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Daimler spends €20 billion on battery cells

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Daimler is taking the next step towards securing its CASE- connectivity, autonomous, shared & services and electric – corporate strategy.

The company is investing ten billion euros in the expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Cars electric fleet and another billion euros in the global battery production network within the worldwide production network.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Our electric offensive continues to gain momentum. After investing billions of euros in the development of the electric fleet and the expansion of our global battery network, we are now taking the next step.

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Autonomous vehicles: A future without humans

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Automotive companies are showcasing driverless vehicles in a wide range of environments all around the world.

From busy, urban roads in overpopulated cities to remote, desolate landscapes where no human has ever set foot, autonomous vehicles are almost everywhere now.

Almost 400 companies are working towards making autonomous vehicles part of modern society, but the vast majority of their innovations are still in the testing phase, awaiting technical and regulatory approval.  [Read more…] about Autonomous vehicles: A future without humans

New Ansible Motion simulator ‘helps car makers understand how human drivers will interact with autonomous cars’

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Ansible Motion has launched a new simulator to help car makers “better understand how drivers will cope with and respond to the rising number of driver assistance and autonomous automotive technologies”.

The latest iteration of Ansible Motion’s multi-million-pound Delta Driver-in-the-Loop simulator provides a safe and repeatable laboratory environment to test and validate the myriad advanced driver assistance systems that are increasingly being fitted, or proposed, to new cars.

With the driver assistance systems market set to grow to $70 billion by 2024, fuelled by vehicle manufacturers pushing toward increasing levels of autonomy to address emerging legislation, the issue of how real people might react to a car receiving more notifications – or even taking control – is one that car makers are investigating seriously.  [Read more…] about New Ansible Motion simulator ‘helps car makers understand how human drivers will interact with autonomous cars’

Kyocera to participate in self-driving bus test in Japan involving several other companies

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Kyocera will participate in a self-driving bus test project organized by the Mobility Innovation Consortium, an organization to promote autonomous driving led by East Japan Railway Company.

Other corporations participating in the test project will include Advanced Smart Mobility Company, Aichi Steel Corporation, SoftBank, Nippon Signal Company, and NEC Corporation.

Project tests, which will occur between December 2018 and March 2019, are designated to evaluate self-driving technologies for bus transit applications, including automated lane-maintenance control, speed control, parking assist, and alternating passage tests on JR East’s Bus Rapid Transit lines.  [Read more…] about Kyocera to participate in self-driving bus test in Japan involving several other companies

Advanced driver assistance systems market to reach $67 billion by 2024

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The global market for advanced driver assistance systems market is set to reach $67 billion by 2024, according to a report by Global Market Insights.

Park assist systems accounted for 11 percent of the ADAS market share, according to GMI, which also finds that there are “substantial applications for blind spots elimination and accidental threats mitigation”.

These systems have found a significant market in the passenger and commercial vehicles sector because of their efficient detection and warning capabilities.  [Read more…] about Advanced driver assistance systems market to reach $67 billion by 2024

Johnson Controls and Toshiba partner on dual batteries for cars

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Johnson Controls Power Solutions and Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation have partnered to deliver low-voltage lithium-ion solutions to meet automaker demands for improved efficiency, lower costs and less complexity.

Under the agreement, Johnson Controls will collaborate with Toshiba to develop and manufacture lithium-ion batteries at its Holland, MI, plant and pair them with existing lead-acid battery technology as part of dual-battery systems.

Dual-battery vehicles are expected to be the fastest-growing form of electrification and by 2025 will account for approximately 20 percent of new vehicles built globally, according to IHS, Markit.

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‘Silicon Saxony’ aims to build platform for ‘next-generation’ automotive electronics and sensor technology

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A consortium of seven technology networks with a total of 200 companies and research facilities have joined forces in the Federal State of Saxony, in Germany, with the objective of developing new sensor technology concepts and launching them on the market.

Spanning various industrial branches and technologies, the focus of the initiative will, for example, be on applications for self-driving passenger cars, lorries, buses, and trains, for the implementation of Industry 4.0 principles in mechanical engineering, and for medical engineering.

The consortium says Saxony is “unique throughout Europe”, and is an Innovation cluster for automotive electronics and sensor technology systems.  [Read more…] about ‘Silicon Saxony’ aims to build platform for ‘next-generation’ automotive electronics and sensor technology

Ericsson and Volvo Cars sign five-year Connected Vehicle Cloud worldwide deal

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Ericsson has been selected by Volvo Car Group to provide the industrialised Ericsson Connected Vehicle Cloud (CVC) platform to further enable its digital vehicle services in more than 120 markets worldwide for the next five years.

Volvo Cars, like other major players in the automotive industry, is increasing focus on securing high-quality connected-vehicle services as digitisation increases the importance of software services.

The services will also benefit from the increased speed, low-latency and capacity for mission critical applications, such as autonomous driving, that commercial 5G networks will enable.

[Read more…] about Ericsson and Volvo Cars sign five-year Connected Vehicle Cloud worldwide deal

Denso takes a stake in Infineon Technologies to advance automated driving

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Automotive supplier Denso Corporation has taken an unspecified stake in Infineon Technologies AG, one of the top manufacturers of in-vehicle semiconductor products, to accelerate the development of technology to achieve next-generation vehicle systems such as automated driving.

With the investment, Infineon Technologies’ advanced semiconductor technologies will be combined with Denso’s in-vehicle technologies and expertise to accelerate the development of new and emerging mobility solutions.

Due to increased functionality of vehicles and advanced electronic control, the demand for semiconductor products is growing exponentially.

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BMW Group makes a million 3D-printed components in 10 years

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At the BMW Group, the use of 3D-printed components is on the rise.

Over the last decade alone, the company produced a million parts by this innovative method, and this year output from the BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Center is expected to reach over 200,000 components — a 42 percent increase on last year’s total.

Dr. Jens Ertel, Director of the BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Center: “The use of components made by additive manufacturing in series production of vehicles is increasing particularly strongly at the moment.

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