Automotive News - February 1, 2021 - 17

FEBRUARY 1, 2021 * 17

SHIFT MOBILITY REPORT

FIELDS

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think a number of these companies that have gone
public in the last six months via [special-purpose
acquisition companies] are going to run into both
financial and operational issues in 2021 and 2022,
which is going to be a cause for concern for investors but also potentially for customers that have
either signed up for vehicles or OEMs that have
agreed to use those suppliers.
Could a completely new agenda be rolled
out at some major Tier 1s moving forward?
Absolutely. A number of new CEOs are looking
at their businesses and trying to project and say,
what does the future of the industry look like in the
next five to seven years, and how can I position my
company for success based upon our core competencies? You'll see a number of CEOs move pretty
quickly to establish their agendas, which in some
cases may be looking at certain traditional elements of their business and saying, this doesn't fit
for our growth profile going forward, and we'll
think of some other alternatives to put that business in a different position.

Do automakers and suppliers have to form
partnerships in order to realize the right
amount of capital allocation?
It's very clear that the remit for these OEMs and
the costs to develop those things are quite large,
and so they're going to need partners that not only
bring capital, but talent to allow them to be successful. And let's face it, the relationships are
stronger than they were 10 years ago. [But] when
you look at even the first dollar of revenue of some
of these technologies, whether it be autonomous
or otherwise, that's very far out. The first dollar of
profit is even further out.
What does the road ahead look like as the
industry continues to feel the pressure of
advancing technology?
I think the good news is you have lots of new
players in the auto industry, dabbling in the auto
industry, whether it's around providing an autonomous vehicle or autonomous technology,
around electrification. The more ideas we get in
this industry, the better. The problem is, I think
you're going to see some damage and some roadkill along the way, and that's why both investors
and automakers have to be very wary and make

B2V

Companies work
on guidelines
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Trek, Ford and Tome began working on B2V four years ago, a unique
collaboration among a bike company, an automaker and a tech startup.
The partners have since worked with
others in the industry with similar
goals for B2V standards.
" Without that structure, we felt
strongly that you would not be able
to get [B2V] deployed in production, "
said Tome CEO Jake Sigal. " We've
seen that in auto before with AV safety standards, but we haven't seen
much of that on the consumer side.
And unlike automobiles, bicycles
and scooters aren't going to be regulated. There's always going to be
someone that's going to be riding a
vintage, 1979 Schwinn bicycle. "
Last month, Tome, Trek and Ford

Sigal: Would need to agree on the
minimum requirements for B2V

- along with auto supplier Bosch;
cycling technology company Hammerhead; and bicycle components
makers Shimano, Specialized and
SRAM - joined SAE Industry Technologies, an affiliate of SAE International, to create a formal nine-member consortium.
" The key here is getting an agreeable standard framework for making
changes to existing messages as well
as what's required or what's option-

sure they do thorough due diligence, particularly
if they're going to team up with one of these startups for providing a component or a system or a
technology in their vehicles.
What's your view on where we are now
with ride-hailing and ride-sharing business
models?
I do think autonomous vehicles do have a bright
future. The question is, how large? If you look at
what's changed over the last year from a COVID
standpoint, a lot more consumers are reticent to
get into a vehicle that's shared. They might think of,
these days, a personally owned vehicle as personal
protection equipment. On the same token, what
has not changed is if you look at cities, major urban
areas, they're still very congested, very densely
populated, and people owning their own vehicles
is prohibitively expensive. That need is still there.
Those forward-thinking ride-sharing companies
are going to think of ways and algorithms to try
and give rides to people that actually will allow
them to get there in a quick period of time. And for
those that don't allow it, they may assign just regular drivers for that versus autonomy. But it's coming. It's just coming slower than expected. a

al, " Sigal said. " Nothing we're doing
will be required equipment on a vehicle or a bicycle. Having this technology is optional; but if you're going
to do it, and it's going to be B2V-certified, then we need to agree on what
are the minimum requirements you
need in order to put B2V on packaging, per se. "
The challenge of creating these
standards?
" Not only do you have to get the bicycle and consumer device companies like mobile phones, like accessory companies, to all agree on standards, you then also have to get vehicles to accept any sort of a framework for bringing in these messages, "
Sigal said.
But, " instead of coming up with a
new standard to develop, we're basing our work on the existing standards that SAE has that already have
industry-standard buy-in from the
automotive industry. "
The group's members are developing prototypes, some of which were

QUALCOMM
'Not just focused
on the silicon'
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Colin Barnden, Semicast Research
principal analyst, told Automotive
News. " What we saw was Qualcomm
signaling a clear priority for AI to
both make human drivers into safer
drivers and also to enhance the
in-cabin user experience. "
Qualcomm works with 20 automakers around the globe, and 150
million vehicles containing its modems are on the road, according to
Nakul Duggal, the company's senior
vice president and general manager
of its automotive division.
Although the company's foray into
the auto industry was first premised on
its chips, they are not a sole focus now.
" We're not just focused on the silicon, but everything around the silicon, " he said. " The AI, application
stacks, services. The auto industry is
changing inside out. The car is changing. The definition of a transportation
network is changing. The software
that defines the car is changing. "
For Qualcomm, that means advancing its Snapdragon Ride plat-

General Motors will use Qualcomm's third-gen Snapdragon cockpit platform.

form, 5G connectivity for V2X connected-vehicle applications, cockpit
software, content apps and services
and life cycle management.
Among the developments the
company rolled out at its showcase:
An extension and expansion of

work with GM. The automaker will use
Qualcomm's third-generation Snapdragon cockpit platform. The companies also teamed to add cellular V2X
capability on a Buick model that recently launched in China. Further V2X
work around the globe is expected.
Also, Qualcomm says it has more contracts for its current-generation system, with the likes of LG Electronics
Inc., Google, Panasonic and Visteon.
Driver-monitoring partnerships. In

a boost for driver-assist features, Qual-

comm will partner with Seeing Machines, a supplier of driver-monitoring technology. Driver monitoring has
been added to European New Car Assessment Program regulations, increasing automaker desire for new
solutions. Qualcomm also will partner
with Veoneer software unit Arriver.
Work with Amazon. The Snap

dragon cockpit platform will arrive
with a " pre-integration " of Amazon
Alexa that can be customized for automaker preferences.
The semiconductor shortage rippling through the auto industry certainly has short-term implications,
Duggal said. But he anticipates it
won't postpone any of the longer-term plans.
At the onset of the pandemic,

demonstrated during CES last
month.
Trek, for instance, is directly integrating B2V sensors into its taillight,
which is designed to alert drivers of
the presence of a cyclist.
Ford is testing the technology as
part of its advanced driver-assistance system. Specialized is working
to integrate B2V technology with its
Ride cycling app.
The pandemic boosted bike and
scooter ridership in cities around the
globe. Increasing ridership has necessitated better infrastructure, such
as more dedicated bike lanes in city
centers, as well as greater focus on
cyclist and rider safety.
" We think this bike boom is sustainable, and we think that this purchase boom is actually going to
dovetail nicely into a riding boom, "
Bjorling said. " This work becomes
even more important now than ever
before, in that you're going to have
more people on the roads in general. " n
" some automakers took the foot off
the gas and sent signals that I think
really got the auto industry a little bit
de-prioritized across various semiconductor suppliers, " Duggal said.
" Then as demand for work-fromhome applications grew, that's
where the attention was diverted. It
was immediate in some cases. And
now there is some catching up that is
happening. But it is really across the
board. "
Behind the flurry of announcements lies a need to provide automakers with the means to evolve and
grow features across their lineups on
a scalable platform and offer the ability to provide over-the-air updates.
Gone are the days when automakers could start with a blank sheet
with each make and model, Duggal
said. Automakers need to maintain
platforms from one generation to the
next and ensure they can tailor features across makes and models.
" One major challenge in the industry has been the inability to reuse the
platforms they build, and part of the
reason for that is the inherent nature
of how purchasing works, " Duggal
said. " You look at a customer like GM,
and obviously they're massively transforming. We are part and parcel for
the innovation they are driving. " a

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Automotive News - February 1, 2021

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