Oxbotica have announced a new strategic collaboration with Google Cloud that aims to help accelerate the deployment of its autonomous software platform to customers around the world.
The partnership aims to combine Google Cloud’s expertise in cloud infrastructure with Oxbotica’s leading autonomous vehicle software to create safe and scalable autonomous driving solutions for any business in its value chain. The release states that the businesses will include last-mile logistics, agriculture, light industry and public transport.
Oxbotica has said that it plans to use Google Cloud products like Vertex AI, to help develop, test, validate, and verify its self-driving technology. It also aims to leverage Google Cloud’s cyber security technologies to help ensure secure use of autonomous mobility technology.
Oxbotica will also use Google Cloud to generate digital twins in Oxbotica’s MetaDriver. This is an AI-powered metaverse that connects and controls virtual and physical fleets together which will send real-time analytics on performance.
Oxbotica’s MetaDriver automatically generates a vast bank of virtual scenarios to help ensure the safety of autonomous vehicles. Google Cloud will provide the data and machine learning tools to enable MetaDriver to apply Oxbotica’s proprietary generative AI tools to the extensive bank of virtual scenarios including unusual edge cases that are often economically, environmentally or physically impractical to discover in conventional testing.
“We are thrilled to partner with Google Cloud to accelerate bringing autonomous driving solutions to market globally. Google Cloud is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and using its cutting-edge technology and AI powered tools will strengthen our proposition for our customers,” said Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica.
Through this partnership, Oxbotica will be able to easily scale prototype vehicles into full fleets. This hopes to aid the transition to autonomy.
“The combination of Oxbotica’s leading technology and our reliable infrastructure and AI and data-enabled cloud platform has the potential to accelerate autonomous mobility in a variety of industrial use cases,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “From last mile logistics to public transportation, we look forward to working together to positively impact the lives of end users.”
The release states that Oxbotica intends to use Google Cloud infrastructure to make available application programming interfaces (APIs) for autonomous driving, which will enable its customers to create new lines of business (such as applications and other products), as well as more easily manage their existing data and services.
The uptake of electric vehicles is currently being pushed by governments all over the world, especially in the U.S and around Europe. The European Union has voted to ban the sale of all ICE vehicles by 2035 and aims to have 30 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. In the U.S, the Biden administration is also aiming to increase charging infrastructure all over the country. California has been one of the first states to ban the sale of petrol-powered vehicles by 2035.
As countries around the world are looking to foster EV adoption, the industry is facing a new challenge: cybersecurity. Although our EVs are part of a huge solution to reduce our environmental impact, given the connected nature of most vehicles and their reliance on power grids, they are often vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
A recent study made by Deloitte Canada highlighted that 84% of cyber-attacks on vehicles were done remotely, and 50% of all attacks were done in the past two years. This indicates that we can expect to see cybersecurity issues rise even more in the next few years. The report showed an incident of an industry leader in the CASE vehicle marketplace that had 25 of their company’s vehicles remotely accessed by a teenage hacker. The hacker determined each of the vehicle’s locations, whether a driver was in the vehicle and most significantly, ran commands remotely.
Most recently, researchers at Synactiv have discovered vulnerabilities within Tesla’s that would enable them to distract the driver with some annoying tactics and potentially turn the car on and off and steer the wheel.
EV systems often rely on Wi-Fi and cellular data in order to provide real-time updates in navigation and optimal route planning which leaves certain systems vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, an entire eco-system of public charging stations can be linked to power grids when drivers are not charging at home, which creates an entirely new entry for security breaches. Many different scenarios could occur however, an EV driver could be subject to data alteration, insertion of malware and unauthorized access to private information.
To protect EV drivers from these ever-growing cybersecurity threats, EV makers will need to strategically plan how to protect their entire eco-system. This is from home charging, EV communication systems and local charging infrastructure.
Companies will need to begin integrating automated security systems into the design of the vehicles to manage user logins and access. This will reduce the number of touchpoints for users and in turn, limit the overall attack surfaces that EV ecosystems create. Additionally, automakers will need to utilise security by design. Through adapting security protocols to use encrypted data instead of a simple “username” and “password”, this will ensure that firmware failures will not occur.
Most importantly, transparency is key across the whole industry. Regulations should be made to ensure the necessary communication is made so that all security measures are supported by all those that are involved.
EVs are becoming more and more common on our roads, and therefore, a cybersecurity roadmap is crucial to keeping cars and its users safe whilst on the road. We must protect our electric vehicles from vulnerability as we usually would with any laptop or computer in our homes. To help maximise EV protection, OEM’s, governments and technology companies must work together.
Financing led by LG Technology Ventures, with participation from Safar Partners, UOB Venture Management
BOSTON & SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Venti Technologies, a world leader in autonomous logistics for global supply chain and industrial hubs, today announced that it has secured $28.8 million in a Series A financing.
The financing round was led by LG Technology Ventures, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of the LG Group, with participation from Safar Partners, UOB Venture Management, and existing investors Alpha JWC and LDV Partners. The funding will be used to accelerate Venti’s growth and meet increasing demand from customers worldwide.
Each year, trillions of dollars of goods pass through global supply chain and industrial hubs – ports, airports, factories, warehouses and depots. These hubs face key challenges such as driver shortages, supply disruptions and safety concerns. Venti’s full-scope autonomy solutions require no change to existing infrastructure and work with any vehicle in any logistics or industrial hub.
“Venti is solving real-world problems for large customers in huge markets with technology that has proven safe, mature and capable of near-term driverless deployment,” said Anshul Agarwal, Managing Director at LG Technology Ventures. “We are impressed not only by the technology, which is more complete and rapidly able to provide value to end customers, but also by the world-class team.”
After three years of development in one of the world’s largest container ports, the company’s fleets can navigate complex environments and heavy traffic, with unmatched precision and the ability to park 45-foot tractor-trailers accurately down to one inch.
“With this new round of funding, we are well-positioned to broadly deploy our autonomous logistics solutions to power safer and more efficient global supply chains and industrial yards,” said Heidi Wyle, Founder and CEO. “Our autonomous vehicles have industrial grade precision in everyday operating environments and are already successfully in use. We have the potential to revolutionize goods transportation and are excited to be working with partners around the world to make this vision a reality.”
Venti was founded in 2018 by a team with strong MIT roots, including Chief Executive Officer Dr. Heidi Wyle, Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Xinxin Du, and MIT electrical engineering and computer science professors Daniela Rus, Director, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and MacArthur Fellow, and Saman Amarasinghe.
“Venti represents exactly the kind of opportunity that appeals to Safar: best-in-class technology developed by leading minds from the world’s top universities working to develop innovative, implementable solutions that address real world market needs,” said Arunas Chesonis, Managing Partner at Safar Partners. “We enthusiastically support Venti in scaling its operations and demonstrating its value to a wider cast of partners and customers worldwide.”
The Digital Twin Consortium has announced a new working group to address the application and adoption of digital twins in the telecommunications market.
Dan Isaacs, the GM and CTO of the Digital Twin Consortium, said, “Current networking infrastructures often face fragmentation issues that make it difficult to support new network rollouts, expand capacity, and introduce new features that can help address societal challenges. Digital twins provide a 360-degree view of network performance and usage patterns, enabling improved analysis, optimal coverage, accurate predictive analytics, and effective management approaches.”
The company will use a virtual model of an entire area or process which means that management will be able to visualise and test out different initiatives. This will lead to making data-driven decisiona based on billions of network performance data points.
The company stated that these initiatives can then be evaluated through more precise enterprise-level analytics and location intelligence, to help identify optimal implementation scenarios.
“EDX builds planet-scale 3D geospatial digital twins that are game-changers in key industries, such as wireless, utilities and smart cities,” said Anoop Kaur Bowdery, COO, EDX Wireless, Inc. “3D geospatial digital twins can significantly improve decision-making, collaboration, and planning for mobile network operators.”
The DTC Telecommunications Working Group plans to embark upon telecommunications market challenges using digital twins, including:
Platform development for emerging technologies
Enabling smart city’s economic and societal structure improvements
Sustainable energy reuse
Bridging the gap to non-IP-based networking
Creating a faster path to information/intent-based networking
Providing transparent 360 cyber security
Creating novel design paradigms, including AI and machine learning, to help address societal challenges and more.
The new working group will define and identify digital twin applications for the telecommunications industry. It will explore implementation scenarios utilizing extended reality (XR) capabilities and advanced simulation perspectives, ensuring a secure, scalable solution for enterprise-level XR data visualization for geospatial analytics and location intelligence.
The new telecom group will also investigate use cases and reference implementations for intelligent infrastructure, smart cities, and beyond. These include network design optimization, operations, and capacity planning.
Webfleet has announced that Ford has joined its OEM.connect partner programme. Ford passenger cars and vans with line fitted connectivity are ready to connect with the Webfleet service platform, eliminating the need for after-market hardware installations states the release.
This integrated solution makes it faster, easier and cheaper for fleet managers to utilise telematics technology.
With OEM.connect, Ford vehicles will be able to transmit vehicle data directly to Webfleet, the award-winning fleet management solution. All that is needed to connect the vehicles is the vehicle identification number.
Webfleet uses this valuable OEM data to provide clear, actionable insights that support fleet managers to maximise fleet performance, reduce operating costs and encourage green and safe driving while assuring data security with an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified service.
“We are happy to welcome Ford to our OEM.connect programme and offer an integrated telematics solution to our joint customers”, says Taco van der Leij, Vice President of Webfleet Europe. “This cooperation underlines how important telematics data is for fleets and how pooling expertise will accelerate and improve the application of this technology.”
The company has highlighted that with OEM.connect, Ford passenger car and van customers will be able to access the standard Webfleet applications, including fleet performance reporting, trip data, GPS tracking and fuel consumption, helping to streamline their operations.
Instant notifications around vehicle diagnostics, such as tyre pressure warnings, mean the fleet’s health status can be monitored in real time, enabling fleet managers to keep their drivers safe and minimise vehicle downtime. All vehicle data is displayed in the Webfleet interface and can also be accessed from anywhere via the Webfleet mobile app.
OEM.connect for Ford vehicles is available to order now in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, UK, Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. The programme will be made available in more countries and regions in future.
Budapest International Airport has said that it will be rolling out Veovo’s Passenger Predictability solution.
Veovo’s passenger flow analytics platform will initially focus on preventing bottlenecks and efficiently allocating resources in the airport’s security and check-in areas.
Data from multiple movement sensors and machine learning will be used to better understand passenger behaviour and predict the impact of events, helping to make informed and proactive decisions.
Live and predicted queue wait-time information will also be displayed, providing accurate information about expected queueing time to passengers. This aims to improve customer experience.
“Our commitment is to deliver world-class service to our customers and continuously enhance our operational processes,” said István Szabó, chief passenger services director at Budapest Airport. “Our collaboration with Veovo as a technology partner is a vital aspect of this strategy, enabling us to gain valuable insights, optimise staffing, and improve experiences at our airport checkpoints.”
Budapest Airport is following in the steps of other major airports, including Gatwick, Schiphol, Newark, and Dublin by adopting Veovo’s solution.
“We’re delighted to work with Budapest Airport to help improve operations and streamline passenger journeys,” said Veovo CEO James Williamson. “The airport is one of a growing number of airports tapping into the power of data and machine learning to transform their operational performance.”
Budapest Airport announced it welcomed 12.2 million passengers in 2022, a massive 164% surge from 2021 and expects the number to continue to rise this year.
Ericsson and Lyft have announced a partnership to enhance the connected micromobility ecosystem across key U.S. hubs.
The partnership will utilise theEricsson IoT Accelerator platform so that Lyft can manage the connectivity for tens of thousands of connected e-bikes and scooters, regardless of location. This delivers on Lyft’s promise to provide a micromobility service with scalability and reliability and on its mission to build cities around people and not cars.
Deutsche Telekom, one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies and an Ericsson IoT partner, provides reliable and secure global connectivity and connectivity management, both key to enabling real-time data transmission.
By mid-2023, Lyft will aim tohave over 20,000 connected micromobility vehicles through this collaboration. With a large serviceable market, Lyft’s micromobility efforts will continue to benefit from the Ericsson IoT Accelerator global ecosystem with tier-one carriers like Deutsche Telekom.
Fast and reliable cellular activity allows e-bikes to communicate between the app, Lyft’s servers and bikeshare stations so riders can be on their way in a matter of seconds. It also improves fleet management capabilities for Lyft’s operations team and can help reduce theft and loss.
“In partnership with Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom, we have been able to implement industry-leading connectivity and global IoT management, improving our ability to manage large fleets of vehicles but also—more importantly—improving the rider experience,” said David Foster, EVP and Head of Transit, Bikes and Scooters, Lyft. “With over 2 million new riders last year alone, it is more important now than ever that our micromobility vehicles are always online and ready to go.”
The Ericsson IoT Accelerator platform offers seamless operation by ensuring a smooth connection and user experience so that Lyft can achieve its goal of connecting people through transit. Through the Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom collaboration, Lyft can better achieve its goal to provide the mobility solutions that riders love and cities need.
Lyft’s e-bikes are designed to last 10,000 shared rides, and this plays a key role in their low carbon footprint. Micromobility is helping move communities toward becoming the smart cities of the future, while also improving the quality of life for those who reside in them.
“In order to serve users, e-bikes need to be able to quickly, efficiently and reliably communicate with the rider’s mobile application, the operator’s back-end system, and the docking station in order to provide a seamless experience,” said Kyle Okamoto, General Manager of IoT at Ericsson. “Our continued collaboration with Deutsche Telekom will support Lyft’s rider experience with constant, affordable connectivity, while growing the reach of Lyft’s connected micromobility ecosystem.”
Orange Business has announced today that it has been selected by Lucid Motors to be the preferred European partner for its next-generation in-vehicle connectivity and digital expertise. Lucid plans to sell its all-electric Lucid vehicles direct to consumers as it expands its operations in Europe, offering infotainment and telematics connectivity from Orange Business.
In addition to Orange Business providing seamless pan-European IoT and Internet connectivity for Lucid’s software-defined vehicles, Orange has helped Lucid orchestrate the customer journey in Europe, simplifying and navigating complex regulatory requirements.
Furthermore, Orange is now directly integrated into Lucid’s manufacturing supply chain and helped them adapt connectivity test procedures for vehicles delivered into Europe.
In terms of end-user benefits, services by Orange enable infotainment and Internet-enabled content, including navigation, security and communication tools, diagnostics, and streaming audio. Additionally, over-the-air updates are pushed to vehicles to ensure the most up-to-date software to deliver a premium Lucid customer experience.
“Lucid is not only building sleek and luxurious EVs for sustainable mobility, but they are keenly focused on delivering a premium user experience. Providing a personalized customer experience that creates value is exactly how Orange Business wants to support its customers. We are proud to have the application development, data analytics, network and integration experience, and assets to help American automotive companies like Lucid expand operations in Europe,” said Scott Williams, Senior Vice President of the Americas, Orange Business.
Orange is a licensed and experienced Electronic Communication Services (ECS) provider for both IoT and Internet Access services. This provides significant support for OEMs looking to navigate the complexity of the European regulatory environment with both EU requirements and individual country provisions.
When it comes to expertise in the IoT market, Orange Business is once again positioned as a Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed IoT Connectivity Services, Worldwide – the sixth consecutive time that the company’s Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute have been recognized.
Siegen, February 28th, 2023: Invers is further expanding its proven solution for shared mobility by carValoo’s AI-based damage detection: the new solution offers digitized and automated damage detection based on data from highly sensitive motion sensors within the car. These data are analysed and processed by artificial intelligence to detect damages precisely and reliably. The solution immediately contributes to business success as it allows operators to reduce costs by improving damage management, increasing successful damage claims and completely digitizing the rental process. Also, it is easy to install and quickly set up.
Only one in eight carsharing customers who cause damage to a sharing vehicle report it to the operator. As a result of this daily occurrence, carsharing operators lose up to 10 percent of revenue because they do not have sufficient information to claim damages. Enabling them to realize this significant share of revenue lets them be more profitable and use these profits to increase investment in their services and spread shared mobility even further. Also, damages that are not reported mean that the next customer faces safety risks if their car’s roadworthiness is impaired. In addition, operators lose out on the resale value of their cars since they usually do not carry out regular checks, and so do not detect minor and medium damage until it’s time to sell their vehicles. Damage detection is also a challenge for traditional car rental companies who do carry out regular, resource-intensive visual inspections that are unnecessary in approximately 90 percent of vehicle returns and usually only detect externally visible damage.
The new solution from Invers and carValoo provides detailed information on vehicle damage in real time and enables comprehensive, automated damage management.
“Invers has been innovating in car sharing technology for 30 years”, says Alexander Kirn, CEO of Invers. “This innovation is another example of how we use technology to benefit all stakeholders in the mobility ecosystem to ultimately make the use of shared mobility more convenient than car ownership.” The partners have combined their technologies in such a way that damage detection can be easily used via the Invers solution. “Providing carValoo’s proven AI damage detection through Invers sharing technology makes the service even more efficient and convenient for customers”, says Tom Althoff, Managing Director at carValoo.
Highly sensitive acceleration and gyro sensors in the new solution capture various data from a vehicle in daily use. The motion sensors thus generate 72.000 data points per minute per car which sums up to 103.7 billion data points per day per car. Not all of them are related to damages and are relevant for damage detection. For example, closing a door of a parked car or driving through a pothole creates sensor data points similar to a parking accident. The solution’s intelligent algorithm already filters and compresses a large part of this raw data already on the sensor box within the car, so that less than ten percent of the data points still need to be transferred to the cloud. The data points that arrive in the cloud are then further analyzed in detail there by an AI algorithm which identifies patterns and anomalies. The AI then assigns them in real-time to specific events that, like a parking accident, have actually led to damage to a particular component. At the same time, it recognizes if it was only a door being closed or a pothole being driven over, resulting in no damage and making a report unnecessary.
In addition, the solution is “learning” from big data sets and is constantly improving: since its launch three years ago, damage reports have been compared with actual damage, so that the artificial intelligence continuously trains and optimizes its accuracy. The system reliably identifies even minor damages in over 95 percent of cases and locates them correctly on the vehicle. Alongside the fully digital solution including sensors, an API and the backend, this precision is a key unique selling point. It also allows damage that is not detected in normal visual inspections to be identified. Fleet operators gain very precise insights into the condition of their vehicles, can automate their damage management and claim compensation or deductibles.
Invers, inventor of automated vehicle sharing, enables mobility service providers to launch, operate and scale their offerings with integrated hardware and software solutions specifically designed for developers of shared mobility services. As the world’s first shared mobility technology company, Invers is developing and reliably maintaining the fundamental building blocks at scale to offer its customers cost-efficient and easily implementable tech solutions.
The company acts as an independent and reliable partner for operators of services such as car sharing, scooter sharing, ride pooling and car rental with the vision to make the use of shared vehicles more convenient and affordable than ownership. Customers include Share Now, Clevershuttle, Miles, Getaround, imove, Flinkster, TIER, and Emmy. The company was founded in 1993 and has locations in Siegen, Cologne and Vancouver. The development takes place entirely in Germany. www.invers.com
About carValoo
carValoo is a German tech-startup specializing in machine learning and automotive AI-technology. Since 2018, carValoo has been providing the first reliable real-time damage detection to major customers in car sharing, car rental and logistics.
With its unique solutions, carValoo increases efficiency, trust and safety across all areas of shared mobility and sustainable transport. www.carValoo.ai
TikTok has made its way into the luxury car market as Mercedes-Benz announced that upcoming models will allow drivers to directly download third-party apps to the center display, and even film themselves and participate in video meetings, though only when the car is in park.
Passengers will also have a screen through which they can access mobile apps, even when the car is in motion, but the German car manufacturer says that screen will be shielded from the driver when the vehicle moves.
Some of the apps available include Angry Birds, Zoom and TikTok. Mercedes has said that it has sold nearly 330,000 vehicles in the U.S in 2021 and nearly 21,000 E-Class sedans.
“As we aim to expand that experience for our users, we’re excited to partner with Mercedes-Benz to introduce immersive in-car entertainment, which will give our community more opportunities to enjoy the content they love,” said David Saidden, director of distribution business development at TikTok.
State and federal lawmakers have been increasingly sheepish about cracking down on the app’s use as many have said that the Chinese-owned company poses a threat to national security.
James Lewis, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the Mercedes deal represents a push to outlast lawmakers’ efforts to crack down on the app, especially as other countries have not expressed the same level of alarm.
“TikTok isn’t waiting with bated breath to see what the U.S. does,” he said, adding that the company is “gambling on being so successful that the U.S. isn’t going to be able to take action against them.”
It’s unclear if the deal will put more political pressure on Mercedes and other companies that cut deals with the video app company.
The app’s partnership with Mercedes highlights the desire to reach older audiences as its over-65 audience is expected to grow.
Britishvolt has been bought out of administration by Australian firm Recharge Industries, reviving plans for the UK’s first electric vehicle battery factory.
Recharge have announced their plans in a statement and said that it will create strategic economoic and security asset which will play a crucial role in the UK’s industrial and net zero strategies.
Commenting on the successful bid, David A. Collard, Founder and CEO of Scale Facilitation said “We are thrilled to have been successful in our bid for ownership of Britishvolt; our plans are the right ones for the local community and the UK economy. Our proposal combined our financial, commercial, technology and manufacturing capabilities, with a highly credible plan to put boots and equipment on the ground quickly… “Backed by our global supply chain, strategic delivery partners and a number of significant customer agreements in place, we’re confident of making the Cambois Gigafactory a success and growing it into an advanced green energy project. We can’t wait to get started and want to start as soon as possible.
The recharged Britishvolt aims to provide thousands of green, skilled and local jobs that will drive local and national benefits.
Scale Facilitation UK-based advisor, Edward Dawes OBE said “It is tremendous that we have been able to secure this advanced battery facility for the UK. Working with our closest allies, America and Australia, and using world-leading and proven technology, now we can take Britishvolt forward with real purpose. “Scale Facilitation and Recharge Industries have put in place a hugely talented and experienced team, who are looking forward to moving this project on at pace, aligned to strategically important regional, national and international supply chains. This is good for the UK, good for the employees who are in limbo and good for British consumers.”
The collapse of Britishvolt had marked a major setback for the UK’s EV market, and therefore, the country hopes that Recharge Industries can bring the country’s battery plans back to its former glory.
MetaworldX has announced the launch of the largest Live Digital Twin: City of Toronto. It is being used to pull in data from multiple IoT devices that don’t generally communicate with each other. The MetaWorldX platform is the first of its kind that allows multiple data layers to be visualised for historical, live and simulation purposes.
This sims to help with Disaster Management, Risk mitigation, Urban Planning, Real Estate, FDI, Energy management and beyond. The Metaverse of the world for the world.
Data, social impact, transportation and mobility require visualisation. Now, there is a finally a platform that can bring all data into one visual system. A dynamic, immersive and sustainable way to envision analytics and simulate events before they happen.
MetaworldX is on a mission to help organisations and cities reduce their carbon footprint by having a proactive tool that can be licensed to any device anywhere in the world. The new platform can bring data to life. this can be transferred to any environment, any location, at any time.
The future of predictive and environmentally conscious social innovation has arrived. The City of Toronto is taking bold, major steps to combat climate change and reduce its carbon footprint.
MetaworldX has partnered with Amazon Web Services to build a cleaner environment for a more sustainable future.
Polestar has inaugurated its new design studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, nestled in a dense forest adjacent to the brand’s global headquarters. The dedicated facility provides a specialist home for up to 120 design team members, led by Maximilian Missoni, in an environment that combines modernist architecture with the brand’s clean, minimalistic Scandinavian aesthetic.
Born out of a historic former Volvo facility completed in 1984 by Italian Romaldo Giurgola and local architect Owe Svärd, the building has been fully upgraded while maintaining its unique architectural character. Here, the Polestar Design team will continue to build on the brand’s new design language, previewed by the Polestar Precept and electric roadster concept cars, and carried into production with Polestar 3 which launched in October 2022.
Prime materials and details from the original 1980s construction sit juxtaposed alongside a high-quality, modern Scandinavian design from plans drawn up by Maximilian Missoni. The new facility includes a specialist showroom area, clay working station, material and colour lab, auditorium and multiple digital studio spaces, management offices, VR rooms and meeting spaces.
Maximilian Missoni, Polestar’s Head of Design, comments: “When such care, attention to detail and material quality was so carefully considered at the point of construction back in 1982, it was important to me that we respected the original intentions when integrating our studio into the building. We deliberately showcase the original structure and detailing, respecting the very fabric that gives it its unique character.
“But while we wanted to respect tradition, we also wanted this to be a state-of-the-art home for our growing Design team. So, alongside the glorious views out west of the Gothenburg archipelago, the studio features the latest equipment on the inside to make our jobs easier and produce better results in the most efficient way.”
The same attention to detail paid to the building runs through Polestar 3. Aerodynamics were key to shaping the SUV for the electric age. The overall design, with its powerful and wide stance, and low, sweeping roofline, is introduced by the SmartZone and front aero wing. Signifying the shift from ‘breathing to seeing’ as the age of electrification intensifies, Polestar 3 also presented designers with a challenge – to impart a sense of intelligence.
Maximilian Missoni continues: “In today’s age of advanced product design it’s quite easy to display emotions like aggression and sportiness in a car. But try conveying intelligence in design – it’s not so easy. This is something we have spent a lot of time considering, to express the leading technology and sophistication of Polestar 3. It is distilled to the essence of an SUV but at the same time clearly shows a step into a new era.”
While exterior proportions are designed to reflect technology and impart a sporty stance, space inside Polestar 3 has been maximised thanks to the long body (4,900 mm) and wheelbase (2,984 mm). Reducing surface volumes around the cabin’s component architecture and increasing occupant space in all positions results in a more spacious and enjoyable interior.
Colours and materials have been carefully selected and combined to express Polestar’s Scandinavian heritage with a premium look and feel, while addressing sustainability and the redefinition of luxury. The full-length glass roof contributes to the airy feel, and Polestar’s signature logo is integrated into the glass roof in a new way – etched between two layers of the laminated glass and only visible when illuminated.
Polestar 3 goes into production in mid-2023 and first deliveries in launch markets are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Atkins has been appointed as a Delivery Partner organisation for THE LINE at NEOM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The release states acivilizational revolution that will have no roads, cars or carbon emissions, THE LINE is set to provide an unprecedented urban living experience.
A linear development, THE LINE, once completed, will be 170 kilometers long and only 200 meters wide cognitive city run on 100% clean energy.
The project hopes to eventually accommodate nine million residents and will be built on a land area of 34 square kilometers
THE LINE will be surrounded by large world-class protected areas as 95% of the surrounding NEOM region will be protected for conservation. This was part of the initial plan to build around natural areas rather than over them
Atkins has been awarded a five-year contract under a framework agreement for consultancy services on THE LINE. In collaboration with NEOM and other Delivery Partner organizations, Atkins will provide project and construction management consultancy services for the design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the project, together with the management of the critical interfaces that the linear city shares with adjacent NEOM projects and logistics, states the release.
The project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation.
“THE LINE is a truly ground-breaking, world first project and we are proud to have the opportunity to bring our global engineering, digital and net zero expertise to help create a lasting legacy for the Kingdom and its people,” said Philip Hoare, President, Atkins. “As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM and our partners to seamlessly connect people, data and technology to drive innovation, value, efficiency and certainty on the project. Our combined intent is to radically transform the way major infrastructure projects are delivered and THE LINE, with its vision and complexity, provides a great opportunity to demonstrate what our industry can achieve.”
The LINE offers a unique approach to urban design. The design is a new concept referred to as ‘Zero Gravity Urbanism’. The concept layers city functions vertically while giving people the possibility of moving seamlessly in three dimensions (up, down or across) to access them.
The company states that the development’s infrastructure will be embedded with sustainable smart technology containing essential utilities and transportation services, generating car-free communities and public realms.
“With over 50 years’ presence in the Middle East, Atkins has played a key role in supporting the region’s transformation by delivering some of its most iconic and complex projects,” said Campbell Gray, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East & Africa, Atkins. “Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most dynamic growth markets and we are committed to supporting the country’s ambitions through our global engineering expertise, our in-depth local knowledge, and our investment in the Kingdom’s future talent. As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM to drive value and efficiency by adopting innovative technologies and world-class sustainability standards.”
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that the country has broke ground to launch the US$500 million (Dh1.83 billion) Zim Cyber City. This is a state-of-the-art mixed-use hi-tech park at the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare.
The project is being developed by UAE-based Mulk International.The Cyber City will be spread across 2.5 million square feet and is currently under construction in Mount Hampden, New Harare.
“Zim Cyber City stands to become Zimbabwe’s landmark project, offering a world-class high-end lifestyle to all the residents. Our government fully supports this exciting development, and I congratulate the Chairman, Shaji Ul Mulk, and his company Mulk International, for bringing Zim Cyber City to Zimbabwe,” Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe, said.
Zim Cyber City was proposed to the President by Mulk International during his visit to the UAE at the Dubai World Expo 2020.
The project is under the eye of the Zimbabwe President, who has granted Mulk International an exclusive licence to establish a blockchain and digital assets special economic zone.
This is the first such large-scale investment by a UAE-based business house into Zimbabwean economy that will strengthen relationship between the UAE and Zimbabwe.
TONOMOUS, a subsidary of NEOM, has announced that it will be partnering with Oracle and NVIDIA at Leap23. The collaboration aims to boost the delivery of groundbreaking AI capabilities across NEOM and Saudi Arabia.
The collaboration hopes to accelerate AI-powered innovation for a broad range of use cases by enterprises and government organisations.
TONOMUS will provide customers with direct access to NVIDIA’s advanced AI, digital twin solutions that take advantage of the planned Oracle Cloud Region to be located at NEOM, hosted by ZeroPoint DC hyperscale data center and via TONOMUS’ digital cloud platform, stated the release.
Joseph Bradley, CEO of TONOMUS, said: “The longstanding alliance between Oracle and NVIDIA complements TONOMUS’ ongoing mission to build the infrastructure and ubiquitous connectivity required to enable the world’s first ecosystem of cognitive technologies. This monumental collaboration will empower NEOM with geographical advantage and place Saudi Arabia firmly on the map as a regional hub for the provision of AI capabilities, as well as further support Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s rapidly developing cloud market.”
Users of TONOMOUS will be able to draw a range of valuable benefits from the company’s collaboration with Oracle and NVIDIA. Additionally, the platform will allow users to search for and compare a wide range of options, capabilities and costs in real time and then purchase and manage solutions.
Richard Smith, Executive Vice President, Cloud & Technology, EMEA of Oracle, said: “The futuristic city of NEOM is the ideal ground for deploying the latest AI-powered applications and customer experiences, which will help usher in a new era of smart cities. TONOMOUS will benefit from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s (OCI) unmatched capability of supporting modern cloud native applications in a secure environment. This, coupled with our existing partnership with NVIDIA, will speed AI adoption for enterprises.”
The release states that it also facilitates cost monitoring, resource optimisation and visibility, centralises customer management of multiple cloud assets and costs, and is an asset to finance and accounting departments in accessing information on historic and projected costs based on consumption.
Jaap Zuiderveld, Vice President of EMEA at NVIDIA, said: “AI and accelerated computing in the cloud enable cities around the world to improve sustainability and livability, enhance the safety and efficiency of urban mobility, and deliver more inclusive citizen experiences. NVIDIA software and systems on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provide an ideal platform for developers like TONOMUS to build AI-forward, modern cities.”
OCI’s comprehensive set of public cloud services and NVIDIA’s accelerated computing stack – from GPUs and networking to software – combined with OCI’s AI cloud infrastructure of bare metal and RDMA cluster networking and storage, will provide NEOM-based enterprises with a broad, easily accessible portfolio of options for AI training and deep learning inference at scale. The availability of the globally adopted NVIDIA AI platform will grant businesses that make NEOM their home the benefits of essential processing engines for each step of the AI workflow, from data processing and AI model training to simulation and large-scale deployment.
The venture will be propelled by technology such as the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU and the upcoming NVIDIA H100 – the most advanced accelerator ever produced and an order-of-magnitude leap for accelerated computing. Its combined innovations can speed up large language models by an incredible 30 times over the previous generation to deliver industry-leading conversational AI.
The strategic partnership between TONOMUS and Oracle has been steadily expanding since the company was named as the first tenant at ZeroPoint DC in October 2021.
General Motors and Global Foundries have announced a long-term agreement that will establish a dedicated capacity corridor exclusively for GM’s chip supply. GF will manufacture GM’s key chip suppliers at GF’s advanced semiconductor facility in upstate New York bringing a critical process to the US.
“At GF we are committed to working with our customers in new and innovative ways to best address the challenges of today’s global supply chains,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. “GF will expand its production capabilities exclusively for GM’s supply chain, enabling us to strengthen our partnership with the automotive industry and New York State, while further accelerating automotive innovation with U.S.-based manufacturing for a more resilient supply chain.”
The release stated that this agreement supports GM’s strategy to reduce the number of unique chips needed to power increasingly complex and tech-laden vehicles. This strategy will ensure chips can be produced at higher volumes and are expected to offer better quality and predictability, maximizing high value content creation for the end customer.
“We see our semiconductor requirements more than doubling over the next several years as vehicles become technology platforms,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “The supply agreement with GlobalFoundries will help establish a strong, resilient supply of critical technology in the U.S. that will help GM meet this demand, while delivering new technology and features to our customers.”
GF is responding to the global demand for semiconductors through a series of strategic long-term agreements with existing and new customers and simultaneously expanding global capacity to meet customer demand in partnership with federal and local governments.
Supportive policies like the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act are encouraging the onshoring of semiconductor production and reestablishing the U.S. as a global leader of this critical technology.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said: “We’re making New York State not only the semiconductor capital of the country — but of the globe. This agreement will help to further establish New York State as a major hub for semiconductor manufacturing. With our nation-leading Green CHIPS legislation and the new Governor’s Office of Semiconductor Expansion, Management, and Integration, we are helping businesses like GM and GlobalFoundries expand the chips man
Alpha Wireless has announced a licensing agreement with Bigbelly, a leader in public space waste solutions, to offer a turnkey 5G cell site solution with integrated antenna, mast, connectors and enclosure.
This complete site enclosure kit features the innovative Bigbelly Telebelly waste and recycling platform designed to host and conceal network equipment.
“The revolutionary Telebelly enables essential connectivity and, if appropriate, waste management, in an easy to access location with minimal visual impact and footprint,” said Brian Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bigbelly. “By allowing Alpha Wireless to offer a turnkey solution integrating their antennas with the Telebelly, we help network operators solve key challenges more quickly, while delivering meaningful services to municipalities for improved quality of life.”
The turnkey site enclosure kit can be configured with various Alpha Wireless antenna options, such as ultra-compact antennas for urban small cells or shared tri-sector antennas for macrocell deployments, supporting up to three operators in one neutral host site, stated the release.
“As 5G transforms how networks are built, today’s smart city innovators are looking to new, more functional solutions to hide telecoms infrastructure in plain sight. Integrating our versatile, high-performance antennas with the Telebelly enclosure creates a winning combination — as proven in a recent proof of concept deployment in Dublin,” said Fergal Lawlor, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha Wireless. “Our licensing agreement with Bigbelly streamlines critical network scaling and densification to meet the relentless growth of subscriber data demands.”
In addition to the antenna and mast, each Telebelly can accommodate six radios plus cabling, with co-location capabilities for multiple enclosures per site. This scalable solution enables network operators worldwide to expand deployments to deliver improved connectivity experiences in high traffic areas where coverage is most needed.
“Given the saturation of traditional cell sites in many cities and suburbs worldwide, network operators need to explore a new approach to RAN deployments before they can fully realize the promised 5G customer experience of higher speeds and lower latency,” said Monica Paolini, Principal, Senza Fili.
Siemens has partnered with EnergyHub to expand its ecosystem of partners for its grid software business.EnergyHub is able to control all classes of DERs including thermostats, electric vehicles, energy storage, and solar inverters.
The company works with over 60 North American utilities to manage more than 1.3 GW of flexible capacity. Siemens is a leading provider of grid planning, operations and maintenance software and brings extensive power systems and grid control domain expertise to the partnership.
Both companies plan to interface their complementary solutions which will empower utilities to move towards a holistic and scalable end-to-end next generation DER management solution. The release stated that this means utilities will have better DER visibility, forecasting, and management, which will enable them to better plan, operate and maintain an increasingly DER-centric grid in the future by breaking down silos across utilities.
“Utilities have to re-think how to manage power grids because DERs will continue to grow significantly over the next decade. Knowing about DER contributions to our power grids is very important to shift loads to periods when there is less stress on the grid. Siemens and EnergyHub will be strategically cooperating on complementary portfolio elements for a next generation DER management by combining Siemens’ network expertise with EnergyHub’s proven grid-edge capabilities. This partnership will enable utilities to reach net-zero by leveraging DERs as a non-wire alternative solution such as investments in hardware. Ultimately, this will enable utilities to unlock unprecedented levels of DER flexibility and resilience of the power grid,” said Sabine Erlinghagen, CEO of Grid Software at Siemens.
About 70 percent of the world’s electricity consumption or 16,000 terawatt hours each year already flows through infrastructure simulated by Siemens’ grid software, states the company.
“It is impossible to decarbonize electricity without grid-edge flexibility to complement the growing mix of renewable generation. Now that our grid-edge programs are gigawatt-scale resources, it is critical that they interconnect deeply with core utility operating systems. This partnership with Siemens—a global leader in electricity-industry software—will enable grid-edge resources to transform the utility enterprise in a way that is win-win for utilities and their customers,” said Seth Frader-Thompson, President of EnergyHub.
The Siemens Grid Software Suite is part of Siemens Xcelerator. This is an open digital business platform designed to accelerate digital transformation and value creation across industries, transportation, grids and buildings.
An important aspect of this strategy is an ecosystem of partners with complementary portfolios.
Google is introducing new features for electric vehicles with built in Google Maps. This was announced at the company’s Paris event.
The features aim to reduce range anxiety for EV drivers. Drivers are able to use Maps on their car’s display screen and find nearby charging stations that have chargers of 150 kilowatts or higher capacity for faster charge.
For any journey that will require a stop to charge an EV, Maps will suggest the best stop based on current traffic, EV’s charge level and how much energy the EV can consume.
Maps on EVs will also show when places such as supermarkets have charging stations on-site.
EV drivers are often advised to keep topping up their vehicles whenever they can to ensure a long battery life and avoid driving on a low battery, so it’ll be helpful to know where they can do so as they run errands.
Google said all of the new features for EVs will start rolling out in the next few months. The new Maps features for EVs come three months after Google added filters to the smartphone app for fast charging stations and EV plug compatibility.
Polestar, Volvo, General Motors and Renault are among the automakers that have vehicles with Google built in. At the start of the year, Google said it would roll out a new high-definition version of Maps for cars, starting with the Volvo EX90 and the Polestar 3.
Google also revealed updates to Maps on smartphones during the event, including the expansion of Live View and Indoor Live view, which uses a phone’s camera and augmented reality elements to superimpose directives like arrows and distance markers on top of the real world
