From fleet management systems to 360-degree video mining solutions
When Silicon Valley startups pitch to potential investors, they like to include a slide or two describing their eureka moment when the founders hit on the brilliant idea that inspired them embark on their journey to change the world.
The story of our entry into the automotive business is a lot more prosaic. It started with the development of fleet management systems for customers in the transportation and logistics industry and evolved organically as we developed successive generations of products to meet their growing compute and connectivity requirements.
The launch of the Smart IoT Mobility System that we designed and built in collaboration with Japan Taxi, one of the country’s largest taxi companies, provided tangible proof of the huge potential of the market for smart in-vehicle systems for enabling ride-hailing, vehicle monitoring, and a host of other real-time B2C and B2B services.
The system comprised a ruggedized small form factor VIA AMOS-825 and a 7” touch panel display. During the course of its development we carried out extensive optimizations to the system hardware to ensure that it could withstand the rigors of the road, including 9–36V voltage input, a wide temperature range, and the ability to withstand 70G shock and 7Grms vibration. Other key optimizations we carried out were GPS location tuning for pinpoint tracking and navigation and enabling CAN bus support for the capture of vehicle data such as speed and fuel consumption.
In 2017, we expanded our in-vehicle systems offerings with launch of the VIA Mobile360 Surround View System. VIA Mobile360 Surround View was one of the first systems on the global market to deliver real-time in-vehicle 360° remote monitoring, recording, and tracking capabilities. It utilizes VIA Multi-Stitch Technology to seamlessly combine multiple camera feeds on the fly to create an all-encompassing 360° view that boost situational awareness for drivers of long and heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches, and mining equipment.
Since the launch of VIA Mobile360 Surround View, we have continued to enhance the performance and functionality of the system through the development of more advanced ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), 360° video processing¸ and DMS (Driver Monitoring System). In addition, we have forged close partnerships with leading automotive camera and sensor makers to provide a highly-scalable solution that can be customized to meet specific installation requirements.
Stories about eureka moments are great for generating a short-term pop among investors and the media, but it’s only through relentless innovation and a laser-like focus on customer needs that you can building a long-term narrative that resonates with a much wider audience.
