- Toyota has picked May Mobility, an US startup, as one of its “autonomous driving providers for future open platforms,”. The company has raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Toyota. The funding will be used to expand every aspect of the company, including its AV shuttle fleet, and its engineering and operations staff. May Mobility has 25 autonomous low- speed shuttles spread out between 3 cities with the aim to build up to 25 per city. (Read more)
- QIA and Volkswagen AG announce pioneering autonomous, electric transport initiative to transform urban mobility in Qatar. QIA and Volkswagen will work together to develop physical and digital infrastructure to integrate a fleet of self-driving vehicles into Doha’s existing public transport network. Closed testing of the shuttle vehicles and buses is expected to begin in 2020 and trials will start as early as 2021. Project is expected to go live during 2022. (Read more)
- Hyundai Motor announced a big investment in numerous areas of transportation. This is an effort to transition from “automaker” to “smart mobility solution provider”. As part of its strategy, Hyundai plans to continue its efforts on traditional automobile improvements, as well as work on developing flying cars, robotics and last-mile mobility. The company expects to launch a self-driving platform in 2022 with mass production scheduled for 2024. By 2025, every one of the automaker’s cars will offer some sort of Level 2 and 3 self-driving capability. (Read more)
- The capital cities of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland- Amsterdam, London and Helsinki, have been named the Europe’s leaders in mobility and transport- 2nd, 3rd and 7th worldwide, respectively. Singapore is the world’s top performer and “… leading the way in the latest mobility tools, platforms and services, as well as autonomous driving and real-time, digitized traffic management,”. Rounding off the top five are Shanghai and New York. (Read more)
- Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind model to control traffic and intersections in order to increase autonomous car capacity on urban streets of the future, reduce congestion and minimize accidents. The researchers’ model allows groups of autonomous cars, known as platoons, to pass through one-way intersections without waiting, and the results of a microsimulation showed it increased the capacity of vehicles on city streets up to 138% over a conventional traffic signal system. (Read more)
- The Daimler- and BMW-owned service- Share Now says it will leave North America by the end of February 2020, as part of an ongoing shakeout in the industry. Service will be also terminated in London, Brussels and Florence, Italy. Share Now will operate in fewer than 20 cities worldwide, with its largest operations in Germany and Italy. In a statement, the company argument the withdrawal with the “volatile state of the global mobility landscape” and “rising operation costs.” (Read more)
- Nanomanufacturing focusses on the development of scalable, high yield processes for the commercial production of materials, structures, devices and systems at the nanoscale. Extensive R&D has led to significant advances in nanotechnology, some which could revolutionize manufacturing processes. Three applications reveal tangible evidence of what the future of manufacturing will look like – Improving Safety; Fuel Efficiency; and Reducing Friction. (Read more)
- Fleets of self-driving trucks are forming a new revolution in transportation. Autonomous vehicles generate huge amount of data and moving that data fast in real time is essential. 5G makes that nearly instantaneously improving safety of transported goods and cost savings. The first iteration of this faster technology will be paid for and used primarily by shippers and delivery services, from UPS to FreshDirect. (Read more)
- The merits of Internet of Things (IoT) has drawn the attention of companies in the pharma manufacturing sector. IoT can provide the required visibility and maintain specific storage conditions for equipment. Real-time visibility into warehouse operations is crucial for cost reductions, optimizations on utilizing operators and transport equipment, and controlling cold chain conditions. (Read more)
- Cisco released details behind its technology strategy for building a new internet, designed to push digital innovation beyond the performance, economic and power consumption limitations of current infrastructure. Cisco’s strategy is based on development and investments in three key technology areas: silicon, optics and software. Cisco introduced its latest innovation including Cisco Silicon One, a networking silicon architecture, released the new Cisco 8000 Series routers and announced new purchasing options that enable customers to consume the company’s technology through disaggregated business models. (Read more)
- Nokia has won a tender to test and deliver the world’s first standalone (SA) 5G system for automated rail operation in Hamburg, Germany. The project is part of Deutsche Bahn’s highly automated S-Bahn operation project. The proof-of-concept will test whether 5G technology is mature enough to be used as the connectivity layer for future, digitalized rail operations. By 2021, as part of the project “Digitale S-Bahn Hamburg”, highly automated trains are expected to operate on a 23-kilometer section, starting at Berliner Tor. (Read more)
- New Story, a nonprofit organization, is building a new community with a giant 3D printer. It built two houses in an impoverished, rural part of Mexico, breaking ground on what will be the first 3D-printed neighborhood in the world. The neighborhood is being built for families living on $3 a day. The 33-foot printer pipes out a concrete mix that hardens when it dries, building the walls one layer at a time. It takes 24 hours over several days to build two houses at the same time. Developers hope to build 50 new houses by the end of 2020. (Read more)
- Continental launched a Smart City Mobility and Transportation Hub to increase safety, decrease congestion, reduce pollution and enable autonomous driving. At the center of the new Hub, located in Michigan, are two intersections made intelligent thanks to Continental sensors and intelligent software integrated into the infrastructure. Furthermore, Continental’s Wrong-Way Driver detection system, which warns at-risk drivers in the vicinity of a driver heading the wrong way, has also been installed. (Read more)
- BAE Systems has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jaunt Air Mobility to develop electric energy management systems for their aircraft, which is one of Uber’s six confirmed partners for its Elevate urban air mobility project. As part of the MoU, BAE Systems will collaborate with Jaunt and Triumph Aerospace Structures, its structural engineering partner, to develop and certify Jaunt’s Reduced Rotor Operating Speed Aircraft (ROSA). (Read more)
- Data is a significant driver of the economy and the backbone of the world’s most powerful technology companies. Tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, and Google have consolidated their data-driven empires and expanded into new markets, where data fuels tech innovation. Meanwhile, the debate around ethical use of personal data in civic development is affecting local communities and global markets, and it’s raising a lot of safety and privacy concerns. When data collection is minimized and “de-identified” at source, the risk of privacy violations can be reduced significantly, according to Former Ontario privacy commissioner Anne Cavoukian. (Read more)
- According to the market research report published by P&S Intelligence, global smart parking systems market size was valued at $3.4 billion in 2018, and it is expected to reach $9.1 billion by 2024. Of the two parking sites, off-street parking held the larger share in the market in 2018. Globally, North America contributed the highest revenue to the smart parking systems market in 2018. The increasing adoption of automation technology is offering lucrative opportunities to the players operating in smart parking systems market. (Read more)
- Human Horizon, an automotive tech company, is building a ‘Smart City’ infrastructure in the AI hub of the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai. The project, called the Vehicle-Road-City Integrated Smart City, is laying the groundwork for high-tech roads and autonomous vehicles in future smart cities. The initiative is part of a larger Human Horizons’ strategic blueprint called ‘3 Smart’ which consists of smart vehicle, smart road, and smart city. (Read more)
- 2020 is predicted to be the year technology gains critical mass. New technologies open the door for progressive manufacturers release truly innovative offerings of their own. Few of the key technologies, shaping the manufacturing world in 2020 are: advanced robotics and automation; embracing additive manufacturing and 3D printing; working with wearables; recognizing growing need for 5G; and continued IoT investments. (Read More)
- Professor Reza Ehsani is showing what the future of fruit production is holding. He has been working on developing sensors and data analysis techniques for early disease and stress detection of different crops as well as sensor systems for yield mapping and yield estimation. A Smart Camera is one of the technologies, that can detect a given object, distinguishing shapes and colors, that can be used for sorting the fruits. A Moisture Sensor, Terahertz Tech, Berry Robot and Almond Harvester are among other technologies. (Read More)
- Relying only on manually produced reports, manufacturers are able to use at best 40% of their production capacity. While sales cycles keep accelerating, and pricing keeps getting more volatile, buyers’ timeframes keep getting shorter. This makes real-time data necessary to survive today, showing the future of Smart Manufacturing. Some of the advantages are that it converts more sales quotes, pricing requests, and proposals into orders, more accurate cost control and visibility and improving production plan performance. (Read More)
- 5G is expected to improve safety, efficiency, and operational performance among manufacturers. AT&T and Samsung collaborated for a 5G Innovation Zone, a new research facility where the two telecom giants are demonstrating how the fifth-generation wireless network will change manufacturing and create smart factories that use digitized, connected machines. The goal is to demonstrate some of the upgrades the manufacturing industry could experience and encourage business owners to start thinking about possibilities for the future. (Read More)
- 2020 is expected to be the re-birth year of electric cars and a test year for e-buses. According to BIS Research, EV market is anticipated to grow at a compounded annual rate of 43.1%, charging infrastructure at 42.4% and the battery market at 60.1% during the period from 2019 to 2030. (Read More)
- Nanotechnology could be the answer for condition which affects 10 million women. University of South Australia biomedical engineer Dr Marnie Winter has been awarded US$100,000 from the world’s largest private foundation to help better understand and tackle a condition which kills 76,000 women and 500,000 babies each year. The funding will explore cutting-edge nanotechnology and bioengineering approaches to address pre-eclampsia, one of the most common complications in pregnancy. (Read More)
- The care sector has adopted the use of current technology, such as smart home systems, patient monitoring equipment, artificial intelligence, and software solutions, in a bid to become more efficient. The whole sector needs to be aware of the opportunities available and be on-board with and implement these new technologies, as they could be the key to solving the challenges that the industry faces. (Read More)
- China just launched the world’s largest 5G network. The country’s three state- run operators launched services for the next generation wireless technology. 5G commercial services are now available in 50 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In Shanghai, nearly 12,000 5G base stations have been activated to support 5G coverage across the city’s key outdoor areas. (Read More)
- As the technology continues to advance, individuals and organizations are using more and more IoT devices to increase productivity and profitability. There are 5 IoT trends that can be expected to be seen in 2020, such as: Smart home devices move to the office; major growth in IoT in healthcare; the marriage of AI and IoT will strengthen; few federal security reforms; and voice activation takes off. (Read More)
- 3D printed beef steaks and chicken could be on the menu in European restaurants as soon as next year, and meat printers could be available for the consumers to buy, possible within the next few years. Israeli and Spanish operations are printing beef and chicken products with the same (fibrous) texture, appearance and flavor as real meat, but with no harm to animals involved (made from plant proteins only). (Read More)
