PlanetM, a presenter of the 2019 Top Ten Automotive Startup Competition, encourages startups focused in the areas of automation, connectivity, mobility as a service, clean and sustainable mobility, advanced material and manufacturing to apply for the competition. The competition recognizes technologies with the most potential to positively impact society and change how mobility is perceived
SAN FRANCISCO - Tesla’s battery research partner has released a new paper on a battery cell that could last over 1 million miles, which they say is going to be particularly useful in ‘robot taxis’ — something that Tesla wants to bring to market. When talking about the economics of Tesla’s future fleet of robotaxis
ANN ARBOR—What good is a driverless car if riding in it makes you nauseous? Up to one-third of Americans experience motion sickness, according to the National Institutes of Health. In a car, the condition tends to flare when you're a passenger rather than a driver, and when you're engaged in something other than looking out
GRAND HAVEN—GHSP, a manufacturer of vehicle shift systems, pumps, and electronic controls, is opening a 140,000-square-foot global headquarters and innovation campus in Holland. The move nearly doubles the square footage of the company, founded in Grand Haven as a metal stamper in 1924. “This is another step toward the growth strategy that we established in
ZEELAND—Automotive electronics manufacturer Gentex Corp. has began shipping the latest version of its HomeLink car-to-home automation system to Hauppage, N.Y.-bsaed Voxx Electronics Corp. for sale in the automotive aftermarket. The system is comprised of a Bluetooth-enabled automatic-dimming mirror with integrated buttons that can be programmed to operate a myriad of radio frequency and cloud-based home
TRAVERSE CITY - Six mobility and transportation startups were awarded more than $450,000 in PlanetM Mobility Grant funding at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars. The six startups recognized by Governor Whitmer in remarks at the conference aim to address today’s toughest mobility and transportation challenges, including traffic congestion reduction and improved pedestrian
DETROIT — LIFT – Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a national manufacturing innovation institute operated by the American Lightweight Materials Innovation Institute (ALMMII), today announced that is has hired Kevin Kerrigan to lead the institute’s business development efforts. Kerrigan joins LIFT as Vice President of Business Development, after more than five years at the Michigan Economic
DETROIT - Are we 'Driving dumber' in smarter cars? Drivers with advanced safety tech are taking more risks, a new survey contends. State Farm recently conducted an online survey and found that Americans who drive vehicles with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) or Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), both advanced driver assist features, admit to using their
ANN ARBOR—Deploying a fleet of electric autonomous taxis in a city could result in an 87 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional vehicular travel, according to a new University of Michigan-led study. The electrification of a city's AT fleet—largely from electric powertrains—results in a 60 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared
WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP.—Intecells Inc., a developer of advanced manufacturing technology for lithium-ion batteries, announced the closing of a Series A funding round, led by San Francisco-based Walden International and its partner, Steinhagen, Germany-based Plasmatreat GmbH, a developer of plasma-based metal treatment technology. West Bloomfield Township-based Intecells is developing and commercializing battery-manufacturing technology that improves battery
