CloudCar is a platform company that provides voice-enabled infotainment services and machine learning capabilities to automakers to deliver a personalized in-vehicle experience. By integrating various cloud-based content providers and processing driver intent, CloudCar aims to simplify the infotainment experience for drivers while also allowing automakers to maintain control over their brand and data. Under the new leadership of CEO Philipp Popov, CloudCar is working with several global automakers and expanding its offerings to remain at the cutting edge of connected vehicle technology.

1. Philipp Popov
CloudCar
CEOBrand of the Month
Emission Regulations Recharging Enviroment
www.insightssuccess.com
2019 Vol- 7 Issue- 4

4. utomobiles! For some it’s a mere mode of transport, and for some wannabe enthusiasts like me it’s an emotion. Since
Athe introduction of Ford’s revolutionary Model T and VW’s Beetle, the automotive industry has come a long way.
Now Ford doesn’t manufacture the Model T which could have been severely outdated by today’s standard and VW’s
Beetle is not exactly a common man’s car nowadays.
Currently the automotive industry is witnessing a massive shift with many important evolutions that are taking place. Cars
that were used as a mere mode of transportation only, have transformed into connected cars that can communicate with each
other, thanks to the use of IoT, cloud computing, big data, etc. With the use of all these the automotive industry is all set to
change our life forever. Thus, let’s have a look at the upcoming trends that can change our life forever;
Electric Vehicles: The concept of electric vehicles is not new; back in 1897 the first electric taxis started its journey on the
streets of New York City. The Pope Manufacturing Company of Connecticut became the first large scale American electric
automobile manufacturer. However, the concept of electric cars slowly lost its traction, thanks to its limitations. However, the
high fuel prices and pollution levels has brought back the concept from the cold storage. Currently the potential of electric
cars is greater than ever before. The entry of organizations like Tesla has led companies like GM, VW, Daimler AG, BMW
and others to join the bandwagon. As a result, we (not me although) can buy cars like BMW i8, Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf,
BMW i3, etc. So, in the coming years we can expect many more companies will join the race to build the most sophisticated
and desirable electric vehicle, which will eventually help us to reduce the pollution level of our beloved planet earth.
Autonomous Vehicles: Ah! I’m not a very big fan of this trend, but it’s slowly gaining traction all over the world. However,
the fully autonomous vehicles will still take some more time to ply onto the roads, but the trend is definitely worth an
attention. The autonomous vehicle will eventually come with benefits like reduced accidents, better comfort and traffic
management.
Although for people like me, autonomous vehicles will eventually take away all the pleasures of driving. But that’s me.
Blockchain Technology: Love it or hate it blockchain is the new fad and a super-hot trend across various industries.
Blockchain can create a trusted protocol for automotive parts supply chain, which can help remove the cancer of the
automotive industry, counterfeit parts. If the blockchain bubble performs as expected, then this will eventually shape the
pricing strategy of car makers across the globe.

5. Data Security and Protection: Believe it or not, in the connected world, most of us have already shared our valuable data
with some shady person unknowingly. Automotive industry is one of the most data driven industries around the world.
Nowadays intelligent vehicles can collect data which includes, driving behavior, pattern, routes, etc. As a consumer you love
all these features, don’t you? But in case of data breach, don’t be surprised if your data gets sold in the market of the dark
web. Recently GM came under a cyber-attack where hackers forcibly took control of several vehicle controls. Hence,
currently organizations are in a constant search of the much needed protection.
Considering this vital factors, with great enthusiasm Insights Success has shortlisted, “The 10 Most Innovative Automotive
Tech Solution Providers 2019”, which are changing the world of automotive technology.
In this issue we have 3db Access, an ETH spin-off company. It aims to provide secure solutions for proximity-based access
control; Acerta Analytics Solutions Inc, which is a platform that leverages the data from across the vehicle lifecycle and
applies machine learning and AI to detect malfunctions and predict failures in real-time for vehicles and their systems;
Blickfeld, which is designed to meet automotive-grade production and scalability requirements. Field of View 3D LiDARs
and environment perception software enable multiple applications; Blue Sage Software, who delivers value to our customers
by streamlining their workflow and automating their core business processes; CloudCar, which is driving innovation with a
platform for the automotive industry that integrates machine-learning capabilities with voice-enabled infotainment services to
deliver a seamless and personalized experience; Design Systems, Inc., who offers complete “Concept to Commission”
services for the automotive, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, package handling, health care, steel manufacturing, and
many other industries; Toposens, who developed the first 3D ultrasound sensor worldwide. The sensor system perceives its
environment via the principle of echolocation.
So, let’s get started!

6. Maestro’s Insights Expert’s Forsights Mentor’s Standpoint
Emission Regulations Recharging Enviroment

9. sales@insightssuccess.com
July, 2019
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
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Research Analyst
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Managing Editor
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Art & Design Director
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Sales Executives
David, Kevin, Ajinkya
Business Development Executives
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SME-SMO Executive
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Circulation Manager
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Co-designer
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13. ‘‘
n-vehicle entertainment systems are evolving
Iconstantly as cars become more and more
connected. Automakers have responded to
consumers’ tech obsession of having an increased
number of services and expanding set of features.
Everybody seems to want more in their infotainment
systems. However, when it comes to in-car features, they
do not always live up to expectations.
CloudCar’s distinct “voice-first” approach to in-vehicle
content not only enables a personalized, driver-centric
experience, but also provides the utmost flexibility and
scalability for car manufacturers. By normalizing cloud-
based content into common use cases that are not
specifically tied to apps and intelligently processing
driver intent, the platform allows drivers to keep their
eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. This approach
eliminates the driver's need to hunt through an
abundance of infotainment applications and menu items
to access the desired content. It also provides OEM-
control for building and retaining brand loyalty and
owning the vehicle data for future monetization
opportunities.
An Adventurous Journey
CloudCar’s journey started in 2011 in Silicon Valley, a
hot spot for technology companies. Four years later, the
company introduced its first product justDrive, a voice
activated connected car application, which was exclusive
to Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. justDrive brought a
unique experience for the driver as it combined the three
major elements of the mobile phone, the car, and
relevant content.
In 2017, CloudCar secured an investment from Jaguar
Land Rover and achieved an early win by completing
their product development of the Online Media
Application, which is out on the road today. This product
We use cloud-based technology and machine learning to
create an intuitive connected-onboard infotainment
solution in the vehicle, enabling a truly personalized
experience for the driver.
brings cloud-based media streaming services into the
vehicle. The firm also has filed forty-five patents in
which sixteen are awarded.
CloudCar has established key partnerships with leading
content providers to strengthen its partnership portfolio
and is working with new global automotive customers in
the . The company hasEuropean, US and Asia markets
recently expanded its locations globally, building a
diverse workforce to address the global automotive
economy. CloudCarBesides in the United States,
currently has presence in China, the UK, Germany and
France. Their recent growth also led its headquarters to
move to a larger office space now located in Santa Clara,
California, USA.
Like every business, CloudCar has faced challenges, but
has learned through experiences. For one, thealso
automotive industry has shifted vastly over the past few
years and continues to change. This change has shaped
the company’s product portfolio into what it is today
which anchors on cloud-content integration and analytics
services. CloudCar has also defined its requirements
around platform flexibility, the desire for personalized
content and data privacy mechanisms. With automotive
DNA at its core, CloudCar’s successful products are in
the market and its experienced teams continue to work
collaboratively with their trusted global partners to
develop new offerings and solutions.
The CEOAu Courant
CloudCar was co-founded in 2011 by two Silicon Valley
entrepreneurs who both had an appetite for technology
innovation and taking risks. In 2016, wasPhilipp Popov
announced as CloudCar’s new CEO, succeeding one of
the founders who is a continuing member ofcurrently
the board.
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 11July

14. Having Philipp onboard with his seasoned automotive
and entrepreneurial expertise, where he delivered
infotainment systems to automotive customers like Audi,
Bentley, Porsche and Tesla, it became a completely
different ball game for CloudCar. His proven abilities,
perseverance and knowledgeable audio and infotainment
background is what the company needed.
Philipp reshaped CloudCar by building a strong
diversified team and adding the product discipline and
robustness required by automakers. With excitement,
ambition and the focus of its leadership team, the firm is
earning the trust and loyalty of existing and future
customers. Observing the industry talent, Philipp asserts,
“It’s a very exciting time to be in the automotive
industry. CloudCar is rapidly growing and we’re
continuously looking for top talent to join our dedicated
team.” He adds, “Our combination of automotive and
Silicon Valley experts work with OEMs to redefine the
customer experience and enhance the journey in the
car.”
Customer Oriented Approach
CloudCar’s platform lets automotive OEMs choose from
a breadth of cloud-based services. The wide range of
integrated service providers and depth of understanding
for driver intent provides OEMs the flexibility when
designing their in-vehicle infotainment solutions. The
company works with global leading service providers to
categorize data into common driver use cases that fall
into specific groups like Media, Places, People,
Knowledge, Smart Home and Productivity. Their
solution brings all the relevant cloud-based content into
the vehicle and makes it available through an on-board
Software Development Kit (SDK). No clunky
connection to the driver’s mobile phone is needed to
obtain the desired content and deliver the desired
services.
‘‘Our team is focusing on "what's next" for the driver experience and
collaboratively working with automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and
content providers for attractive solutions.
www.insightssuccess.com12 |July 2019

15. Aiding and Revolutionizing the Industry
CloudCar is developing the future of connected car
technology for car manufacturers by solving the needs of
the driver with voice-first infotainment. Its cloud-based
cutting edge technology, including machine learning
capabilities, provides the connected-onboard
infotainment features that automakers are seeking to
fulfill their business needs. The company is working with
premium manufacturers on exciting opportunities and
challenges in the machine learning and infotainment
fields. CloudCar’s innovative solutions are at the
intersection of Silicon Valley's technology
entrepreneurship and the rapidly changing global
automotive experiences. It has experts in key areas like
cloud technology, data sciences, and user experiences
just to name a few.
A Step Ahead of the Competition
As a cloud-based platform, CloudCar integrates machine
learning capabilities with voice-first infotainment to
deliver a seamless, user-friendly and personalized
experience. The service provides car manufacturers with
a hardware agnostic, portable SDK that is embedded in
the vehicle’s head unit. Consequently, automotive OEMs
have access to all of the cloud-based services and
providers integrated into its platform.
The firm’s solution is different from many other
solutions in the market as it is not app-based thus, there
is much more flexibility in designing the user experience.
This allows car manufacturers to meet the needs and
preferences of their customers in the vehicle. CloudCar
integrates the relevant content from an ample selection
of cloud-based content providers and transfers the
information through the SDK into the car. This is ideal
for easily mapping content to a voice-first experience. In
addition to content accessibility, the CloudCar platform
supports an extensive list of use cases. When coupled
with the contextual vehicle data from the Human-
Machine Interface (HMI), the firm can build a rich driver
profile based on infotainment usage and preferences, and
offer unique AI services to personalize the driving
experience.
One of the pain points that CloudCar addresses for
automakers is the need to maintain control of their brand
identity and retain data ownership. The company
provides automotive OEMs with a white label platform
that offers flexibility, customization, and complete
ownership of the data while delivering the desired
experience for their consumers.
Infotainment for the Future
As it pertains to improving the driving experience,
CloudCar has some pretty lofty goals. Their engineers
‘‘We've built a comprehensive content-services platform that
allows for analytics, personalization and monetization.
continue to advance the machine learning and AI
technologies with the utmost ambition of anticipating the
driver’s needs and unique, tailored driving experience.
The team on the front line of their organization also
spends lots of time engaging with customers, keeping up
with their objectives and expectations to sustain a
valuable client relationship.
Looking at today’s in-vehicle experience, the company
sees the opportunities. CloudCar’s integrated platform
brings services to drivers without having to connect their
phone while moving between vehicles and still being
able to bring their preferences with them.
Technology trends towards the autonomous driving and
the shift towards shared mobility is redefining the role of
infotainment services in the vehicle. CloudCar will
continue to lead this effort and evolve with the fast-
changing automotive industry.
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 13July

18. Lithium-ion batteries:
Electrovaya was established in 1996 as a research
and development company focused on Lithium ion
technologies and manufacturing processes. In 2000,
it was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: EFL)
and has continuously delivered cutting edge technology
projects for aerospace (NASA), automotive and personal
electronics. Overtime, it has developed key technologies for
fundamental cell and battery technology with more than
150 patents in these fields.
Recently, Electrovaya has concentrated on battery solutions
for heavy-duty applications requiring superior life cycle and
performance. It has successfully developed unique ultra-
long life cycle battery systems, which are particularly
designed for Materials Handling Electric Vehicles (MHEV).
Currently, it supplies major OEMs with specialized battery
module and systems. On the average, MHEVs and
passenger EVs run daily for around 10 hours and 2 hours,
respectively. Electrovaya s ultra-long life cycle technology’
is extremely suitable for these kinds of application.
Compared to vehicles powered with fuel, Electrovaya
powered vehicles can function well within 24 hours every
day under extreme temperature conditions with annual
mileage of 20,000km.
Customers and Emerging Markets
Six Fortune 500 companies in the logistics, e-commerce
and manufacturing sectors have started using Electrovaya
batteries for their forklift trucks, Material Handling Electric
Vehicles (MHEV) and Automated guided vehicles (AGV).
This emerging market generated around $3.3 million of
revenue from battery-operated deliveries mainly from
Walmart from the January to March 2018. Also, additional
purchase orders of $2.3 million were placed last June 2018.
Powering Electro-Mobility Since 1996
The current target markets are 1.5 million operational
MHEVs and approximately 160,000 new MHEVs placed in
North America last 2017 (Industrial Truck Association,
2017, Washington DC, USA).
Also, on 25th of July 2018, Electrovaya has successfully
delivered batteries to Walmart Canada’s distribution center.
This is a major milestone for Electrovaya and the Materials
Handling Industry, for it is one of the largest lithium-ion
installations in North America. Currently, Electrovaya’s
Lithium-ion batteries provide power to all MHEVs at this
distribution center.
Industry Outlook
Forklift truck sales in North America’s market continued
their unprecedented increase. The year 2017 marked the
third consecutive year of growth with more than 250,000
units sold, representing a 9.5% and 12.2% increase
compared to 2016 and 2015, respectively.
In addition, thousands to millions of electric powered
trucks are sold annually in the U.S. and worldwide. The
continuous increase in the number of battery-operated
trucks from the previous years’ shows the potential use and
lead of Electrovaya’s lithium-ion batteries in the trucking
industry.
To further introduce the technology and excellence of its
products and services to the world, Electrovaya joined the
Modex Expo 2018, which happened at Atlanta, GA. In this
occasion, the company showcased the lithium ion batteries
that are widely used in the materials handling sector.
Given the tremendous success of Electrovaya in the
previous years, what really sets it apart from the other
battery providers?
Electrovaya
www.insightssuccess.com16
Expert’s Forsights
|July 2019

19. Raj Das Gupta
Vice President of Business Development
Electrovaya
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 17July

20. To elaborate on what makes it one of the leading brands for
powering electro-mobility, enumerated below are the
benefits from utilizing Electrovaya’s technology.
• Reduced costs and increased productivity of charging
Based on observation, there was an increase in the
productivity of the forklift truck drivers due to opportunistic
and fast charging. Lead acid battery can function for 8
hours but also needs to be charged for 8 hours. Meanwhile,
Electrovaya battery can be charged opportunistically during
break times, which increases its run time. The use of
advance connector system removed arching or any fire
hazards.
Ÿ Reduced maintenance costs
Electrovaya batteries do not require additional distilled
water, switching, cleaning and maintenance. These
advantages, made the maintenance costs of Electrovaya
batteries 59% cheaper than Lead acid batteries.
For instance, Watering System Maintenance and Acid
Containment Spill Kit cost 135 USD annually for each
truck with lead acid batteries compared to Electrovaya
batteries with maintenance cost of only 45 USD for cable
replacements and remote monitoring.
Ÿ Safety is our priority
Electrovaya batteries are built using the safest technology,
which has been continuously improved overtime. Once
installed, this battery can be recharged similar a cellular
phone. Hence, it removes the danger involved in removing
and handling of batteries, which are necessary in lead acid
battery charging.
Last year, no accidents were recorded on the usage on
forklift trucks with Electrovaya batteries.
Ÿ Capital expenditure
Lithium battery is always criticized about its high initial
cost, wherein Electrovaya battery system is twice the cost
of the lead acid batteries. However, Electrovaya batteries
last twice longer than lead acid batteries due its 9000 life
cycle. This is the result of the collective efforts of the
company’s engineers who filed more than 150 patents under
the Lithium cell technology. Therefore, after 6 years, the
total investments of both types of batteries are the same.
Also, if both batteries will be on a lease, the monthly lease
expenses will also be similar due to longer lease period on
Electrovaya batteries.
Future Perspective
Electrovaya’s vision is to be the leader in critical and highly
intensive applications. Its extensive line of products and
worldwide partnerships helps it to lead the industry. Aside
from the six Fortune 500 companies, MNCs have also
purchased from Electrovaya and many are still exploring
the benefits of using this technology in keeping their
companies transform and grow.
Reliability of Electrovaya
A testimony from the warehouse manager of a leading e-
commerce company stated that Electrovaya was very
efficient in switching the batteries, particularly in installing
the Lithium-ion batteries. Since then, the company has
reported reduced energy and maintenance costs, while there
was an increase in the labor productivity.
This shows that Electrovaya continues to be one of the
leading companies in this industry. Electrovaya has been
continuously providing unwavering high quality
technologies and services to the people since 1996.
Raj Das Gupta has worked with
Electrovaya previously as Director of
Research and later as Vice President of
Energy Storage. Raj is responsible for
managing and increasing Electrovaya’s
sales for both its stationary and
automotive energy storage systems, as
well as developing Electrovaya's
strategy for technology licensing and
business partnerships. Raj attended
Imperial College, London;
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; and the University of
Cambridge, where he received his
Doctorate in Materials Science.
About the Author
www.insightssuccess.com18 |July 2019

22. www.insightssuccess.com20 |July 2019

23. www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 21July

24. www.insightssuccess.com22 |July 2019
Greta Cutulenco
CEO

25. www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 23July
3. Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons
learnt that have shaped the journey of the company.
Some of our biggest learnings have been around the
datasets that are generated during testing of various vehicle
systems. Although each manufacturer is testing for similar
functionality, the equipment used, the steps of testing, the
data formats, and data quality seemed to vary hugely
between manufacturers. For a while we were trying to
accommodate each dataset in a special way, build separate
schemas, APIs and UIs, but over time we started to notice
quite a few similar underlying patterns in this data. As a
result, we’ve built a very robust governance system we call
Cortex that can aggregate, clean and normalize data in the
same way across multiple manufacturers, systems, and
tests. We have since realized that Cortex can provide a lot
of value to many manufacturers who are just starting with
their digitalization journeys, and thus started to offer it to
customers directly.
4. How does the company contribute towards making
the industry better?
In the recent decade the automotive industry has been
facing a major transformation. As a result of electrification,
autonomy, and new mobility paradigms, vehicles and
automotive manufacturing processes have been growing in
complexity at an overwhelming speed. This has led to
billions being spent on recalls in the last few years
(ex. GM ignition or Toyota acceleration), and high-profile
accidents in autonomous vehicles. To succeed in the new
era, manufacturers need to adopt new technologies that help
ensure safety and reliability of their cars in face of the
growing complexities.
Acerta provides such a platform and will continue to have
an impact on ensuring reliability and safety of vehicles and
their parts throughout their life.
5. Give a detailed explanation regarding the
Founder/CEO/Management’s influence towards the
industry and Acerta Analytics Solutions?
Acerta has a very strong leadership team with years of
experience spanning multiple disciplines including data
collection, analysis, machine learning and AI, and
automotive systems (development, testing, and
manufacturing).
There are a few influencers on our team worth noting.
Sebastian Fischmeister, Acerta’s co-founder and current
Chief Science and R&D Officer, has worked in academia
over the last 15 years in the area of real-time embedded and
safety systems. As the Executive Director of WatCar,
Waterloo’s automotive research facility, he headed many
projects that focused on autonomous vehicle reliability and
safety. The group had major contributions to the Renesas
autonomous demonstrations at CES over the last few years.
Acerta’s CEO Greta Cutulenco comes from the automotive
industry, where she focused on functional safety of vehicle
ADAS systems, primarily with Magna. She used a lot of her
experience from the industry, automotive and aerospace, to
drive the vision at Acerta and the focus of current activities.
Acerta’s CTO Jean-Christophe Petkovich has a combination
of academic experience, through his PhD at the University
of Waterloo, and industry experience, through QNX and
Bombardier. His earlier work has focused on the
applications of machine learning and AI for performance
monitoring and anomaly detection. By merging his
understand of the industry and newest AI technologies, he
now drives the product behind Acerta to deliver real value
to Acerta’s partners and customers.
6. Where does Acerta Analytics Solutions see itself in the
long run and/or what are its future goals?
Acerta’s goal is to facilitate the future of autonomous,
connected, electric, and shared mobility by providing an .
AI-driven platform that can ensure reliability and safety of
these vehicles throughout their life cycles. We have started
making an impact for manufacturers today by applying our
platform and analysis during assembly. In our most recent
deployment we were able to reduce warranties by 30% by
identifying complex patterns in testing data that were
indicative of defects. But our vision is to provide similar
value throughout the vehicle lifecycle, and have already
started making headways by applying our platform and
analysis to autonomous on-road connected vehicles.
7. Considering the rising number of Automotive Tech
Solution Providers, how does Acerta Analytics Solutions
stand out from its competitors?
We are the only platform solely focused on product data
from automotive systems across the lifecycle of the vehicle,
so from initial development and testing, through
production, and afterwards while the vehicle is driven on
the road. This ability to manage and analyze the product
data throughout the supply chain and across multiple
vehicle subsystems differentiates us from most other tech
providers.
Our solution is being implemented by a growing number of
automotive manufacturers as they trust the predictions and
the value that our analysis brings.

28. www.insightssuccess.com26 |July 2019

29. ASustainable
Shift
to enhance their expertise on the account of billions of
dollars to be invested, and minimising the pass-on effect
to customers, has sparked vigorous discussions in recent
times.
An industry which has evolved astonishingly with
passing time will evidently respond to this universal call
towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Euro
Standards, the first and foremost emission regulation
ever formulated in the wake of astronomically growing
pollution across the globe, were initiated in 1991. On its
basis, California Air Resource Board (CARB), a primary
institute which governs all emission related rules in US
was made. CARB which works in tandem with
Environmental Protection Agency (EPAs) is known for
its stringent regulations which are adopted by most states
in the country.
Ultimately, the issue which remains is how are the
current automotive companies going to amend
Industries in their true essence are the systems driven
by technical excellence and customer satisfaction.
These two variables are the vital ingredients for any
organisation to thrive in this competitive domain.
Unfortunately, not all the time these dimensions prove to
be absolutely fruitful. Contingencies do strike! The
Automotive sector is no exception to that.
One such history-defining challenge in the form emission
norms had entered into the market back in 90s and its
latest version has caused automotive industry to disrupt.
Constantly rising air pollution made lawmakers to
establish few amendments for restoring the nature's
balance. These amendments or regulations impose
constraints in front of the firms making them to upgrade
and update their tools.
To survive and succeed, automakers need to revise
policies and strategies on different fronts including
technology, infrastructure, recapitalization and
marketing. This difficult balancing act where they have
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 27
Emission Regulations
July

30. themselves to match these norms and appeal customers
without tightening their budget at the same time? Thus,
they are analysing keyways to adopting these strict
emission norms and not losing their beloved customers
as well.
1.Technological Innovations
In the history of automobile, many revolutionary
changes have been made. Be it the discovery of Spark
Ignition or Compression Ignition engines, or the
development of Electronic Traction Control system
which employed a smooth integration of machine
intelligence into mechanical power.
In this need of the hour, technical perfection has to stand
up once again if automotive industries have to retain
their title of change-makers. Thanks to many bright
engineering minds, such ideas are kept surfacing which
will help to reduce emissions from automobiles and
simultaneously enhance fuel efficiency too. Higher
mileage eventually helps to achieve lesser vehicular
emissions.
Mechanisms like Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR),
Three Way Catalytic converter (TWC), Selective
Catalytic Reduction (SCR), Gasoline Direct Injection
(GDI), Variable Valve Train (VVT), Continuous Variable
Transmission (CVT), Turbochargers, Diesel Particulate
Filter (DPF), On-Board Diagnostics with oxygen sensors
and transmission-systems-provided-with-many gears can
help to trap and reduce Nitrous oxides (NOx),
Hydrocarbons(HC), carbon monoxide(CO) and
particulate matter (PM). Additionally they have proved
their prowess in enhancing mileage, realizing the dream
of highly fuel efficient futuristic vehicles with zero or
least emissions.
One more important aspect of these add-on systems is
that they operate with a prerequisite condition of high
graded fuel. Fuel quality of present days can hinder the
flawless working of above mentioned equipment. Fuel
with any amount of sulphur greater than 10 parts-per-
million is considered ill-suited for the current
infrastructure. Therefore, fuel refineries have to upgrade
their machinery to achieve the desired quality. Good
news is that Oil Marketing Companies have already gear
up the process to upgrade their refinery infrastructure.
2. Down-weighting is the key!
Many organisations employ a method where they opt for
unconventional size accompanied with lightweight
structure to fit in the regulations. For instance, instead of
hunk sized SUVs, companies nowadays launch many
SUVs having smaller sizes and much lighter in weight.
This can give them advantage in two ways. Firstly, with
less intrinsic load to propel, vehicles achieve better
mileage which is the most appealing factor for many of
the buyers. Second thing is, production costs associated
with shrunk size vehicles are proportionally smaller,
further shrinking the actual cost a consumer has to bear.
Needless to say, reduction in size and weight together is
merely a dream without materials having desired
properties. Fortunately modern material science has
blessed us with materials like Carbon fiber, Aluminium
Alloy, Magnesium Alloy, Hybrid material and Polymer
Composites which not only flaunt their lightweight
characteristics but also their durability and wear
resistance.
3. Green fuel powered vehicles
Automobile fraternity is facing a paramount shift in
terms of propelling power as newer, cleaner and cheaper
alternatives are being introduced. From its introduction
th
of SI and CI engines in late 19 century, they are a
popular choice among mass and technocrats. But their
environmental demerits are slowly pushing them towards
extinction. Solar vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid
vehicles and gas powered vehicles can be the solutions
for growing environmental pollution and depleting crude
oil sources. As a wise has man said, “change is the only
permanent thing in this world”, automakers have no
choice than embracing these changes despite of their
higher initial cost. However, the advantages it offers are
countless and unquestionable.
4. Unorthodox Designs
Until now people have used automobiles for
connectivity, comfort and the means of carrying goods.
Time has come to rethink over our expectations from
them since we are employing vehicle designs which
serve purposes commonly. An example where a vehicle
www.insightssuccess.com28 |July 2019

31. widely used for intra-city connectivity is also equipped
with larger trunk spaces which could have been avoided
helping in reduction of overall weight and size.
Dedicated category of vehicles for dedicated purposes
employing unique shapes seems a distant dream for now
but certainly not impossible.
5. Spread the word!
Customers tend to have a problem in paying extra cash
unless they know the long-term benefits and payback
time of these accessories. A study shows that a EURO VI
norm car which costs about $1000 more than its EURO
V counterparts retrieves the investment within 2-3 years
for enhanced fuel efficiency.
Protecting our mother Earth from harmful effects of
pollution is a responsibility of every single individual to
assure a healthier and greener environment to our future
generations. Despite of initial investments which these
amendments demand, they are essential for the very
existence of this planet. An intensive marketing strategy
about making people aware of the benefits received at
the core can instil an appreciation of value over cost.
This can make the job easier for manufacturers.
6. Credit System: A tool for rectification
Credit system is a depository system where if an
automaker exceeds standards in early years, it can bank
credits to use in future years with stringer standards. An
interesting statistics revealed that last year, many
automobile giants like Mercedes Benz, Honda could not
mitigate the emissions to the level drafted by regulatory
agencies. However, thanks to their previous years' credit
points, they could manage to surpass the benchmark.
Some experts even call this credit score mechanism a
daunting loophole which is compromising the serious
efforts of environmental protection. However, while
tightening the grip on vehicle pollutants, stricter
emission standards like EURO VI, CARB and BS VI had
to provide a breathing space for organisations.
Entrepreneurs can exploit this situation to some extent in
case they fall marginally short of meeting the norms.
7. Lower profits with higher number of customers
A prime hurdle while employing these technical
modifications is that their cost is undoubtedly reflected in
increased vehicle prices. This can discourage people
from purchasing new automobiles resulting overall
slowdown of the industry. After all, people pay vehicle
producers for horsepower and not for environmental
protection.
That being said, we should also face the reality check
where bearing the whole cost isn't possible for any
organisation. So, passing it on to the customers is the
only way manufacturers have. But a chunk of those costs
can be swallowed by lowering the profit margins. This
strategy can make businesses survive without losing their
customers.
Undoubtedly, emission regulations are the need of the
hour with millions of vehicles rolling out in the market
worsening the pollution issue globally. Conforming to
them is of prime importance when considering the noble
virtues of the efforts making this planet a better place to
live. But succeeding and surviving in this transiently
modifying world of connectivity, automobile industry
has to adopt some changes and strategies. An industry
with a history of marvellous inventions and a potential to
shape the future will surely be on the driving seat while
experiencing this sustainable awakening.
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 29July

32. LiDAR systems are technically
ideal for environment
detection - especially for
autonomous cars. The problem is that
laser-based sensor technology is not
yet robust enough and, above all, too
expensive for use in millions of
vehicles. Munich-based LiDAR
start-up Blickfeld is working on the
next generation of LiDAR.
It is still unclear exactly when
autonomous cars will bring us
comfortably to our destinations. While
manufacturers such as Tesla and Volvo
predicted such vehicles for 2017 in the
past, the consulting firm PwC assumes
that Level 5 driving will not be part of
everyday life until 2030. What is clear,
however, is which sensor technology
will be needed for the further
automation of traffic in the coming
decade: “LiDAR is the sweet spot for
sensors,” writes the Swiss banking
group UBS in its recent report on
autonomous driving. The reason: only
LiDAR technology will ensure reliable
safety for autonomous cars - and thus
pave the way for their breakthrough for
the mass market.
Key technology for the autonomous
car
Laser-based sensor technology
functions similarly to a radar: Instead
of radio waves, however, a LiDAR
emits laser pulses. If these pulses hit
objects, they are reflected. A sensor in
the LiDAR measures the amount of
time it takes for each pulse to bounce
back. The distance between the objects
can then be calculated from the pulse
propagation time. Thanks to their good
spatial resolution, LiDAR sensors can
detect cars, cyclists and pedestrians as
well as traffic lights, fences and
buildings precisely and reliably - better
and easier than other sensors: stereo
cameras can also be used to obtain 3D
information. However, distance
measurement with this method is
strongly dependent on ambient light.
A radar, on the other hand, is not high-
resolution enough: it detects objects,
but cannot say exactly what they are.
However, LiDAR systems still have
their drawbacks: Currently, the key
technology for autonomous cars is still
too large, prone to failure, too
expensive, and not production scalable.
German LiDAR start-up Blickfeld says
the problem that the automotive
industry faces today is not buying a
handful of high-performance LiDAR.
The problem is getting hundred
thousand or millions of them at a cost
where they can be built into every
consumer grade car which can
eventually provide the highest
performance and safety. As of now,
there is no LiDAR available for this
mass-market need.
www.insightssuccess.com30 |July 2019
Mathias Müller, Florian Petit, Rolf Wojtech
.

33. he currently most powerful
TLiDAR costs tens of thousands
of euros, is so large that it can
only fit on the roof of the car and is
still not automotive-grade. Prices like
that are out of the question for series
applications. In addition, the current
LiDAR generation has a further
disadvantage: it works with
complicated rotating mechanics to
direct the beams from several lasers
over the scenery. These components
are sensitive and not ideally suited for
the typical stresses in a car. Blickfeld
takes a different approach. They
believe solid-state-LiDAR sensors are
the solution. They do not require
mechanically sensitive components
like bearings and are therefore much
more robust and therefore more
durable. A key component are
so-called MEMS mirrors. These silicon
parts are responsible for laser beam
deflection, replacing all rotating parts.
They can be manufactured as precisely
and as highly scalable as computer
chips. In combination with low-cost
standard components, powerful LiDAR
sensors will thus become affordable for
the mass market for the first time.
Highly scalable, ultra-compact and
flexible in application
Blickfeld's silicon technology is also
ultra-compact and can be configured
flexibly, for example as a front-facing
system with a narrow opening angle
and a long range of up to 200 meters
for motorway driving - or as a
mid-range sensor with a 120-degree
scanning angle. In addition, the new
generation of LiDAR sensors can also
improve driver assistance systems such
as blind spot detection. Distributed
over the corners of a vehicle, they can
completely monitor the area around the
car. Previously, only extremely
expensive and bulky LiDAR sensors
on car roofs offered such a 360-degree
all-round view.
Soon such LiDAR sensors could roll
off the assembly line in their hundreds
of thousands and more. Until now, one
could only dream of these quantities.
For this new LiDAR technology, there
are also many applications outside
vehicles. For example, intelligent
traffic lights that warn pedestrians,
cyclists and cars of each other at
dangerous junctions. Or mobile robots
and autonomous drones that can find
their way safely. Even LiDAR
monitoring and measurement
technology is possible.
The 3D point clouds, that the LiDAR
produces are rich in information, but to
use it in such a turnkey solution
requires an intermediate step which
condenses information. Blickfeld is
therefore also developing a software
stack that provides abstracted
information and enables high-level
environment perception based on data
collected by one or more LiDAR
sensors. It is designed for application
in a variety of scenarios, such as object
tracking and recognition, or real time
localization and mapping.
Visionary Leaders
For Blickfeld, the key for success is
technical expertise, experience and
variety in a team. Each LiDAR is a
complex system and requires deep
knowledge of a multitude of technical
disciplines.The founding team of
Blickfeld consists of an opto-electrical
engineer, a computer scientist, a
roboticist, and a patent attorney - two
of which had already founded a
successful start-up together. They
therefore know how to build a
company, valuable knowledge which
they are applying to Blickfeld now.
That alone brings very different skills
to the table. They are joined by a
management team of experienced
professionals with renowned expertise
in the fields of electronics, optics,
MEMS, software, and business.
About Blickfeld
Blickfeld is a provider of cutting-edge
LiDAR technology for autonomous
mobility and IoT applications. The
company has developed proprietary
LiDAR technology based on patented
silicon MEMS mirrors and commercial
off-the-shelf components. Blickfeld
aims to bring high-performance
LiDARs to the mass market. Founded
in 2017 and based in Munich,
Germany, the fast-growing company
has 50 employees today.
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 31July
.

36. Gone are the days when
the application of ERP
software was limited to
automating the back office functions of
an enterprise. ERP today has become a
comprehensive tool for businesses and
manages to impact almost every function of an
enterprise with effective results. Logistics in specific
has seen exceptional productivity. All of this is an
outcome of years of development and innovations put
together by the ERP solutions providers. These providers
have disrupted various industries for good and enabled them to
deliver best in class products and services. Blue Sage Software is
one of the leading ERP solutions providers and has done the same.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, Blue Sage
Software provides premier ERP software for the automotive, truck,
and heavy duty aftermarket parts distribution market. The software
is designed to provide customers with an easy to use interface
and give owners and managers access to the details they need
to operate their businesses efficiently.
Blue Sage also participates in the major trade events
where customers, vendors, and users all have
valuable insights into the market. This enables the
company to work within these groups to develop new
and better products to meet the ever-changing needs of
industry concerns.
Solutions as per Needs
Blue Sage delivers solutions that are customized and are tailor made
for the needs of each customer, be it a small retailer or a very large
enterprise. It offers solutions that can re-order parts as per the requirements
of specific rules determined by the customers and provides many levels of
pricing that can be customized by the customers themselves and adapted for each
end user they service.
A Seeker of Excellence and Innovation
Roger Moyers is the President of Blue Sage Software. He has over 35 years of experience
building and guiding high-tech business growth driven by his desire for excellence in
technology, developing people, and building successful teams.
Prior to Blue Sage Software, Mr. Moyers’ career highlights include founding his first
company in 1989 and selling it to Intel Corporation and then starting his second company in
2000 and raising $40M in venture capital funding. Blue Sage Software is his fifth company.
He is a former Technology and Business Advisor at the William J. von Liebig Center for
Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego.
www.insightssuccess.com34 |July 2019

37. Roger is also a former Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR)
with Springboard/CONNECT, a non-profit corporation that
assists companies in all phases of their business.
Blue Sage Software management is extremely customer
focused. The Leaders, along with its team interact with
customers on a daily basis and encourage the employees to
do so as well to make sure they fully understand customer
needs and requirements to continuously improve the
products and services.
Leveraging Experience
The core of the software that Blue Sage provides has been
developed over the course of more than 35 years. This level
of insight is unparalleled in the industry, and the vast rules-
based capabilities that have been created over that long
period of time continue to show value even to new entrants
in the company’s markets. Blue Sage has customers that
have relied on its products to manage their businesses for
decades and it offers the same level of service to brand new
patrons.
Customer Specific Software
Blue Sage has been operating its software for a many years
and its team has developed a deep understanding of the
unique needs of each of its customers. The company fully
understands that no two customers are exactly alike so it
has made a significant effort to develop the tools necessary
to allow its customers to adapt the software to fulfill their
specific needs.
Exploring new Territories
Growing its business into new markets and segments is a
priority for Blue Sage Software. It will continue to develop
features to meet the needs of new geographical markets as
well as new vertical markets that can benefit from its
extensive experience in business process management
software.
Blue Sage will also be announcing the launch of PaceSetter
Business Intelligence at AAPEX 2018 in Las Vegas, NV
October 30 – November 1. PaceSetter BI provides easy-to-
use dashboards for visually reporting the data from
Pacesetter, webPace, or Pacesetter Plus ERP software
package. The charts & reports provided by this solution will
show everything from stock flow to sales performance in
real-time. It will also allow mobile friendly access to all
features on-the-go through smartphones, tablets, and of
course, laptops and desktops. Pacesetter BI is the ideal
analysis tool for business owners, senior management, sales
people and financial staff.
Emblem of Excellence
“The number one reason we changed to Pacesetter was the
ease of exporting the financial data and importing that data
into our accounting system due to the fact that just about all
financial institutions, accountants, etc., required all our
financial data be integrated into third party software such
as Quickbooks, Peachtree, etc.” – Todd Hernandez,
Computer Administrator, Childersburg Truck Service,
Childersburg, AL
“Business owners need tools to help them make money and
those tools are usually either a blessing or a burden to use.
Pacesetter is a Blessing.” – Larry Hall, Owner, Battery
Specialists, Inc., Greenville, SC
“If you are already using PaceSetter software I don’t think
you need to go anywhere for an upgraded system and better
customer service. Blue Sage Software isn’t just a new name,
it’s a whole new company that’s here to help your business
grow.” – Roger May, Founder, Mighty Distribution of
Minneapolis, MN
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 35July

38. Green number plates for electric
vehicles. Zero Emissions Zone
trials. Grants for any employer
installing EV charge points. Ideas and
initiatives for boosting the adoption of
electric vehicles (EVs) have
accelerated recently, in an effort to
make electric vehicles the norm rather
than the exception on UK roads.
In September, Theresa May announced
further support for the industry at the
very first Zero Emission Vehicle
Summit, outlining a plan to ensure
Britain “leads from the front” in the
widespread adoption of electric
vehicles, committing £106m in funding
for research and development into EV
technology. She also elaborated on the
2040 target to make all manufactured
cars emission-free, saying that this
should be reflected in all cars on the
road just ten years later.
Government backing
This government’s commitment to
electric vehicles is being matched by
an increase in interest from drivers, as
the perceived hurdles - including the
initial cost of switching to an electric
car, and the mile range compared to
traditional petrol and diesel cars - are
being cleared. Last month EVs
accounted for one in every 12 new cars
purchased in the UK.
That’s been attributed to a number of
factors, including the availability of a
range of cars that do at least 150miles
on a single charge, EV drivers are
www.insightssuccess.com36
Maestro’s Insights
|July 2019

39. reducing their fuel spend by 90%, and
with an increase in the number and
visibility of charge points and a
decrease in the cost of the electric
vehicles themselves.
There’s also been better proof of the
environmental impact of EVs, such as
a recent European Climate Foundation-
commissioned report which found that
EVs emit half the CO2 emissions of a
petrol or diesel car through the course
of their lifetime, and the overall effect
has now been shown to be positive.
A new breed of EV
One company is on a mission to help
drive the adoption of electric vehicles.
Octopus Electric Vehicles is pioneering
an ‘EV bundle’ which will give drivers
everything they need to make the
switch, for one monthly price. The
innovation has come from energy
supplier Octopus Energy, which is
driven by a mission ‘to make buying
energy as easy as buying cornflakes’.
Similarly, the team at Octopus EV
wants to help to make the switch to EV
as easy as possible, for as many people
as possible.
CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles,
Fiona Howarth says: “For us, the EV
journey begins long before we start
talking about leasing options and
charge point installation. There’s a big
education job to do - many people still
believe that they’ll need to stop every
few miles to recharge and that the
range of models is limited. Our Drive
Day roadshow has proved enormously
popular, touring the country and
letting people come and see the cars
for themselves, as well as question EV
experts about exactly how it all works”
These events have not only
demonstrated the massive leap forward
that the industry has taken in the past
few years, but also provided people
with a chance to test drive the latest
models. From the sporty BMW i3 to
the family friendly Nissan LEAF, the
cars have been carefully selected as the
best EVs on the market, with each
offering at least 150 miles of driving
per charge.
Continues Howarth: “We’ve found that
people are often surprised at what an
electric car can do. I think there’s a
general misconception that the
technology and the pricing has stayed
largely the same since EVs came to
market a few years ago, whereas in fact
today’s electric car is almost
unrecognisable from its older
incarnation, and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Battery costs came down 80% in six
years – unlocking a better range of
electric vehicles at a fraction of the
cost.”
All-in-one EV solution
After education, the challenge has been
how to best help customers with the
changes needed to go electric. Here,
Octopus Electric Vehicles is pioneering
adoption with their ‘EV bundle’.
“We’re offering the electric vehicle
equivalent of Sweden’s famous baby
box, giving the driver everything they
need to make the switch” says Howarth
“and unlike babies, our vehicles come
with instructions!”
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 37July

40. As well as the monthly lease of an electric vehicle, Octopus EV organises the
installation of a home charge point and smart meter. The monthly lease cost can
also include insurance, service and maintenance, as well as help and support for
the duration of the contract.
There’s even a bespoke electricity tariff, designed specifically with EV drivers
in mind. Dubbed Octopus Go, it offers renewable electricity at just 5p/kWh
between the hours of 12.30am and 4.30am, allowing people to charge their cars
for just a fraction of the daytime cost for 70% less than a standard variable tariff
from a Big 6 supplier.
Octopus EV has also partnered with myenergi, to offer the innovative Zappi
charge point, which automates charging to take advantage of these prices.
Octopus can arrange the installation of
the Zappi via trusted installers that can
help unlock the £500 home charge
point grant from the government.
This world-first tariff is possible thanks
to Octopus EV’s relationship with
Octopus Energy. The supplier is
already taking advantage of the
potential of smart meters with the
Agile Octopus tariff, which lets
customers see the fluctuations in
wholesale energy prices and adjust
their usage accordingly. It’s just the
beginning of how the company intends
to use smart meter technology, which
allows them to measure and record
electricity usage in real-time and offer
cheaper electricity when demand on
the grid is low.
Fiona Howarth believes this will be a
landmark year for electric vehicle
adoption in the UK. “Tesla has
revolutionised the market and now all
other vehicle manufacturers are rapidly
bringing their EVs to the market. Think
of the switch from analogue phones to
smart phones - we’re in a similar
transitory phase. If the Government
can deliver on their EV plans, and we
think they can, the carpark of
tomorrow is going to look very
different to the gas-guzzling lot
of today.”
About Powerloop
How Vehicle-to-Grid is changing the game
Electric vehicles have been criticised for placing more demand
on an already overloaded grid. But a consortium of industry
experts is hoping that electric vehicles could be the solution to
the grid’s capacity issues, rather than a problem. Led by Octopus
EV and Octopus Energy, the consortium has won over £3m of
funding from Innovate UK (backed by government departments
DfT and BEIS) to test the viability of vehicle-to-grid charging on
UK roads.
The Powerloop project offers EV drivers the chance to help
balance demand by supplying the grid with power from their car
batteries during the peak hours of 4-7pm, before recharging in
the early hours of the morning while demand is lowest. In return
for plugging in their cars 12 times a month to supply charge
during the evening, Powerloop drivers will get money off their
monthly leasing cost.
www.insightssuccess.com38 |July 2019

42. Advanced Engineering Services provides one stop
solutions to customers with the help of innovative
strategies across multi-disciplined industries.
Design Systems, Inc. is one such large multi-disciplined
engineering company with a staff of over 300 people to
support unique needs of the clients. DSI provides
engineering, consulting, and program management
solutions across diverse industries.
Experienced Engineers
As a completely unbiased, full-service engineering and
consulting resource, DSI has no product line to sell – their
only objective is to design the perfect solution for their
clients’ unique needs. While many of their other
competitors have been sold or closed over the years, DSI is
still led by two of the original owners from 1983. DSI’s
team of engineers have over 1,500 years of experience
combined. These years of experience doing things the ‘DSI
way’ gives their customers the confidence to believe that
whenever they bring DSI aboard to complete a project, it
will be with an experienced team which will complete and
deliver the work as per the customer’s expectation.
Maximum Productivity
DSI. has helped a variety of industries over the past 35
years to achieve maximum productivity within their
operations. As a nationally recognized leader in
manufacturing, process and warehouse design, DSI offers
unmatched expertise and complete objectivity performing
its engineering and consulting services. The company
supports their clients with various processes from their
production demands and throughput increases, to cost
reduction projects, lean engineering practices and by
identifying quality issues. Bringing a high-level of technical
knowledge, tools, and expertise to their industrial client
base, DSI is an unbiased partner with their clients
throughout the process. At all times, DSI represents their
clients’ best interest with an open line of communication.
Advanced Engineering Services
With DSI’s breadth of service offerings, clients have access
to a full complement of engineering disciplines ready to
assist any unforeseen event. They have been able to
benchmark best-in-class practices across diverse industries.
They are able to provide a full 3D look into plants and
provide a ‘street-view’ so all team members can see exactly
what a problem is and what the solution will be. By being
able to bring these floor level views into meeting rooms, the
company helps the customer save time and money on travel
costs and provides an outstanding communication tool for
all stakeholders.
Another way DSI is helping their customers is by utilizing
their drone technology to assist in preventive maintenance
programs/health assessments to get a better view inside
warehouses or different facilities. By being able to provide
these advanced engineering services, it cuts down on the
amount of people that need to be on site and is a much safer
alternative than sending people to perform those services.
The company also offers complete “Concept to
Commission” services for the automotive, food and
beverage, pharmaceutical, package handling, health care,
steel manufacturing, and many other industries.
Continuous Growth
DSI’s journey has been an incredible ride over the course of
the last 35 years. Advancing from a small startup-
engineering house to a 300 person full-service, multi-
national engineering and consulting firm has challenged
them and made them better. Growing from hand drawings
on drafting boards to 2D and 3D CAD to today’s Industry
4.0, DSI continuously reviews success and challenges on
projects to keep learning and improving.
Students in the Workplace
By teaching, training and sharing since its inception, DSI
has regularly involved all levels of young students and
aspiring engineers into their workplace. One such
www.insightssuccess.com40 |July 2019

43. allowing them to connect with industry peers to serve their
clients better.
Client Focused Management
DSI’s management has always been delivering exactly what
the customers need today along with having an eye towards
helping them tomorrow. They have influenced the industry
by presenting employees of DSI with new ideas, concepts
and solutions to help reduce costs, reduce downtime and
increase optimization. They have also influenced the
employees at DSI to take ownership of their ideas and grow
them. The company allows team members to explore new
ideas and service offerings that interest them and helps
further the solutions DSI provide to their customers.
Smarter Processes
DSI sees itself continuing to being a great partner to their
current customers as well as continuing to explore new
industries and techniques. DSI continues to attract top talent
while they encourage their employees to seek continuing
education courses to help strengthen DSI’s foothold
amongst their competitors. One of DSI’s future goals is to
work with their many project partners and come up with
innovative ideas on how to make processes smarter and
more efficient with new and improving technology. In being
able to implement these new technologies, it helps DSI
stand out as an innovator while also helping their customers
increase their utilization and production.
Glowing Reviews
“The knowledge and resources at DSI are
outstanding. They have a great knowledge of
supply chain processes and will work to help
you understand those opportunities that you
could be missing.”
“As expected from your teams’members and
DSI, the results exceed expectations! The
enormous reduction of project hours &
timeline and accuracy improvement for the
entire shop cannot be overstated, both for
immediate and future projects.
GREAT WORK!”
partnership is with Kettering University and their
engineering department. DSI recruits students to spend their
three-month ‘work-term’ working for them and getting
actively involved in their projects. Not only do DSI’s
engineers help students in their learning, but new, fresh
ideas and perspectives that students bring help DSI
engineers as well. In addition, DSI is a member to dozens
of Industrial and Technological membership groups,
Joel Schnelbach
Vice President of Operations
www.insightssuccess.com 2019| 41July

44. BEYOND
AUTOMATION:
AI powered Autonomous
Factories of the Future
Rise of the industrial robots in 1980s led to a
major evolution of Henry Ford’s assembly line
concept. Routine tasks that were being handled
by factory workers started to be performed by robots with
greater accuracy and efficiency. With the spread of
device-to-device communication and IoT protocols,
robots started taking a serious amount of responsibility
from factory workers. This movement was initially led by
th
German high tech firms that branded this shift as the 4
industrial revolution. On the opposite side, there was
China, taking advantage of their access to low cost
human labour as an alternative to automation. Very
recently, a few years ago, China flipped their strategy 180
degrees, becoming the biggest advocate of automation by
starting to invest aggressively on buying robots and
developing their own robotics know-how led by
government initiatives. So the technology won. There is
no question about the need for automation anymore and
major manufacturing companies, including the ones in
China, Germany and rest of the world are racing to
automate their industrial processes to increase
productivity.
Everything that can be automated will be
automated, according to Zuboff’s law.
However, some things are more difficult
to be automated than other things.
Those are non-repetitive tasks which
require higher level of cognition and
ability to adapt into unknown
conditions. These tasks can be
defined as the last mile in factory
automation. Tesla, the electric car
manufacturer, was recently
criticized by analysts for
automating their assembly line
more than necessary. The
reason of the criticism was the
fact that the cost of
automation exceeded the cost
of a human led assembly
Daghan Cam
Co-founder & CEO
Ai Build
www.insightssuccess.com42
Mentor’s Standpoint
|July 2019

45. line. This may be a valid argument for
today but the solution should be found
in increasing the bar for commercially
viable automation and not by going
back to lower levels of automation.
So if we are moving towards full
automation and lights-out
manufacturing, how can the last mile
in factories be automated without
overspending and over engineering?
Autonomy seems to be the answer,
therefore Artificial Intelligence…
There is a slight but important
difference between Automation and
Autonomy. Autonomy is the state of
being able to make independent
decisions in situations that were not
experienced before. By definition,
autonomous systems are always
automated, but the other way around is
not always the case. A system may be
fully automated but not autonomous.
“Blind Automation” is the term we use
for this category.
Systems that are blindly automated are
based on hard coded rules, as in expert
systems, and they tend to be very
difficult to be reconfigured if the
conditions or requirements change over
time. Autonomous systems, in contrast,
generalize the rules for decision
making in different scenarios by
allowing a higher level of abstraction
in their programming.
For example, in the blind automation
scenario, a robot may be programmed
to go to coordinates x, y, z in order to
pick up an object. This will work
without problems as long as the object
is found precisely at coordinates x, y, z.
However, if for any reason the object is
positioned at a slightly different
location, the robot will still go to x, y,
z, fail to pick the object up and
continue executing the rest of its
commands without noticing this
problem. Eventually every step
subsequent to this failure will also fail.
A better strategy for performing the
same task, is using a robot with vision
sensors, and programming it to go to
the object’s position (as a variable) to
pick it up. Regardless of where the
object is positioned, robot will localize
it using its sensors and successfully
pick it up. This difference between the
two programming paradigms; “go to x,
y, z” and “go to an object’s position”
makes a big difference in making the
system less prone to making mistakes
in unexpected conditions which is
crucial for last mile factory
automation.
Robots making hundreds of decisions
every second and receiving hundreds
of measurements from the environment
and from other devices also require
massive computation and storage
capabilities. Despite the popularity of
cloud computing in most applications
today, a decentralized compute power
is necessary for most robotic
applications and for IoT devices in
general. The throughput between the
edge and the cloud through internet
connectivity is simply not enough to
process all data generated by sensors
and make sensible decisions in real-
time. So edge computing, or fog
computing - dedicated servers on
premise as a layer between individual
devices and the cloud - will likely be
the norm in autonomous factories of
the future unless we experience a
breakthrough in science that leads to
infinitely fast and reliable internet
connectivity. However unlike compute
power, storage of important data, that
is filtered on the edge, should be
centralized in order to achieve the best
decision making models at every
location.
As a summary, a few conclusions and
predictions about the future are:
Ÿ We are moving towards an
autonomous black-box factory
model where the factory robots are
operated by themselves without
human intervention.
Ÿ These factories will be powered by
the data that is generated by
themselves and their productivity
will increase over time exceeding
human performance in every
process involved in manufacturing.
Ÿ Factories will compute on-premise /
on-edge and they will push
important data to cloud for
benefiting from a shared pool of
data with other factories.
www.ai-build.com
In this scenario where robots make
autonomous decisions by using real-
time sensor data, a feedback loop is
established between physical and
digital environments. The constant
flow of information from physical to
digital and vice versa create immense
amounts of structured data which is the
fuel for AI powered autonomous
factories of the future. Such action-
measurement-action strategies allow
the systems to self-improve over time,
creating a data network effect in
manufacturing. The more one process
is executed, the more efficient it will
get. This allows super-human
performance in almost every domain
given enough data.
Daghan Cam is the Co-founder
and CEO of Ai Build, a London
based startup developing
Artificial Intelligence and
Robotics technologies for the
construction industry. He is also
a visiting lecturer at University
College London doing research
on robotic fabrication, large scale
3d printing and parallel
algorithms with GPU computing.
His work focuses on developing
intelligence for automating
complex tasks in design and
manufacturing by using
computer vision and machine
learning techniques.
About the Author
www.insightssuccess.com July 2019| 43

46. It was Da Vinci’s belief that nature
is the greatest source of
inspiration for innovation. Ever
since then, mankind’s greatest
inventions have reflected the same
belief. Keeping faith on the same,
Toposens came up with the idea of
ultrasonic echolocation enabled sensor
technology.
Founded in 2015, Toposens has
successfully developed a sensor system
that can detect objects and people
purely with the help of ultrasonic
echolocation. By integrating the 3D
ultrasound sensor into a vehicle, the
startup from Germany aims to give bat
vision to autonomously moving cars
and robots. The sensor realizes near-
field vision for various applications,
such as autonomous parking, ADAS,
collision avoidance or in-car
monitoring.
Enhancing the Technology
The innovative sensor technology
developed by Toposens, blends in
perfectly with existing sensor stacks,
covering edge cases, which otherwise
would be difficult to cover. The sensor
combines the unique characteristics of
ultrasound, therefore being resistant to
external influences, such as lighting
conditions, reflections or even dirt and
rain. The sensor module itself is small,
simple and inexpensive.
Multiple functions can be enabled with
the same sensor system, making it
attractive for Toposens’ customers to
work with. This combination of
characteristics provides an
unprecedented way of perceiving the
environment – another piece of the
puzzle towards autonomous driving.
A Trio of Visionaries
Alexander Rudoy, Rinaldo
Persichini and Tobias Bahnemann
are the Co-Founders of Toposens.
While Alexander and Tobias share the
position of Managing Directors,
Rinaldo has been appointed as the
Head of Development in the company.
The trio started up with nothing but an
idea and the basic algorithm for a
completely novel sensor technology.
Having no industry connections and
financial support, it took a while for
them to get a foot in the door in the
automotive industry. According to the
Co-founders, Toposens had adversities
in its way through the initial years of
its existence. This perseverance
however, paid off in the end, as it could
finally convince automotive companies
of its technology’s advantages.
Setting up a sustainable company in
this industry with the given barriers
was a big accomplishment and it has
been achieved by hard work and a
strong belief in the technology. The
three founders took every opportunity
to learn more about the industry, get to
know its peculiarities and its
participants, incorporating the
feedback in the product development
along the way. Today, they are experts
in the field of automotive sensor
technology.
Automotive Adversities
Gaining credibility as a startup in the
automotive industry is hard work and
such was the case with Toposens. The
company believes that even though a
lot of people seem to be interested in
the technology at a very early stage,
not a lot of enterprises take the
initiative to take the first step forward.
Despite the extreme pressure for
innovation in the automotive industry,
a lot of companies in this sector are
still relatively conservative and have a
hard time trusting startups in the
market.
www.insightssuccess.com44 |July 2019

47. Long development and sales cycles in the industry make it
even harder for independent startups to survive in this
market. It takes a relationship of mutual trust for the
corporate and the startup to work together at eye level.
However, if the cooperation is successful in the end – the
struggle pays off for both sides. The corporate boosts its
innovation power and the startup wins a loyal customer.
Raising Industry Standards
Toposens has contributed to the whole ecosystem of both
the autonomous driving and the sensor industries by
developing its pioneer sensor technology. Using ultrasound
as its underlying technology, the sensor is perfectly suited
to complement existing sensor technologies and enable new
applications, which have lacked a reasonable sensing
technology up till today.
certain sensor technologies, are easy to identify for
ultrasound and vice versa.
Consistent Innovation is Key
Sensors technology is very significant for automation
industries, especially vehicles, robots and electronic
devices. Therefore, its importance will increase
dramatically in the future, as interaction between humans
and technology increases. Due to this importance of sensor
technologies, competition has grown fiercely. Even though
Toposens offers a unique technology, it is possible that
current complexities can also be resolved by different
technologies before ultrasound.
To stand out from competition, Toposens therefore has to
constantly work on its technology, evolve into new markets
and, finally, broaden its product range from ultrasound to
neighboring technologies. Today, an important difference to
established sensor developers is Toposens’ agility and
flexibility which comes with its small size. Maintaining this
agility will be a crucial competitive advantage in the future.
Currently, Toposens is working together with automotive
manufacturers and suppliers on various use-cases including
collision avoidance and autonomous parking. In the long
run, Toposens wants to provide near-field vision to all
autonomous vehicles and robots, making interaction
between humans and machines easier and more reliable.
According to the company, customers benefit from a
broader range of options, but also from the redundancy,
which subsequently increases reliability of the whole sensor
stack. Edge cases, which might be difficult to detect for
Bat Vision for
Autonomous Vehicles.
Tobias Bahnemann
Co-founder & MD
Alexander Rudoy
Co-founder & MD
Rinaldo Persichini
Co-founder & HOD
www.insightssuccess.com 45July 2019|

48. With the environmental damages from the fossil fuel electrics cars have seen a steep rise in its demand. A
growing number of countries, including Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Portugal and Spain, have
recently set targets on electric vehicles sales. Also countries like UK, France and India are looking to
completely shift towards all electric vehicles by the end of 2040.
According to petroleum giant BP, global oil demand will witness its peak demand in 2030, which will eventually
increase the demand of electric vehicles by quite few folds.
When it comes to leading the way with electric and hybrid engines, Norway and China are one of the prominent
facilitators. In case of Norway more than half of the new cars sold fall in to this category. China is also a big and a
leading market for electric and hybrid engines and power trains. Back in 2017, more than 600000 electric vehicles were
sold in China, which was whooping 71% higher than the previous year.
So, the question arises, how it will impact the consumers and governments?
When it comes to individuals, electric vehicles reduce monthly travelling costs drastically. However, there’s a catch;
Driving Towards a
Greener and Cleaner Environment
www.insightssuccess.com46 |July 2019

49. electric vehicles come with limited range of fuel
efficiency which means one has to plan his/her trip
according to route with ample number charging stations.
Also electric vehicles are much cheaper to maintain than
an internal fuel combustion engine.
The impact of electric vehicles on environment is quite
clear. More than a quarter of greenhouse gases produced
in the United States of America are a result of
transportation which eventually contributes to the rising
pollution levels. On the other hand, electric vehicles
come with no gases and sounds, leading to a clean
environment.
However, the wide use of electric vehicles also has some
demerits if we consider the government’s perspective.
Thanks to these vehicles, various governments will lose
billions of dollars of revenue from taxes on fossil fuel.
So, soon we might have to shell out higher direct or
indirect taxes, or the vehicle taxation system could be
changed completely. Also, electric cars need 30% lesser
time to produce. So, a complete switch to these green
vehicles might also lead to reduction of workforce in the
automotive industry. Switching to green vehicles would
also mean drop in employment levels in petrol bunks, car
repair garages, etc.
Vehicles are not only going electric, Norway plans to
start 1.5 hours short haul flights using electric planes.
Also, the aircraft manufacturer company Airbus, engine
manufacturer Rolls Royce and Siemens are developing a
hybrid model which will probably make its maiden flight
as early as 2020.
According to a major Swiss bank, by the end of 2025
electric vehicles will account for 14% of total car sales
globally. Back in 2017, the figure was just 1%.
Also thanks to the rapidly changing market and growing
innovation this timeline can eventually shift backwards.
As an example, the batteries are constantly getting
cheaper and much more efficient. Nowadays one can
cover a distance of 1000kms with a single charge. With
the improvement in battery technology costs are slowly
cutting down and it’s being predicted that the total cost
of ownership of an electric vehicle will be on par by
2025.
So, it’s all good for the drivers and the owners, who will
be able to buy and maintain electric vehicles at
reasonable prices. But jobs will be lost, countries that are
now thriving due to petroleum will face scarce demands.
However, new jobs will be created, and countries which
have Lithium deposits may have their chance of success.
Above all we will get a planet that is much greener,
cleaner and quitter.
www.insightssuccess.com July 2019| 47
Recharging Enviroment