Honda Xcelerator start-ups demonstrate future mobility solutions at CES 2018
- New technologies seek to enhance vehicle autonomy, HD mapping, safety optics, GPS localisation and the driver experience
- Start-up partners from Silicon Valley, New York, Canada, Europe, Israel and Singapore highlight Honda’s global open innovation theme
- Tech innovators invited to meet with Honda Xcelerator representatives at CES 2018
Six technology start-ups are partnering with Honda Xcelerator at CES 2018 to demonstrate technologies that have the potential to transform mobility, focusing on challenges posed by autonomous vehicles and advanced connected cars. At its Global Innovator Showcase at CES 2018, Honda is featuring partnerships with BRAIQ, DeepMap, DynaOptics, EXO Technologies, Tactual Labs, and WayRay.
As part of Silicon Valley-based Honda Innovations, Honda Xcelerator serves as a catalyst to discover and experiment with new technologies and business concepts. Honda Xcelerator provides start-ups with funding for prototyping, access to a collaborative workspace, and support from Honda mentors. Focus areas for Honda Xcelerator include Artificial Intelligence, Connected Vehicles, Energy Innovation, Human Machine Interface, Industrial Innovation, Personal Mobility, and Robotics.
“With our Xcelerator partners, Honda will explore technologies that can potentially transform its future products and services, and create new business opportunities,” said Honda Innovations CEO, Nick Sugimoto. “We encourage innovators who share our vision to meet with us at CES 2018.”
Honda Innovations recently announced the expansion of the programme that engages with startup ecosystems in Japan, China, Detroit and Europe. Honda supports outreach to startups in key innovation hubs globally through its partnerships with incubators MassChallenge (Boston, USA) and Drive (Tel Aviv, Israel), and through the equity crowd funding platform OurCrowd (Jerusalem, Israel).
Honda’s Global Innovator Showcase at CES 2018 features the following six partnerships:
BRAIQ: Personalising the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Experience
Based in New York City and partnering with Honda Xcelerator in Detroit, BRAIQ bridges the gap between human preferences and artificial intelligence so that an autonomous vehicle can learn to personalise its driving style. Equipped with BRAIQ’s technology, existing interior sensors collect biometric information about passenger comfort as the vehicle travels, gathering data on acceleration, braking, steering, and more. This data is aggregated and analysed securely in the cloud to add an essential layer of emotional intelligence on top of artificial intelligence. Honda Xcelerator and BRAIQ aim to personalise the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) experience, helping to increase passenger comfort and foster trust in automated driving technology.
DeepMap: Mapping Technology for Autonomous Vehicles
DeepMap provides precise high-definition (HD) maps and real-time localisation as a service to autonomous vehicles. Based in Palo Alto, California, the company is building a cloud-based platform to enable creation of three-dimensional (3D) HD maps for autonomous vehicles with Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy. The technology is highly scalable and efficient because it leverages sensors on autonomous vehicle fleets, rather than relying on a survey fleet. By deploying multiple localisation approaches through sensor fusion, the localisation technology is resilient to sensor failures and different driving conditions. In partnership with DeepMap, Honda Xcelerator will explore solutions for automated driving safety.
DynaOptics: Free-form Optics for Road Safety
DynaOptics is a Singapore-based startup that harnesses the power of free-form optics to bring superior situational awareness and safety to roads. Customisable for different scenarios, DynaOptics’ lenses perform better than conventional lenses – sometimes up to 50 percent better – on various specifications, such as low-light performance, image quality or form factor. Honda Xcelerator and DynaOptics will collaborate to increase light to camera sensors so objects will be more quickly and accurately detected and classified.
EXO Technologies: High-Accuracy GPS Localisation
EXO Technologies delivers high-accuracy, low-cost GPS solutions for smart mobility applications. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, EXO provides value to customers by improving in-car navigation and turn-by-turn directions, as well as providing precise positioning for connected and autonomous vehicle applications. The collaboration between Honda Xcelerator and EXO seeks to significantly improve the accuracy of GPS localisation without any additional hardware or terrestrial base stations.
Tactual Labs: Real-time Human Body Pose Sensing
Tactual Labs surrounds every surface with real-time human body pose sensing. Born from University of Toronto researchers in human-computer interaction, Tactual’s PRISM™ technology wraps a free-form object in accurate in-air, skeletal, and contact sensing that can “see”, and uses Tactual’s software to reconstruct the human hand and body in 3D. With Tactual Labs, Honda Xcelerator will aim to facilitate new user interface (UI) interactions and a greater awareness of human intent. Tactual solutions will provide drivers and motorcycle riders with superior convenience and safety by delivering increased functionality without the need for the user to “look” for controls or remove hands from the steering wheel or handlebars.
WayRay: Holographic AR Navigation System for Advanced Connected Cars
Switzerland-based WayRay is developing a holographic augmented reality (AR) navigation system for advanced connected cars. WayRay’s innovative use of holographic optical elements keeps the system far more compact than traditional mirror and lens technology, and allows for a high-resolution projection directly in front of the driver. Using a transparent holographic display allows drivers to stay fully focused on the road. The system uses AR to display real-time indicators for detection of road obstacles and pedestrians, displaying points of interest or alerting the driver to hazards. Honda Xcelerator and WayRay will explore solutions to miniaturise AR head up display (HUD) optics, allowing deployment in smaller vehicles and performance improvements.
Honda Xcelerator’s objective is to find unique, game-changing technology innovators to facilitate the creation of proof of concept prototypes and potential future opportunities with Honda development teams across its portfolio of products. Startups and entrepreneurs are invited to meet with Honda Xcelerator representatives at Honda’s CES 2018 booth (LVCC, North Hall – 7923) from January 9-12, 2018. Videos, images and more details can be found at http://world.honda.com/CES/2018/.
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