Skip to main content

Alibaba-backed augmented reality start-up makes driving look like a video game

A view of the Navion augmented reality driving system projected onto a windshield.
Source: WayRay
A view of the Navion augmented reality driving system projected onto a windshield.
WayRay's augmented reality driving system makes a car's windshield look like a video game.
The Swiss-based company that makes augmented reality for cars won the grand prize in a start-up competition at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Tuesday.
WayRay makes a small device called Navion, which projects a virtual dashboard onto a driver's windshield. The software can display information on speed, time of day, or even arrows and other graphics that can help the driver navigate, avoid hazards, and warn of dangers ahead, such as pedestrians.
WayRay says that by displaying information directly on the windshield, the system allows drivers to stay better focused on the road.
The display might appear similar to what a player would see on a screen in many video games. But the system also notifies the driver of potential points of interest along a route such as restaurants or other businesses.
On Tuesday, the start-up took the top honor in the 2017 Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition on at the Los Angeles Auto Show's AutoMobility LA trade show.
WayRay beat nine other contestants drawn from a pool of 300 applications. The panel judges included AutoMobility executives from the LA Auto Show executive team, Microsoft, Nvidia, Porsche Consulting, Sansea Consulting, and Time Inc.'s The Drive.
The company edged out the other two finalists for the prize: Ohio-based GhostWave, which makes radar for advanced driver assistance systems, and Israel-based Innoviz Technologies, which makes lidar, a technology thought to be crucial to self-driving cars that uses lasers to create images of environments and objects.
The award included $15,000 in prize money and several other perks. Microsoft offered $40,000 worth of cloud storage on their Azure cloud and consulting services. Nvidia gave the company one of its new Nvidia Drive PX 2 AI car computing platforms, which the company has said holds enough computing power to enable full self-driving capability.
A view of the Navion augmented reality driving system projected onto a windshield.
Source: WayRay
A view of the Navion augmented reality driving system projected onto a windshield.
WayRay also received an onstage mentoring session from several of the judges, including venture capitalist Bill Tai; Norman Firchau, president and CEO of Porsche Consulting North America, and Jeff Henshaw, Microsoft program manager of Quantum Computing.
WayRay will also receive consulting services from Elektrobit and access to the company's EB robinos network, a software network for automated driving. Porsche Consulting will also offer WayRay consulting services.
WayRay secured an $18 million investment from Alibaba in March. In early 2017, the company entered into a strategic partnership with audio and connected car equipment maker, and Samsung subsidiary, Harman.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Huawei Unveils 8e Youth With a Tall Display & Android Oreo For Cheap

HANDSETS Huawei just unveiled the Enjoy 8e Youth, a low-end phone with a tall 18:9 display. Huawei just unveiled a new entry-level smartphone, called Huawei Enjoy 8e Youth, as part of Huawei’s low-mid range lineup. Unlike the previously launched  Enjoy 7S , this one comes much cheaper and with low-end hardware. The key selling point for the Enjoy 8e Youth is its budget price over decent hardware. Let’s take a look at its specifications, Design & Display The design is much similar to most Huawei midrangers launched in the recent years, the top and bottom bezels exhibit minimal but symmetrical shapes while the volume rocker sits right above the power button on the right edge. On the rear, instead of a fingerprint sensor, there’s Huawei’s branding below the dark horizontal array housing a single lens and an LED flash. The body, measuring 146.5 x 7.09 x 8.3 mm, has a metallic finish. For the display, it comes with a 5.45-inch IPS panel with an HD+ ...

6 Portable & Affordable Gadgets To Cool You Down In The Heat

It’s all well and good when you’re at home under the breeze of your air conditioner, wearing your thinnest cotton pajamas and sleeping on your squishy cooling pillow. But what about when you’re speed-walking from the train station to work in 85-degree weather in the middle of the city? Or when you’re at a barbeque in the park, all the awnings were taken, and no one remembered to bring a sun umbrella? If you’re looking forward to the beach days and the outdoor concerts, but not so much to the whole sweating-through-your-clothes thing, no worries: There are portable options. Here’s a list of the coolest and most effective gadgets out there for overcoming the heat, minimizing the sweat, and finding your happy place, even in the midst of a heatwave. Use Your Phone's Power To Stay Cool Portable USB Fan , $6, Banggood This  portable USB fan plugs right into the side of your phone, laptop, power bank or tablet to deliver a cooling breeze right to your face, wherever ...

Make Your Donations and Deliver Change with Yayvo This Ramadan

Yayvo came up with a creative idea this year with their well-received isMay box. The box came with goodies, many of them in pairs. The idea was to share the goodness with others, specially the deserving. In addition to that, the box could be refilled with items such as clothing, stationery, toys, books etc; and return to any TCS Express Center for the items in the box to be given to Saylani Trust. This message of Delivering Change came just in time for Ramadan, fostering a spirit of giving to those in need. Ramadan is all about sharing blessings and caring for fellow human beings. The spirit of giving continues with Delivering Change in Ramadan through  Yayvo.com . You can donate to various charities under four causes (Health, Education, Vocational Training and Act of Kindness). 5 Best Free Antivirus Software to Keep Yourself Protected Through Yayvo Delivering Change, even those who didn’t receive an isMay box can donate and play their part at making ours a better ...