Important Innovations

  New Software Upgrades Promised within a Few Weeks Source:  Tesla "Smart Summon" To Be Offered in Europe   Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company will be rolling out significantly improved self-driving technology within a few weeks.  Subscriptions for the new software will be offered this month.  Musk also tweeted that Tesla is making available its "Smart Summon" technology in Europe by the end of 2021.  The technology enables a driver to summon their vehicle in a parking lot by using a phone app. That handy feature is now available in the US. Under Scrutiny Tesla's autonomous driving technology is under scrutiny following several recent crashes.  Two people were killed in an accident in Texas, although it is disputed whether the car was driving itself or a human was behind the wheel.  Since October 2020, some Tesla employees and customers have been testing a beta version of Tesla's full, self-driving technology.  Tesla continues to work on the technology and

  German Led Innovation                                   Source: Software Stock Image Remote Access Software Berlin Germany based tech group IOTA is teaming-up with British based Jaguar Land Rover and Japan's NTT Data to launch new software that gives consumers the power to remotely access and control items like appliances and cars.  The software is called IOTA Access and was developed in the UK at the University of Cambridge along with a European startup.  It grants the owner access and grants or rejects conditional access to individuals other than the user of the physical device. International Effort The launch of Iota Access is a global effort.  IOTA specializes in distributed ledgers.  That's a technology similar to blockchain. IOTA is being joined in the launch by Jaguar, Europe's STMicro-electronics and Japan's NTT Data.  According to IOTA co-founder Dominik Schiener, "our phone should be our personal keys to access everything."   Jaguar Jaguar and IOTA

Protecting Connected Vehicles from Hackers Source:  Upstream Israel's Upstream Security Secures Millions in Funding Israel's Upstream Security has secured $30 million in funding to develop software to protect connected and autonomous vehicles from cyberattacks by hackers.  The funding is coming from automakers like Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Volvo Truck, Nationwide Mutual Insurance and venture capital firms. Upstream takes a cloud based automotive cybersecurity approach using data analytics and machine learning algorithms.  The company was established in 2017 and has received a total of $41 million in funding. New Software Market with Exponential Growth The market demand for software to protect against automotive cyberattacks is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2025. The exponential growth is being driven by the fact that the more connectivity included in vehicles, the more vulnerable they are to hackers.  Cyber carjacking has been an issue since 2015

IBM, Cera Care Test Self-Driving Car Sensors for New Use Keeping Elderly Home Longer with Tech This is a six month pilot program to see if LIDAR laser sensors can be used to help the elderly stay longer in their homes.  One of the big uses of LIDAR is to help self-driving cars "see".  IBM Research UK and Cera Care are teaming up to test the unique use of the LIDAR technology, Mapping Safety LIDAR uses laser light pulses to generate images and maps of surroundings and to help self-driving cars navigate streets.  In June, 15 volunteer households in the UK will have LIDAR sensors installed by IBM Research UK and Cera Care.  They'll use IBM machine learning software to build a detailed picture of each patient's daily routines and home environment.  They'll utilize the images to pinpoint and alert caregivers of any possible problems in health, falls, etc. during the patient's routine to let caregivers know when they need to be in the home.  It's a cutti

UK's Immense Simulations Gets VC Backing Source:  Immense Simulations  Big Money Pouring into Software for Driverless Cars British software company Immense Simulations makes interactive city simulations of traffic and people flows on any given day.  The company today raised $4.6 million in a Series A funding led by UK's Amadeus Capital Partners and Japan's Global Brain Corporation.  This is a major sign of the times.  Investors are betting on autonomous vehicles going mainstream.  So far this year, companies in the self-driving vehicle sphere have raised $3 Billion in funding. Immense Technology Immense uses data from mobile phone operators, public transport and telematics databases to build city simulations.  Carmakers use the simulations to test their plans for fleets of autonomous cars on scenarios that are as close to real, congested city conditions as possible. CityScapes Immense Simulations has made simulations for driving conditions in many cities inclu

VW Goes to China for Software Development Source:  VW autonomous electric vehicle Software Design Hub for Global Autonomous Vehicle Architecture For the design of a global autonomous vehicle architecture, VW is going to China.  In fact, it's making China its Hub for software development.  VW will use Chinese software developers because they are highly qualified and available.  Automakers are finding it hard to hire them elsewhere.  VW already has 4000 engineers in China and is rapidly increasing its software engineers there. This underscores the growing competitiveness of China in innovation and its educated workforce to help lead the way in new innovations. New information from VW executives in China as the Shanghai Auto Show is about to begin. China Hub For VW, the China Software Hub will include the development of advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving functions.  Globally, the specific hiring difficulty for the automotive industry has been finding

Humanoid Robot Brother of SpotMini,  the Dancing Robot Source:  Boston Dynamics https://youtu.be/LikxFZZO2sk   for Atlas Doing Parkour <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LikxFZZO2sk" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe> Boston Dynamics Robotic Innovation Atlas is a humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics.  It's a "brother" robot of SpotMini, the dancing robot also known as Uptown Spot. Parkour, Software and Computer Vision Atlas does parkour military exercises with ease.   The robot's software uses the entire body including arms, legs and torso to jump over a log and leap up stairs without breaking stride.  It uses computer vision to position itself accurately as it runs and jumps to target destinations.   Thought you might enjoy seeing one of the world's most agile and dynamic robots in action.  The link is

New Tech Predicts Building Collapses & Landslides 2 Weeks in Advance This is a global example of technology helping humanity and alerting them of impending danger.  Australian researchers at the University of Melbourne have just developed breakthrough software.  It predicts when a mudslide could occur, a dam collapse, a foundation move or a building crack and collapse.  The software can make the forecast up to 2 weeks in advance. Based on Applied Mathematics, Algorithms & Big Data Analytics The software turns algorithms and big data into risk assessment and management action.  It spots the warning signs of imminent danger. And it does so at the microstructure level.  The early warning sign alerts include motion patterns that change over time and become synchronized. Forecasts of Collapse In Time to Make a Difference The scientists' model decodes the data on movement and turns it into a network.  That allows the scientists to identify hidden patterns in motion and