking up to safety issues in AV testing?
https://www.xilinx.com/news/press/2018/xilinx-extends-functional-safety-into-ai-class-devices.html
Xilinx Extends Functional Safety into AI-class Devices
Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) today announced that its Zynq® UltraScale+™ MPSoC family has been assessed as SIL 3, HFT1 capable, according the IEC 61508 functional-safety specification, by Exida, the leading functional safety certification agency. This assessment means product developers can build new high-performing systems including artificial intelligence (AI) for safety-critical applications using Xilinx's feature-rich, highly integrated single-chip MPSoC family, with the assurance of IEC 61508 functional-safety certification up to Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL 3).
"AI-based systems need to be safe systems," said Yousef Khalilollahi, vice president, core vertical markets, Xilinx. "Today's announcement underscores our leadership in this new category of devices, further raising performance and extending design flexibility. Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC was designed with safety and security in mind and is the ideal architecture to support industrial IoT or Industrie 4.0 platforms and future generations of automotive, aviation, and AI-based systems."
Also
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334014
Xilinx’s New FPGAs Address Evolving Threats, Fake ICs
FPGA pioneer Xilinx is targeting a range of military and space applications with its latest generation of “defense-grade’ programmable logic chips, including expanded military use of machine learning and AI applications as well as securing devices at the network edge.
Along with standard features like a ruggedized packaging and resistance to temperature extremes, Xilinx said its latest generation of military grade systems designated XQ also includes anti-counterfeiting and reliability features for systems that must often operate for decades.
The chip maker’s programmable logic devices are already integrated into front-line weapons such as the F-35 fighter, and Xilinx is stressing the security and anti-counterfeiting features of its latest FPGAs and SoCs based on its Ultrascale architecture. The “Zynq” portfolio of programmable silicon for harsh military and space applications includes new multi-core processor and RF SoCs with an emphasis on scaling and security. The chip maker is promoting those security and anti-counterfeiting features for emerging machine learning applications like autonomous systems that must process data locally while remaining hack-proof.
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Bodes well for our continuing use/development in the aviation/military industries as we develop the pilot training/simulator market, imo.