Porsche to install Israeli autonomous technology into future vehicles

Porsche, the sportscar subsidiary of German carmaker Volkswagen, will
implement in its future vehicles technology developed by Haifa-based
Autotech startup Tactile Mobility, the companies announced on Monday at the
start of the eighth annual EcoMotion Conference, this year held online due
to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Founded in 2012 and incorporated as MobiWize Solutions Ltd., Tactile
Mobility develops technology that analyzes data from car sensors and enables
autonomous vehicles to get a feel of the road, using tactile data and
artificial intelligence. The company’s system can also provide information
about the vehicle’s condition, including engine and brake efficiency. The
real-time data is generated from the car’s non-visual, existing sensors and
turns it into actionable insights such as road quality, tire grip and
vehicle weight.

The technology can be used in autonomous cars, but also in cars with
computers that include adaptive driving systems. Porsche’s policy is to
build cars for people who like to drive, therefore Tactile Mobility’s system
will not be used in this case as part of the development of an autonomous
version but rather to aid drivers during the journey, for example
automatically drive the car during a traffic jam.
Tactile Mobility raised $9 million last October, with Porsche and Union Tech
Ventures leading the round.

“Tactile Mobility is a software and data company that grants smart
autonomous vehicles with the ability to feel the road,” explained Amit
Nisenbaum, CEO of Tactile Mobility. “We are very proud to announce that we
will embed our software in Porsche vehicles in order to make them smarter,
more enjoyable to drive, and safer to drive.”

Manuel Höll, General Manager Chassis SW-Development Porsche, said Porsche is
still adamant that the best way to drive its cars is with one’s own hands,
but that doesn’t mean that the company isn’t moving forward with the times.

“Porsche is known worldwide for its famous sports cars and products, but as
all automotive manufacturers in recent times Porsche is continuing to look
forward to improving its product and offer new products and innovate in new
ways, including investigating the development of autonomous driving
technology,” Höll said.

In other conference news, CEVT (China Euro Vehicle Technology AB) announced
it run open innovation in Tel Aviv and Oulu in Finland where startups and
entrepreneurs can get the change to test their solutions on CEVT’s already
developed products.

“We want to explore what happens if we open up for a co-creation culture and
combine two vibrant high-tech ecosystems. Our intent is to increase
disruptive innovation”, said Mikael Rönnholm, head of innovation, strategy,
and collaboration at CEVT, an innovation center for the Chinese-owned
Zheijang Geely Holding Group (owner of Volvo Cars) based out of Gothenburg,
Sweden.