Tag: Emerging Vehicle Technologies

Industry News

You Could Sell Your Automotive Technology for More

December 15, 2020

You Could Sell Your Automotive Technology for More DECEMBER 15, 2020 // JEFF VARICK It’s the big day. You’re showcasing your latest automotive safety technology to a major auto manufacturer and your team is buzzing with anticipation. You’ve spent months developing this new technology, and you got it out ahead of the competition. Your component is more durable, more reliable, and more customizable than the other guys’. But it’s the other guys’ product that gets bought. What happened? The day of the demonstration, you set your new technology prototype on a table. Everything was on display — not just the dashboard component, but the wires and cables and signal box, like electrical spaghetti.  Your competitors, on the other hand, showcased their technology as a seamlessly integrated and functional component in a demonstration vehicle. The manufacturer sat in the driver’s seat and saw what the device would look like for their customers. They drove the car and saw the component in action. They admired the finished quality of the technology and loved how well it fit in a factory model. Related reading: How OEM Integration Can Boost Your Concept Vehicle Demonstrations In short, the competition took all the guesswork out of the equation and delivered a fully functional, gorgeous prototype that looked and felt like a production part. You’re Losing Money Every Time You Make a Sale I get the conundrum — it’s one thing to design and produce a working prototype, but it’s a whole other ballgame to figure out how to integrate it into a production vehicle and make it look seamless, as if it came out of the factory. That kind of effort takes time and resources you just don’t have. Besides, a demo vehicle is kind of overkill for the type of part you’re demonstrating. Right? But every time you demonstrate a component that isn’t seamlessly integrated into a vehicle, you’re stacking the deck against yourself and making several gambles.  You’re betting that the manufacturer won’t be influenced by the mess of exposed wiring.  You’re betting that they can imagine accurately and clearly how the component will look and feel when it’s integrated into their production line. You’re betting that if 1 and 2 don’t pan out, it still won’t affect the sale price. You’re betting that someone else won’t demonstrate their own version of the technology in a fully integrated demonstration vehicle. After all the months of research, development, and dedication of resources, do you really want to make those gambles? Even if you sell your automotive technology, you’re leaving money on the table, simply because you’ve shown them a messy looking prototype. Every time you make a sale, you’re losing money. It doesn’t matter what the technology is — a side mirror, an electronic safety component, or a small box that will never be seen — you need a fully integrated demonstration vehicle to show it off in. But what if you don’t have the skill set or expertise to incorporate all of the equipment you’ve engineered into a vehicle and make it presentable to an OEM customer? That’s where Brandmotion Solutions comes in. Why Brandmotion Solutions? When you’re introducing cutting-edge automotive technology, it has to perform flawlessly and look like an OEM component. You can’t afford design errors or sloppy integration. It’s not just the sale that’s on the line — it’s your reputation. Brandmotion Solutions is the concept development specialist that offers end-to-end services to demonstrate your new ADAS or connected vehicle technology. We’ll lead every step of the process — from creative design to deployment. When our customers take their demonstration vehicles to Warren or Ann Arbor and show them to the engineering teams at OEM manufacturers, the customers get to sit in a vehicle with the equipment already fully installed and integrated. They’re experiencing the demonstration technology the same way that car buyers will experience it. The integration is so seamless that it takes a knowledgeable eye to spot the differences.  As a result, our customers’ demonstrations have the same refined look and feel that car buyers will experience when they take a test drive at the dealership. That’s the kind of encounter you can provide to OEMs. Tier one suppliers trust us to make their innovative technology look native to the vehicle. We’ve gained a reputation for delivering the highest quality vehicle integration customizations.  No matter what the project, we’ll get the job done. Our engineers and technicians came out of the auto manufacturing industry, and they know how to make any integration work. We’re also fast — we can integrate a typical demonstration technology in a couple weeks instead of a couple months. OEM suppliers rely on Brandmotion Solutions, because they’ve given demonstrations without us before. They’ve seen the results that a Brandmotion Solutions demonstration vehicle integration delivers. And that’s why they keep coming back to us, time and time again.  Stop Leaving Money on the Table In today’s world of realistic computer-generated images and video, there’s still a critical need for a physical proof-of-concept product in action. You can present wonderfully rendered representations of your product as it might appear in a vehicle, but until it’s actually integrated in the car, OEMs will still have questions. A Brandmotion Solutions vehicle integration answers those questions. Don’t leave money on the table, and don’t risk losing a sale to your competitors. Get your next automotive technology demonstration seamlessly integrated into a demonstration vehicle. Latest Post Brandmotion and DENSO Announce Partnership for One Stop Vehicle Integration of Advanced Connectivity Technology Get Better Results in Less Time on Your Connected Vehicle Deployment Brandmotion Expands Its Digital FullVUE® Mirror Lineup to Add Ford Bronco What To Know Before Installing A Jeep Backup Camera

How OEM Integration Can Boost Your Concept Vehicle Demonstrations

September 17, 2020 Industry News

How OEM Integration Can Boost Your Concept Vehicle Demonstrations SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 // JEFF VARICK You’re introducing a cutting-edge technology into a concept demonstration vehicle. While you want to be modest about it, you have to admit — it’s pretty darn impressive. But let’s be honest: the way you’ve integrated your tech into the vehicle isn’t going to impress anyone. You have all the engineers you need, and you have complete capability to develop the technology. But you don’t have the resources to go the extra mile and seamlessly integrate it into the production vehicle. And that’s not a small thing. You’ve got to make the most of every demonstration, because it isn’t just the project on the line — it’s your reputation. Those kinds of stakes demand a seamless vehicle integration. Outsourced OEM-grade vehicle integration services can give your concept vehicle technology demonstration the edge it needs. Let’s look at the benefits that can make the difference for your next concept demo. Your Book Is Being Judged by Its Cover We’ve seen more than one concept technology that comes to the demonstration with cables running everywhere. OEMs are underwhelmed, because they can’t get past the looks of the equipment. As innovative as the technology is, the presentation of it has dampened the buyers’ opinion. It’s a little embarrassing to present an innovative vehicle technology that looks like it was slapped together by Doc Brown. It feels crude and unfinished. Even if the system works perfectly, it looks and feels like it’s easy to break. That doesn’t inspire confidence or excitement. Your technology demonstration is a sales tool, and it needs to start selling from the first glance — even before you turn the key. The most successful concept demonstrations look like they just rolled off the production line with the vehicle. They fit and function seamlessly, and they already live up to the OEM’s reputation and image. An OEM integrator can give your tech that kind of treatment. Performance You Can Count On Exposed cables and a bulky installation are an open invitation for disaster. Someone can accidentally trip over the cables, disconnect them, or knock components loose. It’s also all too easy for engineers to make last-minute modifications, against better judgment. The worst thing that can happen during a demonstration is presenting brand-new, innovative tech that doesn’t work because something got tampered with. You can’t tell the customer, “Well it worked yesterday.” It’s embarrassing, and it impacts your company’s reputation for future demonstrations. There’s also the wear and tear factor. Repeated use isn’t kind to concept products that are merely attached to the vehicle. If you don’t have stable connection points and tuck the wires out of the way, your demonstration technology won’t last very long. An OEM integrator can make your demonstration technology durable enough for showing after showing. Safer Demos with Fewer Distractions Seamless OEM integration makes your demonstration technology safer, too. When you drive it on a demo, you won’t be distracted by hanging cables or components that aren’t securely mounted. Nothing is fastened awkwardly to the dash, blocking the forward view. We did a project for a developer who wanted a huge display on the dashboard. We noticed that it would block the driver’s view, so we installed the monitor over the existing display. We hinged it so that they could lift the monitor and still access the controls underneath it. They loved the innovative approach, and the demonstration was a greater success. Complete OEM Integration with Brandmotion Solutions Brandmotion Solutions offers end-to-end integration services for concept vehicle technologies. We’ll start with a kickoff meeting to look at the vehicle and the parts, and to gain a full understanding of what you want. Then our craftsmen get to work. Our services cover the broadest range of capabilities needed to complete your entire project: Creative Integration Design. When showcasing your automotive technology, it’s critical that it looks OEM. We start every project by studying the concept and the vehicle to determine the best design for seamless integration, and then hand-build the first integration parts. Part Scanning and 3-D Modeling. Our dedicated in-house CAD team scans hand-built parts and creates 3-D models for the component parts that will be fabricated. Each design will go through several iterations, until they perfectly integrate with the vehicle. 3-D Printing. We create 3-D printed prototype parts to ensure they connect to the vehicle like an OEM component would. If the prototype is off even in the slightest, we’ll modify and reprint it until it looks like an original part of the production vehicle. Sheet Metal & Fiberglass Fabrication. Once the prototyping is perfected, we begin in-house component builds. Our fabrication team can produce any sheet metal or fiberglass part to seamlessly integrate your technology. OEM Quality Painting. Your concept technology needs to look and feel like it was always a part of the production vehicle. Our meticulous texture and color matching process ensures that the painting will produce a component that looks factory-made. Electrical System Integration. We don’t merely install your system — we integrate it so that it functions seamlessly with the vehicle. It will look and function as if it were an original component. This is the same process and set of resources we use to make our own products. Our in-house design and manufacturing team is yours! A Quick Success Story We had a company come to us that needed to demo 10 autonomous vehicles. They were taking the cars to some of the biggest shows in the country and the world, including the Consumer Electronics Show. A lot was at stake — their corporate reputation, their professionalism, and their capability to prove themselves as a world-class operation. In the past, this customer had used other sources that specialized in one or two aspects of concept development. They had to take each vehicle to several providers to get different parts of the work done. This time, they needed a one-stop shop that could tackle the whole

What Should You Expect from a Connected Vehicle Integrator?

September 1, 2020 Industry News

What Should You Expect from a Connected Vehicle Integrator? SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 // JEFF VARICK It isn’t easy to hire a service provider for a connected vehicle deployment. The field is still new enough that SmartCities have to feel their way through the dark. You don’t know what you don’t know, and the last thing you want is to have something come back to bite you in the tailpipe — like hiring the wrong contractor. A connected vehicle deployment project involves seven sections that are complex, highly technical, and tightly integrated with each other. What happens in early stages has a major impact on later stages — so it’s critical to make the right decisions out of the gate. The right project manager can be the difference between a successful connected vehicle deployment and a disastrous one. Brandmotion Solutions has had our hands in enough connected vehicle projects to become the nation’s leader in vehicle-side integration. We’re able to handle every aspect of a vehicle integration, from start to finish. Here’s how we do it.  1) Establishing Requirements The documents you have to write are long and intricate. It takes someone with a real gift for writing and project management to be able to complete one of these documents. Most of our clients have a lot of anxiety about the vehicle requirements plan, because they know they need to get a lot of vehicles equipped, but they don’t know what the vehicles’ limitations are. Brandmotion Solutions engineers have the experience with these documents that most installation companies don’t have. You won’t have to explain to us what a concept of operations is, and you won’t have to do it yourself. We know the information to plug into your process. Three ways you’ll see a difference with Brandmotion: OBU spec development The OBU supplier needs to know what apps will be loaded onto the OBU. We can help set the standards and the specifications, so that the proper equipment is purchased to do the job you want done. HMI type selection At one time, OBUs only used tones for notifications. Drivers didn’t know what they meant — if they were about to get T-boned or rear-ended, or something else. Brandmotion Solutions saw a tremendous opportunity to create a visual display for the driver, so they would know exactly what the warning was about. We developed visual notifications for rearview mirrors and heads-up displays that are projected onto the windshield. Both HMIs have opened up a whole new kind of solution for connected vehicle deployments. Vehicle pool analysis We can analyze the pool of vehicles in your state’s fleet — all of the emergency vehicles, snowplows, buses and more. We’ll analyze what it will take to integrate with those vehicles, then design an engineering solution that’s specific for each type of vehicle. 2) System Design and Engineering Once we’ve established the project requirements, we begin designing the solutions. Your CV deployment project can go very wrong if you expect to buy an OBU and simply wire it into each of your vehicles. You need to be very systematic and thoughtful. Every vehicle has its own system, which requires unique design solutions. Brandmotion Solutions can design an integration solution for every car, no matter what make, model, year, or trim level. We’ll design for every element of the system in the installation — CAN, antennas, wiring harness, applications, HMI, and more. Let’s take a look at two of our specialties. CAN data requirements and decoding/aggregating Of the 500 messages that can be decoded in a vehicle, only a dozen or so are actually needed. We’ll determine which CAN messages are relevant, and decode them for every vehicle in the deployment. Often, we have that dataset in our databases already. If not, we’ll get hold of a vehicle that matches and decode it before we begin working on the vehicle in your pool. App use case development There are 60 different applications that can be loaded onto an OBU, but your deployment probably only needs about a dozen of them. We’ll determine the apps that are relevant to meeting your project goals. 3) Hardware Sourcing and Manufacturing There’s a range of OBU suppliers to choose from, but each one is different from the others. Depending on your connected vehicle project, some OBUs will be more ideal than others. We use the Kepner-Tregoe Matrix to run an analysis that determines which hardware is best for your particular project. The process creates a systematic, disciplined sourcing method for all the hardware. 4) Validating the Vehicle System After designing a solution, it’s important to put it in a vehicle and perform interoperability testing to make sure it interacts properly with the roadside units (RSUs). As you can imagine, this is especially important when you have hundreds of vehicles in the project. You don’t want to install 1,000 units, only to discover that they don’t play well with RSUs! 5) Recruitment and Scheduling Your project depends on getting the drivers you need for the study. We can help recruit and train the consumers who will be part of the pilot. We’ll greet them and show a brief training video when they get the OBU installed in their vehicle. The goal is to make sure they’re very comfortable with the new equipment and understand how to interact with it. 6) Installation Brandmotion Solutions does installation from an assembly line mentality, and we use installation time reduction studies. This allows us to reduce wasted time and redundancies as we progress through the installations. In one project, when we started installations, they took three hours. After doing a time reduction study, we were able to reduce installation time to 90 minutes. One of the ways we keep on pace is by using a dashboard reporting tool. Every week we can show you how many vehicles we installed, what issues there were, the average install time, and when we expect to complete the project. It’s an accountability tool that helps us run at peak production and

Deep Vehicle Retrofit Capabilities for SmartCities and Emerging Vehicle Technologies

July 7, 2020 Industry News

Deep Vehicle Retrofit Capabilities for SmartCities and Emerging Vehicle Technologies JULY 7, 2020 // JEFF VARICK For years, Brandmotion has provided vehicle integration services for emerging connected vehicle and emerging vehicle technologies. What started as several discrete projects has quickly grown into a robust branch of our organization. So, to provide SmartCities and Tier-1 companies the full support and resources they need to succeed, we’re launching its own platform. Brandmotion is excited to announce the new website for our subsidiary company, Brandmotion Solutions. What Is Brandmotion Solutions? Launched in 2014, Brandmotion Solutions is our vehicle integration services company. At the time, The University of Michigan’s MCity had just started running experiments in the emerging world of connected vehicle technology. It was the first site in the country to do a large-scale experiment. They used 2800 vehicles from the public to test how well it works to have one car talking to another car with dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology. MCity believed that using DSRC on the roads could save 80 percent of the 40,000 lives we lose each year. It’s a grand vision, like a moonshot. This piqued our attention, because we’re in the business of integrating retrofit safety technology to save lives on the road. But if the vision were to be realized in the near future, it would require outfitting cars that are already on the road. If you only install DSRC in new cars, it would take forever to implement. Brandmotion Solutions is on a mission to integrate these emerging technologies in vehicles that are on the road today. So far, we’ve helped 14 cities around the country to integrate emerging connected vehicle technologies, in projects that have ranged from a ten-vehicle study to a 2,000-vehicle initiative. At the same time, we’re helping safety technology providers, from established Tier 1 OEM suppliers, to emerging startups, integrate their new safety solutions into vehicles of all sizes across the country. Why Choose Brandmotion Solutions There’s a difference between installation and integration. Brandmotion Solutions doesn’t simply install a technology — we architect, design, build, and install emerging technology solutions. We can talk about vehicle integration at a deep level of expertise and insight, because we came out of the auto industry. Our knowledge of vehicle electrical systems and seamless physical integration techniques is unmatched. Our mission is to be the premiere vehicle integrator of emerging technology. That encompasses more than SmartCity integrations — we’re also helping Tier-1 and technology companies to showcase their emerging vehicle technologies. Brandmotion Solutions is the go-to provider for anyone who wants to retrofit new technologies into existing vehicles — whether it’s demonstrating a couple vehicles or a large-scale pilot with thousands of vehicles. Need more reasons to work with Brandmotion Solutions? Our in-house documentation team creates in-depth and repeatable installation procedures for all of our clients. WIN Network — Our own nationwide network of installer partners that lets us scale on-demand, no matter where your project is located. Workforce development training and “train the trainer” programs are available to cities and organizations that need to perform vehicle integration themselves. What to Expect from Brandmotion Solutions It can be challenging to take on a vehicle integration project, especially when you start to scale. You may not even know where to start. Consider this website your go-to resource to break it all down and understand the different phases of a connected vehicle or emerging vehicle project. You’ll learn how to begin, and what to look for in an integration services provider. We’ll showcase products that help integrate, provide educational articles, and keep you up-to-date on our exclusive offerings. Since 2014, we have received enthusiastic response from SmartCities and companies who appreciate our deep automotive experience and knowledge. Our partnership is designed to add clear value to the clients who are working to deploy lifesaving vehicle technology. We’re excited about sharing this expertise with you, and hope you’ll come back to this site often. Subscribe to the blog and connect with us with any questions — we’re here to serve everyone working hard to make our roads and communities safer. Start optimizing your vehicle project.  Latest Post Brandmotion and DENSO Announce Partnership for One Stop Vehicle Integration of Advanced Connectivity Technology Get Better Results in Less Time on Your Connected Vehicle Deployment Brandmotion Expands Its Digital FullVUE® Mirror Lineup to Add Ford Bronco What To Know Before Installing A Jeep Backup Camera

Brandmotion Lets Commercial Drivers See More Than They’ve Ever Seen Before

January 7, 2020 Industry News

Brandmotion Lets Commercial Drivers See More Than They’ve Ever Seen Before  January 7, 2021 Brandmotion, leading developer of automotive safety technology, is making it possible for commercial drivers to get a completely unimpeded rear view for the first time. The FullVUE® Rear Camera Mirror (FVMR-1150) is a versatile new safety and convenience aid that replaces the traditional rear-view mirror with a full HD video screen, helping drivers see more than ever before. The FullVUE Mirror has become one of the most popular products that Brandmotion offers to consumer and fleet drivers. Now, Brandmotion is making this revolutionary product available to commercial customers as well. The FullVUE Rear Camera Mirror improves on the conventional mirror by providing a clear high-definition view, with no obstructions from passengers, headrests, or cargo. The vision system provides a 170-degree-wide field of vision, three times larger than the traditional view with a 9.66” LCD Screen and 1080p high-definition camera. The mirror also features a built-in front camera with DVR to provide all the benefits of a dash cam. The camera has been upgraded to an IP-68 rated commercial-grade camera for the rugged applications many commercial vehicles operate in. “We are very excited about this product, mainly because we know it will positively impact customers’ lives,” said Jeff Varick, CEO and Founder of Brandmotion. “Commercial truck drivers can now see the road behind them with an unimpeded view, since the camera mounts outside the vehicle. Eliminating rear-view obstructions and blind spots means saving lives, and that’s what we’re all about.” Because Brandmotion’s mission is to reduce distractions that cause road collisions, the vision system is seamlessly integrated into the vehicle. The FullVUE Mirror looks like a standard OEM component, so that commercial drivers have a completely uninterrupted driving experience. Brandmotion provides commercial customers with retrofit versions of innovative products that are available on newer vehicles. The goal is to equip fleets with the most outstanding safety technology, today — not years from now, when trucks are eventually replaced. The FullVUE Mirror is a ground-breaking product similar to the always-on rear camera mirror found on many newer vehicles, which provides dramatically improved rear visibility. “We believe that all customers should have access to the latest safety features. Our mission is to help make commercial vehicles safer, and this product aligns perfectly with that. Brandmotion provides the highest quality retrofit vehicle safety solutions that people can trust.” said Varick.   About Brandmotion: Since 2005, Brandmotion has been working continuously to reduce the number of lives lost on our roads due to traffic accidents. Specializing in the design, integration, and distribution of emerging automotive safety technology, Brandmotion is a recognized leader among aftermarket installers of mobile electronics. The company was awarded 2020 SEMA Best New Performance Product Finalist Award, 2018 SEMA Best of Show Award, 2018 SEMA Best New Van/Pickup/Sport Utility Product Award, 2016 SEMA PRO Manufacturer of the Year honors at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Latest Post Brandmotion and DENSO Announce Partnership for One Stop Vehicle Integration of Advanced Connectivity Technology Get Better Results in Less Time on Your Connected Vehicle Deployment Brandmotion Expands Its Digital FullVUE® Mirror Lineup to Add Ford Bronco What To Know Before Installing A Jeep Backup Camera

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