Experimental vehicles at the General Motors development center in Herzliya (Photo: General Motors)
You get into your car after stocking up on hot coffee.
In the five minutes you were away from her it was charged and with an almost empty battery it is ready for a long drive.
The planned navigation map is projected on the windshield, and you pass through the city streets on the way to the highway, with the electronic radar and the advanced laser radar allowing you to continue sipping your coffee, while the car drives itself towards the highway, and does so with extraordinary silence thanks to an active system to reduce noises
"Blood pressure is too high, go get checked," announces the car's personal assistant.
It's a shame that the human body test is not as simple as the annual test you did this morning for the car in seconds.
This vision seems very futuristic, but it is on its way to being realized in the next few years.
And what is more surprising, it is entirely based on Israeli technologies, which major car manufacturers have already invested in the companies that develop them, or have already signed the first production orders for them.
The Israeli automobile industry did not even survive until the 50th Independence Day, but on the 75th Independence Day there is no doubt that Israel has never had such a senior position in the global industry, with local development centers, purchases from factories in Israel, and investments in future developments of the blue and white auto tech industry .
In many cases, these are strategic investments, designed to ensure that the foreign manufacturer will be the first to incorporate new Israeli technology into its vehicles.
More than 10,000 Israelis make a living from manufacturing components and technologies for the global automotive industry.
The local Mercedes center for the cyber protection of its vehicles, and is a customer of Gauzi and Valens (photo: manufacturer's website)
Who are the most Israeli car manufacturers?
1. General Motors.
Although it is the only one of the big three from Detroit that did not have a local assembly operation here, it is actually GM that is currently the largest car manufacturer that invests the most here, and that every new car of its has Israeli components, or developments that came out of its development center in Herzliya.
General Motors was the first car manufacturer to open a development center here, which seemed fanciful back in 2008.
Today it employs 800 people, and is one of the company's largest outside the US, with responsibility for the development of sensors, batteries and especially the OnStar system that exists in most of the company's models, and provides complementary services to drivers.
Dr. Gil Golan, who founded the center, was appointed last year as senior vice president at GM, responsible for the development of the hydrogen technology critical to its future, and for technological collaborations. The company, which was one of Mobileye's first customers, also invests in local start-ups, such as Uveye which has developed technologies for rapid non-contact vehicle scanning to detect faults, and is already placing them in its dealerships in the US.
It also buys physical components for its cars in Israel for tens of millions of dollars, such as magnesium assemblies from TGI (formerly Tadir-Gan) as well as valves from Merval.
2. Mercedes
, the first car manufacturer in the world, was the second to open a development center here, in 2016, led by Adi Ofek.
The scope of activity is much smaller than GM's, only a few dozen employees, but the small center leads the field of cyber protection in the luxury manufacturer.
Mercedes is also a customer of several Israeli companies, such as Gauzi, which produces rights capable of changing brightness through the transmission of an electric current, and displaying information as if they were a monitor, and also Valance, which provides fast communication between vehicle systems.
The company also has investments in Anagog, which analyzes information from the vehicle, in VIA, which operates transportation services on a personal order, and in Sturdot, which develops light batteries that can be charged in just five minutes with a capacity that will enable a 160 km trip, and almost permanently eliminate the range anxiety of tram drivers.
3. Hyundai.
The Korean car manufacturer, and the parent company of Kia, has also been the car sold in Israel since 2011. The company operates a small innovation center in Israel, which is mainly intended to find Israeli technologies for the vehicles of the concern, which, like most of the car industry, is a long-time customer of Mobileye.
In recent years, Hyundai has invested tens of millions of dollars in Israeli auto-tech companies, whose products will be integrated into future models and its facilities.
Among the companies: Upstream Security, which provides cyber protection for connected vehicles, Kardom, which develops algorithms for voice recognition, which is essential for operating systems while driving through speech, and also MDgo, which uses existing vehicle sensors to quickly identify the condition of vehicle occupants after an accident, and regularly monitor their health status, important information for insurance companies and health services.
Hyundai has also invested in the artificial intelligence start-up allegro.ai, and in the company Silentium Menes Ziona, which exports an active system for canceling car noises, and in several companies already mentioned here: UVeye and Gauzi.
More in Walla!
KKL-Junk encourages climate studies through scholarships for young students
In collaboration with KKL-Junk
Hyundai's investments in Israel will introduce a wealth of Israeli technologies into its future vehicles (Photo: Hyundai)
Other prominent manufacturers: Volkswagen, which used to be a partner in the magnesium factory of the Dead Sea factories, and is now a prominent customer of Mobileye, has control over the vehicle cyber defense company Simotiv Techmology, in which the three former Shin Bet officials, Yuval Diskin, Tzafir Katz and Tamir, are also partners. First. The company also has a local branch of Volkswagen Connect, which serves as a scout for the manufacturer vis-à-vis the Israeli start-ups. The
Swedish Volvo, owned by the Chinese Geely, invested in Stardot directly, and also through its subsidiary Polestar. It also has investments in MDgo, Corrections, and start-ups
Honda recently invested in two intriguing local companies, Tao NT, which is developing a small nuclear reactor that will operate in cold fusion, and will be able to supply electricity to electric vehicle charging complexes, and in CorrActions, which is developing technologies to take the brain activity of the driver, to check if he is fit to drive, and thus prevent accidents
.
Toyota, which for years invested and purchased only from Japanese companies, in recent years also became a customer of Mobileye, and recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Electreon, to use the technology it developed for charging an electric vehicle from the road, while driving.
It is also a partner together with BMW and the Israeli Cortica in a company that develops artificial intelligence systems for cars, for autonomous driving and active safety systems.
Even Ferrari uses Israeli technologies for good (photo: manufacturer's website)
Super manufacturers are also coming to Israel
The top luxury car manufacturers are also currently investing in or already purchasing Israeli technologies, and here too Mobileye plays a role.
The German Porsche already has three investments in Israel: in TriEye, which developed infrared sensors that can be integrated into the vehicle's active safety system, in Aurora Labs, which developed a system for detecting software faults in smart cars, including the possibility of repairing them remotely in real time, and in Grip, which began as a sports car manufacturer to the track, but currently provides technologies to improve the viewing experience in motor sports, including the possibility to bet on the results.
Even Ferrari already does business here.
Like Volkswagen, the Italian manufacturer of exotics also uses Simotiv's cyber protection, and recently signed a contract with Harman to use its technology, which is being developed at Hod Hasharon, to transmit software updates over the air to its future models.
Whereas Jaguar Land Rover also invested in Silentium.
There are also Israeli start-ups that have not yet announced agreements with the major car manufacturers, but are getting close.
Arba, for example, which developed a long-range and relatively cheap radar for a car, has already signed production agreements with a large component manufacturer for the Chinese automotive industry, in preparation for orders from its customers. The one who has already passed
this stage is Inoviz from the beginning of the eye, which developed a laser sensor (lidar) essential for driving systems autonomous and active driving systems. The company already has production agreements with BMW, which uses its lidar in the new 7-series, and it has announced a future collaboration with Volkswagen, which will include several of the German group's brands that will also use its sensor in the coming years. This is a potential Sales of billions of dollars, and the company is already considered the next Mobileye of the local auto tech industry.
Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford Worldwide, at the Ecomotion conference. Who will come this year? (Photo: Assaf Kliger)
More announcements next month
In May, the annual conference of the Ecomotion community, which unites 630 auto tech companies, will be held in Tel Aviv, and each year brings to Israel senior members of the automotive industry, in an event that is accompanied by announcements of new collaborations, investments and the expansion of local centers.
"Everyone knows the success of Mobileye and Waze, but it can be said in my opinion that already today we can see a respectable line of additional Israeli companies that are going to register another impressive chapter in the development of the Israeli smart transportation industry and the implementation of blue and white technologies in the vehicles we all drive," says Jennifer Schwartz, CEO of Ecomotion.
According to Schwartz, more than 500 guests from abroad and hundreds of international companies coming as part of dozens of delegations from Asia, America and Europe will participate in this year's Ecomotion exhibition, which will be held on May 23 in Pavilion 1 at Expo Tel Aviv (the exhibition grounds). During the conference, panels will be held on various topics such as the future The batteries and energy storage in the field, the world of infrastructure required for the electric vehicle, a snapshot of the autonomous vehicle and weaknesses in cyber systems.
Schwartz: "During the exhibition, fresh news from the field related to Israel will be revealed, we can already say that another car manufacturer will announce a significant upgrade to its research and development center in Israel and it will be revealed For the first time to the vision of the collaboration between Inviz and Audi".
vehicle
car news
Tags
General Motors
Hyundai
Mercedes
Volkswagen
