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Top News:
👍 Hexagon Completes the Acquisitions of the Geomagic Software Suite and Septentrio NV. “Hexagon announced the closing of two acquisitions: 3D Systems‘ Geomagic and Septentrio NV, first announced in January.”
😕 Honda fined $632K for violating California Consumer Privacy Act. “The California Privacy Protection Agency is fining American Honda Motor Co. $632,500 to resolve claims that the company violated the state’s Consumer Privacy Act when collecting data from its vehicles.”
🛰 Sierra Space Demonstrates Resilient GPS Satellite Technology for National Security-Focused U.S. Space Force Satellite Program. “Sierra Space has announced a successful demonstration of the company’s Resilient GPS (R-GPS) technology for the U.S. Space Force (USSF). The demonstration, generating all GPS navigation signals required for the R-GPS mission, was achieved in collaboration with General Dynamics Mission Systems.”
🤔 China’s GPS Rival BeiDou Prepares to Take off as Beijing Moves to Strengthen Home-Grown Satellite Navigation. “Chinese satnav industry hits $74 billion output, has 20,000 market entities and employs nearly 1 million people. During Vladimir Putin‘s visit to China last week, Beijing and Moscow vowed to strengthen cooperation applying BeiDou and Russia’s GLONASS system.”
👌 Netmore Signs LoRaWan Deals for Port IoT Networks, Industry IoT Devices. “Sweden-based Netmore Group, attempting to build a global LoRaWAN network, has announced IoT airtime and infrastructure deals with Danish supply chain management firm Zenze for cargo monitoring and with UK-based IoT solutions provider Alliot Technologies for various enterprise solutions.”
⚡ Wireless Logic Strikes Again With Deal for Brazilian IoT MVNO Arqia. “Wireless Logic has acquired Brazil’s Arqia to grow its IoT airtime and services in Latin America.”
😦 Garmin Sparks Outrage with Connect+ Subscription Paywall. “Garmin GRMN -15.52%↓ Connect+ has angered users.”
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
Maps:
👍 ArcGIS Desktop Is Retiring. “To continue progressing and problem-solving with a geographic approach, Esri is retiring ArcGIS Desktop, including ArcMap and ArcCatalog, and migrating to updated user types—a role-based licensing model that provides access to advanced functionality and insights through ArcGIS Pro.”
🌍 Aviation Solutions by Schiphol Group and Mappedin Partner. “Mappedin and Aviation Solutions by Schiphol have parterned to power Aviation Solutions’ Travor ecosystem with indoor mapping.”
📱 iPhone Users in the EU Can Now Set Google Maps as Their Default Navigation App. “Google GOOG -0.53%↓ on Friday released a major update for Google Maps users on iOS, at least for those in the European Union. With the latest version of the app, iPhone users can now set Google Maps as their default navigation app, completely replacing Apple Maps.”
👍 Gemini in Google Maps Will Find Places Saved in Your Screenshots. “A new Screenshots List in the app will let you “Review” those captures, with Gemini “automatically identify[ing] places” and asking whether you want to “Save” it. Google GOOG -0.53%↓ can identify multiple places in one screenshot and will show the listing at the bottom with more details.”
📲 Google Maps Redesigns Directions Overview with Arrival Time on Android. “Google Maps has made a small redesign to the heavily used directions interface that provides an overview of trip details. Previously, Google Maps displayed the trip overview in three dense lines, which left a lot of empty space on the right. The color-coded duration is now split over two lines on the left-hand side, and much larger than before. It’s a good way to emphasize that primary piece of information.”
🌧 Google Brings Back the Pixel Weather Map. “The map takes up most of your screen, with a 6-hour timeline at the bottom and play/pause button. This weather map is powered by the same model behind Google Nowcast.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🏛 GM and Cruise Sued by Investors for Misrepresenting AV Advancements. “On the financial side, the lawsuit claims that GM GM -1.14%↓ asserted its AV subsidiary and its robotaxis are ‘a key element of GM’s growth strategy’ worth about $30 billion, greater than 50 percent of the company’s entire market cap at the time.”
🤨 NHTSA Closes Probe Into 258 Zoox Vehicles After Amazon’s Robotaxi Unit Updates Software. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has closed its probe into 258 Zoox vehicles over a braking issue, after the Amazon AMZN -2.95%↓ self-driving car unit recalled them and updated their software.”
🚗 Waymo Expands to New Areas of Los Angeles. “The company said it was venturing further into certain neighborhoods, adding service near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and HHLA shopping center in Westchester as part of its Waymo One service. It previously announced those expansion plans last month.”
😑 Tesla Removes ‘FSD’ Name From Its Autonomous Tech in China After Regulators Halt Program. “Stricter oversight from China’s government has forced Tesla to change the name of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, which isn’t actually fully autonomous. In China, FSD, which operates at a Level 2 out of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 5 self-driving levels, will now be marketed under Intelligent Assisted Driving instead of its previous FSD Intelligent Assisted Driving label.”
🚘 Hesai Lidar Exclusively Powers Baidu Apollo Go’s Deployment of Over 1,000 L4 Autonomous Vehicles in Dubai. “Hesai Technology HSAI 0.36%↑ has announced that its lidar solution will power Apollo Go‘s expansion into Dubai. The announcement follows the agreement signed between Hesai and Baidu Apollo in July 2024. The fleet is expected to scale to 1,000 vehicles.”
👉 Self-Driving Tech Company Now Driverless in Five Countries. “WeRide received permits to operate self-driving vehicles in France, joining China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and the United States.”
😮 Leading Autonomous Vehicle Company Collected 589 Parking Tickets Last Year in San Francisco. “Waymo’s fleet received almost 600 tickets last year—but this number may actually represent progress in autonomous technology development.”
🤞 Hyundai Goes All In On Connected Cars With New ‘Pleos’ Software.
🖐 Assisted Driving Tech in Focus After Fatal Electric Car Crash in China. “A popular electric vehicle made by the Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi crashed into a concrete guardrail while deploying its autonomous driving feature. Three people died.”
Fleet Telematics:
🚚 Solera Launches Solera Fleet Platform. “Solera has launched its Solera Fleet Platform that features real-time monitoring tools.”
🚛 AirgainConnect Fleet 5G Vehicle Gateway Certified on Verizon’s 5G Network. “Airgain AIRG -6.18%↓ announced that its AirgainConnect Fleet 5G Vehicle Gateway has been certified on Verizon’s VZ 1.93%↑ 5G network
🚍 Samsara Launches Electronic Brake Performance Monitoring System. “EBPMS and TPMS are part of Samsara’s Smart Trailer solution, which features GPS tracking with real-time visibility.”
🛥 Osmosis Becomes Distributor of STW Technic’s Telematics Hardware. “Osmosis‘s software includes advanced features such as GPS location tracking, technical support, battery monitoring, digital boat manuals, service reminders, and diagnostics.”
Financial:
🙁 Luokung Technology Faces Nasdaq Delisting.
