Suzuki, Maruti Suzuki and IIT Hyderabad Jointly Showcase India’s 1st Research Demonstration of V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) Communication

Image - Nxtbook.com

In an industry first effort, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan (SMC), Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), and IIT Hyderabad (IITH) have teamed up to research India-specific vehicle usage scenarios based on futuristic V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication technology. V2X communications technology, when used in conjunction with appropriate infrastructure, traffic rules, and driver education, can help reduce traffic incidents and road congestion.

The first prototypes showcasing these applications were displayed at the IIT Hyderabad campus here today. 5 vehicle usage scenarios were demonstrated to Mr Munisekhar Avileli, Advisor, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Government of India, Mr Kishore Babu YGSC, Deputy Director General (Standardization-R&D-Innovation), Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, Mr V.J. Christopher, Director (Wireless Monitoring Organization), Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and Mr Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce and IT, Government of Telangana. From IITH Chairman Mr BVR Mohan Reddy and Prof B S Murty Director, IITH graced the occasion.

At the technology demonstration, Mr Kazunobu Hori representing Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan was joined by Mr Tarun Aggarwal, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki, and Mr Rahul Bharti, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki.

Some of the use case scenarios showcased were:

• Ambulance Alerting System: Car drivers are alerted about an approaching emergency vehicle and its path through V2X communication. It helps the driver to safely plan maneuvers and make way for an emergency vehicle. The alert system will also share minute details like the distance between the vehicles on a real-time basis.
• Wrong-way Driver Alerting system: Car drivers get a pre-alert about the existence of a wrong-way-driver approaching using V2X communication.
• Pedestrian Alerting System: This alert assists car drivers about a pedestrian nearby, using V2X communication, who could be coming in the way of the car. This will help the drivers to take precautionary measures to avoid a potential collision.
• Motorcycle Alerting System: Car drivers learn through V2X communication about a fast-moving 2-wheeler approaching from a blind spot and likely to collide. Real-time information is shared with the driver about the distance and direction of the approach.
• Road Condition Alerting System: The driver receives an alert of bad road conditions and cautions the driver to tread carefully ahead in the journey.
• Car as a computer: Enables all interested car users to share the idle computing capacity of the microprocessor in the car when it is not being used for driving

This is purely an exploratory project to study the applicability of V2X communication technology to the Indian context. The demonstration presented an array of possible solutions and use cases on futuristic innovative technologies. This research project has no linkage with the company’s product plan as of now.

India's Pricol Inks Strategic Tech Alliance with Californian Connected Vehicle Startup Sibros

Partnership aims to deliver Deep Connected Vehicle Solutions in the Indian and ASEAN markets

Pricol Limited (BSE: 540293; NSE: PRICOLLTD), one of India’s leading automotive technology companies, today announced a strategic technology partnership with Sibros Technologies, Inc., a California based award winning company providing Over-the-Air (OTA) connected vehicle software systems for OEMs worldwide, to deliver Deep Connected Vehicle Solutions in the Indian and ASEAN markets.

Sibros’ connected all-in-one platform will complement Pricol’s suite of products on Driver Information Systems (DIS) and Telematics to offer end-to-end solutions to the OEMs. Also the cloud based platform of Sibros combined with the next generation products of Pricol will enable features such as OTA software and firmware updates, vehicle data insights for analytics, diagnostics and troubleshooting for the OEMs to make the best use of the connected solutions.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Vikram Mohan, Managing Director, Pricol Limited said, “Connectivity and innovative mobility services are critical components of our strategy to enable software-powered products and solutions for our customers. We believe that the next generation of connected vehicles will be software and data-intensive, and will require a comprehensive suite of cloud and in-vehicle software to introduce new features and keep them updated to maximise performance, efficiency, safety and security. In Sibros, we have found an ideal partner who brings the best of Connected Vehicle suite of solutions with a global perspective.”

“We are excited to join forces with Pricol in complementing their Driver Information Systems and Telematics products to offer end to end solutions to the OEMs. Pricol is a very strong player in the Indian market, and we intend to bring together complementary products, strong domain expertise, cutting edge technologies and qualified teams to create deep connected vehicle solutions,” says Mr. Hemant Sikaria, CEO & Co-Founder, Sibros Technologies, Inc.

Image credit - www.sibros.com

 
The Sibros Deep Connected Platform (DCP) is a vertically integrated vehicle-to-cloud system combining market leading embedded firmware and SaaS applications that enable 3 core pillars for connected vehicle success. The company recently raised $70 million through Series B funding led by Energy Impact Partners (EIP) with participation from Google, Qualcomm Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Iron Pillar and existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Moneta Ventures.

About Sibros

Sibros powers the connected vehicle ecosystem with its Deep Connected Platform (DCP) for safe and secure deep software updates, data collection and diagnostics in one vertically integrated system. DCP supports the majority of vehicle network architectures right out-of-the-box and is built to the most rigorous safety, security and data privacy standards in the world, such as ISO 26262 (Functional Safety), GDPR and WP.29. Sibros empowers OEMs to reduce recalls and warranty claims and create dozens of use cases spanning fleet management, predictive maintenance, usage-based insurance, owner personalization and beyond. Most recently, Sibros was named 2021 Connected Car Platform of the Year by IoT Breakthrough Awards. Founding team members come from rich experience in companies like Tesla, Uber, Faraday Future, GM, etc. https://www.sibros.com

About Pricol

Pricol Limited is one of India’s leading automotive technology companies headquartered in Coimbatore. Pricol commenced its operations in the year 1975 in Coimbatore, South India and today it strides as a reputable global brand in the automotive component and products business, highly recognized by top automotive OEMs across the world. The company carries out its business and operations in Driver Information Systems and Sensors, Pumps and Allied Products, Telematics and Wiping Systems catering to leading automotive OEMs in Two / Three Wheeler, Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Farm Equipment and Off-Road Vehicles across India and in International Markets (45+countries) with 2000+ product variants.

Today the company has 7 manufacturing plants across Coimbatore, NCR, Pantnagar, Pune and Sricity, 1 subsidiary manufacturing plant in Satara, 1 manufacturing unit in Indonesia; and 2 international offices in Tokyo and in Singapore. Pricol Group is powered by 5000+ strong, dedicated workforce which resolutely pursues the mission to be PASSIONATE, SUSTAINABLE, DYNAMIC and EVOLVING. The logo addresses the synergistic relationship between the four stakeholders (Customers, Employees, Shareholders and Suppliers) working in a convergent manner in order to create value for each other. As, Indian markets are on the flow to march towards Electric Vehicles manufacturing, Pricol has already switched its gear to be EV ready across its product verticals. http://pricol.com

Deep Connected Vehicle Platform Sibros to Accelerate Adoption of Advanced Vehicle Connectivity Solutions on AWS

• Sibros is announcing its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• It's important because it will accelerate the demand for OTA software updates and innovations needed for the automotive industry through its embedded in-vehicle offerings. Sibros solves two problems:
• OTA software updates
• Data collection
• Since virtually everything in the vehicle is now connected and controlled by software, important vehicle updates are available OTA, and also proactively to prevent any recalls, etc.
• The Sibros platform collects high-quality, useful data, rather than everything from the vehicle; OEMs can determine what data to collect based on events that are happening.

Image ~ www.sibros.tech

Deep Connected Vehicle platform company Sibros, announced today its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the adoption of its advanced connectivity offerings for the global automotive industry. 

Sibros offers one of the world's first Deep Connectivity Platform for orchestrating total vehicle Over-the-Air (OTA) software updates with real time data logging, fleet/service management, diagnostics and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics. The platform also securely manages all in-vehicle software and data between vehicles, networks and the cloud from R&D to end-of-life, to enable the connected vehicle ecosystem of the future. This deep connectivity approach empowers vehicle makers to address hundreds of connected vehicle use cases and remedy software/electronic defects, both remotely and at scale using a single system.

The AWS Partner Network (APN) recognizes companies who are building and deploying customer applications using AWS services. Through this new collaboration, Sibros can now be discovered in the AWS Partner Solutions Finder and will participate in various joint marketing activities and events tailored for automakers.

Sibros has enabled its embedded in-vehicle software offerings with AWS leveraging AWS IoT, Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), AWS Machine Learning services, Amazon CloudFront, and other AWS products. The solution has been designed to scale from R&D fleets of 10 vehicles to production fleets of over 10 million vehicles with ready-to-run SaaS applications and a 1-click reference architecture. 

"The continued growth of connected vehicles and autonomous development is accelerating demand for new mobility solutions from predictive maintenance for fleets to advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) development," said Bill Foy, Director of Automotive, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "We're delighted to be working with Sibros and their automotive solutions. With over 300 million connected vehicles globally sold, hundreds of million lines of code, increasing complexity, and the growing frequency of recalls, our automotive customers are on alert to verify the quality and security of vehicle software to ensure driver safety." 

"With this expanded relationship, automotive customers can now rapidly deploy one of the world's most advanced vehicle connectivity solutions that's been optimized to run on their existing cloud infrastructure, tools and investments," said Xiaojian Huang, Vice President of Software for Sibros. "We look forward to bringing the combined automotive industry expertise of both Sibros and AWS to global automakers who are seeking to take their vehicle connectivity, software and data capabilities to the next level," added Huang. For more information on the Sibros Deep Connectivity Platform, visit www.sibros.tech.


About Sibros

Sibros offers the world's first Deep Connectivity Platform for whole-vehicle OTA software updates, live data collection and AI-powered analytics in a single system. The platform also securely manages all in-vehicle software and data between vehicles, networks and the cloud to enable the connected vehicle ecosystem of today and tomorrow. This transformative software-first approach empowers vehicle OEMs to address hundreds of connected vehicle use cases spanning service/fleet management, predictive maintenance, personalization, data monetization and beyond. To learn more about how Sibros is empowering OEMs to deliver never-before-available Connected Vehicle services at scale please visit https://www.sibros.tech/.

Deep Connected Vehicle platform Sibros Raises $15 Mn in Funding led by Nexus Venture Partners

• Founders grew up in India and have built a formidable presence in the global automotive industry 
• Sibros is working with India's foremost automotive OEM leaders - top makers of 2, 3 & 4 wheelers
• Use of capital will include expanding our team and presence in India (specifically Pune and Bangalore) 
• Sibros' technology is playing a crucial role in the future of India's fast growing automobile and mobility market by enabling never-before-available connected services, features and use cases - The Indian automobile market is one of the fastest growing markets globally (as per WEF report), India policy and mobility trends are driving a rapid adoption of xEV (hybrid to full EV), EV charging infrastructure, etc (e.g. National Electric Mobility Plan 2020), As such India is very uniquely positioned to become one of the largest EV markets by 2030

Deep Connected Vehicle platform company Sibros, announced today it has closed $12 million in Series A funding, bringing total capital raised to over $15 million. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Moneta Ventures and Twin Ventures. The funds will be used to expand Sibros’ product offerings, customer engagement and core teams in Silicon Valley and beyond.

The Sibros platform connects and manages all vehicle software inventory and configurations to orchestrate full in-vehicle firmware updates as well as deep data collection from every sensor and component for advanced analytics. This deep vehicle-to-cloud approach enables automakers to use one system for all use cases, from delivering new connected apps and services to addressing software/firmware defects and critical updates — entirely over-the-air (OTA) and at programmatic scale.

As automakers cope with rising costs and falling consumer demand, they must innovate new business models while controlling easily preventable costs. In 2019, OEMs experienced a record-setting number of electronic component and software related recalls that impacted 15.1 million vehicles for the US market alone, up 30% year-over-year, signaling a growing challenge for automakers in years to come with the rise of electric and autonomous vehicles.

Hemant Sikaria, Sibros CEO

“The acceleration of the software-defined vehicle has thrown automakers into a chaotic new maze of software and data management complexity,” said Hemant Sikaria, CEO of Sibros. “In order to stay ahead and enable new functionalities, OEMs must adopt a software-first approach throughout the entire vehicle lifecycle. Sibros is privileged to have the trust of our customers to help drive this charge.

The backbone of the Sibros platform is its Secured Deployment Manager for performing customizable software campaigns, fleet management and systematic software/firmware rollouts via an all-in-one User Interface. Features include the ability to send OTA calibrations to electrical components, update vehicle configurations, improve diagnostics and perform predictive failure detection, as well as enabling new connected services such as usage-based insurance, driver personalization or in-vehicle payment for goods and services for food, parking and tolling.

Product Visual - OTA Software Deployment-Sibros

“Sibros has grown rapidly in a short time by building a unique software platform to help global automakers adapt to transportation mega-trends that are reshaping our global economy,” said Abhishek Sharma, Principal at Nexus Venture Partners. “We are thrilled to support this highly experienced team doing important work to support the future of mobility. 

About Sibros 

Led by a team of former Tesla, Faraday and Uber engineers, Sibros’ mission is to connect and manage the software and data for every vehicle throughout the entire lifecycle, from R&D to end-of-life. The company’s Deep Connected Vehicle platform enables advanced OTA software updates and vehicle data collection for every ECU, software inventory management, preventive maintenance and more from a single solution. Sibros empowers OEMs to remedy non-trivial software and hardware defects, control warranty reserve costs and monetize new connected vehicle apps and services. For more information on the Silicon Valley-based company, visit www.sibros.tech.

About Nexus Venture Partners 

Nexus Venture Partners is a leading early-stage venture capital firm partnering with extraordinary entrepreneurs building product-first companies. With $1.5B under management, Nexus operates as one team across the US and India. The Nexus family includes Aryaka, Biz2Credit, Cloud.com, Clover Health, Delhivery, Druva, Gluster, H2O.ai, Hasura, Headspin, Kaltura, Mezi, Observe.ai, OLX, Paysense, Postman, Pubmatic, Rancher, Snapdeal, Unacademy, Whitehatjr, and Zomato. For more information, visit

Connected Vehicle 2020 to Be Held in Bengaluru

• Three-day event will witness the participation of more than 60 speakers & 80


• Industry stalwarts will share their experiences and thoughts on unfolding business opportunities

Telematics Wire is organising the fifth edition of the biggest Connected Vehicle show on 3rd, 4th & 5th March 2020, at Radisson Blu. The international conference and exhibition will have participation of more than 1200 registered delegates, 80 exhibitors, and 60 speakers. Vehicle displays and the exhibition will be open to visitors. There will be 10 sessions discussing the pressing issues and the future of the automotive industry, i.e., connected, autonomous, smart, shared & electric mobility.

India is a fast-emerging market for connected vehicle business along with vehicle telematics which is developing quite promisingly in the country. Telematics-enabled mobility is the key to the implementation of Intelligent Transportation System, which is expected to drive the future of connected transportation. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has taken laudable initiatives regarding road safety to reduce road accidents.

Government policies encouraging and mandating the provision of a certified vehicle location tracking device and one or more emergency buttons in public transport vehicles is likely to enhance safety and security. As the ministry is also planning to make ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) a mandatory feature in the upcoming vehicles by early 2022, the time has come for the industry to step up and support the government to incorporate these technologies in the ITS infrastructure.

“Over the next few years, we will see many applications and services based on ‘Connected Vehicle'. Also, the automotive & transportation industry will see huge investment in cyber security, blockchain, data analytics and AI/ML. All this call for continued deliberations amongst the subject matter experts and interest groups on Connected Vehicle platform,” said Maneesh Prasad, CEO, Telematics Wire.

His Excellency, Brendan Ward, the Ambassador of Ireland to India said, “The technology sector in Ireland is leading the mobility revolution, be it disruptive technologies, hardware and/or data services that support autonomous, connected, electric and shared technologies. Through our participation in the CV2020 conference, we aim to reach out to the Auto industry to showcase the Irish technology ecosystem and share all the latest developments in the sector, while welcoming Indian companies to visit Ireland to witness the ecosystem themselves.”

Topics such as Intelligent Connectivity, ADAS Adoption & Exploring Vehicle Autonomy, Simulation & Testing, Emerging Technologies like AI, ML, Blockchain, Speech & Voice Recognition, Intelligent Cloud & Data Management, M2M & IoT Solutions in Smart City Mobility, Connected Vehicle Cyber Security and Automotive Telematics are just a few among many of the hot topics that will give the audience an insight into the future of vehicles. Utmost care has been taken in choosing the topics that are relevant to the present times and will help in coming out with the solutions to make the future more connected and sustainable.

“With an aim to create a highly interactive, knowledge-sharing and networking platform for the connected and autonomous vehicle ecosystem, Connected Vehicle 2020 will drive new business opportunities and foster innovation,” further added by Maneesh Prasad.

Industry experts from Maruti Suzuki, Daimler, Groupe PSA, Tata Motors, Ford Motor Company, Mahindra Electric, Volvo Group, Škoda Auto Volkswagen India, Piaggio Vehicles, Mercedes-Benz, VE Commercial Vehicles, TVS Motor Company, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra and Mahindra, Renault-Nissan, Eicher Motors, Hyundai, and Royal Enfield, among others are some of the leading automobile manufacturers participating in the three-day conference and exhibition.

Thomas Fricke, Managing Director, Daimler Buses India said, “As a global market leader, Daimler Buses drives innovative solutions for its customers. India provides a perfect framework for connected mobility solutions. Thus, here in India, we have now with BS VI, the chance to bring an intelligent Passenger-Transport-Ecosystem to the customers, which enables Fleet Operators and Customers to ride with our Buses unconditionally. Our BusConnect app for passengers enables them to live track their bus and get alerts as it reaches their boarding location. Our BusConnect portal helps fleet owners to manage their fleet more efficiently and reap better profits. We are happy to have the chance to explain this cutting-edge technology at Connected Vehicle 2020.”

“I would like to thank Telematics Wire for organizing ‘Connected Vehicle 2020' which brings the connected vehicles industry closer to the stakeholders and gives an opportunity to showcase the emerging technologies in the connected vehicle space. At Piaggio, we believe in providing path-breaking solutions in the last mile transportation segment with best in class technology offerings to our customers. Taking forward the same philosophy, we have recently launched Ape' Electrik brand, under which, we are developing both Swappable & Fixed Battery technology solutions to serve the varied needs of the customer,” said Diego Graffi, MD & CEO, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd.

Connected Vehicle 2020 has already confirmed the attendance of sponsors such as SecureThings, MSC Software Corporation (Part of Hexagon), Elektrobit, Tata Communications, Aptiv, Wind River, MathWorks, Western Digital, Intel, Zilogic Systems, IDA Ireland, SBD Automotive, ESCRYPT, Infineon Technologies, Escort Monitoring Systems, LitePoint, Umlaut, Continental, Trak N Tell and Omnicomm. In order to bring together all the major stakeholders, domain experts, thought leaders, government officials, and industry professionals, Connected Vehicle 2020 has opened registration for Visitors. Those interested automotive enthusiasts can visit the conference website at www.CV2020.in and register online to book their seats.

Connected Cars Poised to Become Common Phenomenon in India: Report

Connected cars are set to become a common phenomenon in the Indian market in the near future with rapid adoption of electric vehicles, according to a Deloitte report.

As per the 2020 Global Automotive Consumer Study by Deloitte, an annual report which comes up with insights on the automotive industry globally, the Indian market is expected to witness enhanced interest and demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and connected vehicles going forward.

"Connected cars are poised to become a common phenomenon in India in the near future. And their relevance in the next few years is only bound to increase with the expected wide-scale adoption of EVs where connectivity features will help owners locate nearby charging stations and access telematics data among several other things," the study outlined.

The consumers' willingness to pay for advanced and connected technologies has improved over the last two years which is evident in the rising sales of cars that are internet connected, despite the slowdown in sale of passenger vehicles, it added.

"A substantial number of people are talking about their willingness to pay about Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh extra for connected services in their cars," Deloitte India Partner Rajeev Singh said while elaborating on the findings regarding the Indian market.

Besides, the study reveals that people are looking keenly at entry of affordable products in the electric vehicle segment, Singh added.

"Moreover, in the time to come OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), are expected to struggle to get consumers to pay for advanced connectivity features, even when it means increasing road safety. The perception of Indian with respect to safety while driving connected vehicles is also very low," the study noted.

The study also stated that in India automobile OEMs are not the top choice in terms of trust for sharing of data by consumers.

Indians make up the top demographic region that is concerned about security of biometric data shared with connected vehicles, it noted.

"With the introduction of Personal Data Protection Act, the automotive industry would need to add another layer of regulation to balance benefits of connectivity with protection of consumer data," the report said.

The report also said the number of people reporting at least occasional use of ride-hailing services has increased in the last few years as consumers see multiple benefits in it. PTI MSS

Mahindra To Invest $1 Mn in Connected Car IoT-Device Startup Carsense For 23% Stake

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd will be investing about $1 million (~₹ 6-Crore) in Mumbai-based connected car IoT-device making startup Carsense (formerly Carnot) for 22.9% stake in Carnot Technologies Pvt Ltd, the parent company of brand name Carsense.

The funds will used by the startup to bolster its product line by strengthening technology solutions, said a report by VCCircle.

As part of the deal, Mahindra will acquire up to 1,296 equity shares and subscribe up to 6,074 compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares of Carnot Technologies, said Mahindra, in a stock-exchange disclosure.

Founded in 2015 by IIT Bombay alumni Urmil Shah, Pushkar Limaye, Rohan Vadgaonkar and Prathamesh Joshi, Carsense is an IoT device that connects a user’s car or bike to their smartphone. The device then send alerts to users if their car/bike is being towed or stolen. It also recognises if the car/bike suffers an accident and informs emergency contacts in such a scenario. The device also measures mileage and shares analytics and insights to improve it. Using the device, car/bike owners can also share their road trips on social media platforms.

CarSense was one of the three startups selected by chipmaker Qualcomm for its Qualcomm Design in India Challenge in year 2016. Earlier in November 2015, the startup had also raised a seed round of funding from Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon, the founders of FreeCharge. In 2017, the startup launched its smar car device on online marketplace Amazon India.

Carsense posted a turnover of ₹1.2 crore in FY 2016-17.

The vehicle diagnostics market was estimated to be $13.91 Billion in 2016, and is projected to grow to $30.22 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 16.79% from 2016 to 2021.

With Carsense, Mahindra is probably aims to capture the piece of vehicle diagnostic market in India as it is to be noted that in 2012 Mahindra introduced the BLUE SENSE app for the XUV50, an SUV it manufactures. This app could sync with the vehicle's infotainment system via Bluetooth and users were not only able to control the music / radio channels but also view vehicle information on their smartphone such as climate control, distance to empty, tyre pressure, vehicle service reminder, door-open warning etc. However, it was limited to android phones only. Mahindra however couldn't succeed with this and over the time it became obsolete.

Last week, Mahindra picked up a 16% stake in Bengaluru-based self-drive car rental startup Zoomcar for $27.6 million as part of a Series C round of funding worth $40 million (Rs 256 crore).

Before that, an another homegrown automobile components major Bharat Forge picked up 45% stake in Pune-based electric vehicle startup TORK.

Mahindra To Invest $1 Mn in Connected Car IoT-Device Startup Carsense For 23% Stake

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd will be investing about $1 million (~₹ 6-Crore) in Mumbai-based connected car IoT-device making startup Carsense (formerly Carnot) for 22.9% stake in Carnot Technologies Pvt Ltd, the parent company of brand name Carsense.

The funds will used by the startup to bolster its product line by strengthening technology solutions, said a report by VCCircle.

As part of the deal, Mahindra will acquire up to 1,296 equity shares and subscribe up to 6,074 compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares of Carnot Technologies, said Mahindra, in a stock-exchange disclosure.

Founded in 2015 by IIT Bombay alumni Urmil Shah, Pushkar Limaye, Rohan Vadgaonkar and Prathamesh Joshi, Carsense is an IoT device that connects a user’s car or bike to their smartphone. The device then send alerts to users if their car/bike is being towed or stolen. It also recognises if the car/bike suffers an accident and informs emergency contacts in such a scenario. The device also measures mileage and shares analytics and insights to improve it. Using the device, car/bike owners can also share their road trips on social media platforms.

CarSense was one of the three startups selected by chipmaker Qualcomm for its Qualcomm Design in India Challenge in year 2016. Earlier in November 2015, the startup had also raised a seed round of funding from Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon, the founders of FreeCharge. In 2017, the startup launched its smar car device on online marketplace Amazon India.

Carsense posted a turnover of ₹1.2 crore in FY 2016-17.

The vehicle diagnostics market was estimated to be $13.91 Billion in 2016, and is projected to grow to $30.22 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 16.79% from 2016 to 2021.

With Carsense, Mahindra is probably aims to capture the piece of vehicle diagnostic market in India as it is to be noted that in 2012 Mahindra introduced the BLUE SENSE app for the XUV50, an SUV it manufactures. This app could sync with the vehicle's infotainment system via Bluetooth and users were not only able to control the music / radio channels but also view vehicle information on their smartphone such as climate control, distance to empty, tyre pressure, vehicle service reminder, door-open warning etc. However, it was limited to android phones only. Mahindra however couldn't succeed with this and over the time it became obsolete.

Last week, Mahindra picked up a 16% stake in Bengaluru-based self-drive car rental startup Zoomcar for $27.6 million as part of a Series C round of funding worth $40 million (Rs 256 crore).

Before that, an another homegrown automobile components major Bharat Forge picked up 45% stake in Pune-based electric vehicle startup TORK.

Mahindra, Wipro Jointly Launches A Connected Device To Turn Your Car To 'Smart Car'

Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd (MFCWL), which is Mahindra's multi-brand certified used car company, has launched Konnect First -- a connected car device designed to upgrade your car into a Smart Car. Konnect First is touted as India's 1st connected car solution for multi-brand pre-owned cars.

Conceptualised by MFCWL, the device has been developed by Wipro Limited, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. Konnect First will be available at more than 1500 MFCWL franchise outlets across 700+ cities through the country.

Konnect First, an intelligent connected drive solution, enables the car owner to interact with the vehicle and stay connected to it via a mobile app, available on both iOS and Android platforms. With several class-leading features, it offers the car owner a comprehensive package of safety, loss prevention, utility, maintenance and driving analytics in one seamless interface, thus providing complete peace of mind when it comes to the well-being of the car and its owner. The sleek device is compatible with 200+ car variants across brands and can be easily plugged into the car’s OBD port to allow the driver access to a suite of additional functions.

Konnect First priced at INR 7,999 comes with a complimentary 1 year app subscription. It also offers a 1-year warranty and after-market customer support.

"The automotive industry is at the cusp of a revolution with new technologies changing the way we drive. We see no reason why a pre-owned car owner should not have access to these. Mahindra First Choice Wheels is focused on bringing in the latest technologies through innovative solutions for pre-owned car owners in order to make the ownership and driving experience as enjoyable and satisfying as that of a new car owner. We are happy to have Wipro partner us in this endeavour," said Dr. Nagendra Palle, MD & CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd.

"Technology-driven innovations are helping the automotive industry create disruptive and differentiated customer experiences, and engender a whole new value ecosystem. Wipro is delighted to have partnered with Mahindra First Choice Wheels Limited in their connected car endeavour, aimed at providing seamless driving experiences for their customers. Powered by IoT telematics, analytics and the end user’s mobile/web applications and voice interfaces, Wipro’s AutoInsights platform forms the backbone of the Konnect First solution," said Sreenath A V, Senior Vice President, India Business Unit, Wipro Limited.

Konnect First offers several industry first features in one seamless package.

Safety: Instant Location sharing, Real-time vehicle tracking, Roadside Assistance, Risk Cluster, SOS Alerts.

Security and Loss Prevention: Tow alerts, Break-in Protection, Valet Protect and Fatigue Driving Alerts.

Maintenance: Battery Voltage, Engine Coolant and Vehicle Health Monitoring alerts.

Utility Features: Vehicle Insights, Trip Listing & Analytics, Dynamic Leaderboard, Driving Summary, Driving Profile Analytics,

2017 was a pivotal year for MFCWL. The company extended its leadership position in the used car industry with a strong performance in all areas of the business. The company reported an 80% growth in transaction revenues and over 200% growth in its technology enabled businesses. With these technology enabled solutions, MFCWL is focused on enabling its customers (institutional clients, dealers and consumers) to achieve high levels of transparency and efficiency in a sector otherwise largely unorganised in nature.

Alibaba to lift up covers from Its First Internet-Connected Car in April

Chinese ecommerce giant, Alibaba is all set to take covers off from its first internet car in April. Informing about the technology used in the ‘Smart Car’, Wang Jian, Chief Technology Officer,internet character is one of the car’s technological innovations. However, he didn’t reveal the further details of the SUV and commented that the inside details will be revealed during the launch.

The car jointly developed by Alibaba and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) is equipped with real car-based smart operation system which has proprietary intellectual property rights.

This will be an energy-saving car whose battery will retain 80 percent of its storage capacity after running 160,000 km. Internet cars adopt technologies including computer, modern sensor, information fusion, telecommunication, artificial intelligence and automatic control.

Independent development of smart operation system plays a key role in the process to transform an ordinary car to an internet car. In order to fulfill this task, Alibaba arranged over 800 researchers for the project and invested billions of dollars into the project.

“The internet car will not only promote people-to-car communication, it will expand car-to-car, car-to-road, and car-to-infrastructure communication too,” adds Wang.

What's your opinion on this story of ours?Please let us know in comment section