The rise of UAVs technology significantly changed many industries, from crop inspection to medical services. Applying drone powered solutions on such a scale required simplification and automation of drone control. Today UAVs can operate fully autonomously but the challenge is how to define the landing spot. The most efficient way so far was to define the location using geographic coordinates. It’s obviously the best and the most accurate solution but it has some disadvanteges. It is difficult to use and prone to human error where even a small mistake can send the machine far off-course.
This is where what3words comes in with human approach to navigation. What3words offers a global addressing system that divides the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assignes each one a unique 3-word address. This idea proved to be far easier to remember and share than GPS coordinates. Moreover, it provides the same degree of location accuracy, without any of the complexity. Looks like the idea is highly appreciated because more and more drone companies are willing to integrate the new addressing system into their platform. Currently, what3words partnered with various UAV organizations like Copter-Express, Overscout, Hylio and Altavian.
“what3words provides an innovative customer facing solution” said Mike Oda, co-founder of Hylio. “It bridges the gap between the human and the machine, and will allow us to expand our user base”.
“Integrating what3words into our maps made so much sense that I didn’t need to think twice” said Julius Vinton CEO of Overscout. “Our drone operators have to know where clients are requesting them to fly and it is especially difficult to communicate precise locations that are out in the field. We practically eliminated misunderstandings thanks to what3words.”
I find this solution interesting and useful. According to what3word around 75% of the world suffers from inadequate addressing systems. This means that using 3-word may come in handy. Of course latitude and longitude are great for computers but the new addressing is way more useful for people. I believe that thanks to its simplicity it opens up drones industry to more businesses and customer.
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Intel confirmed that it is acquiring Mobileye for $15.3 billion. Mobileye is one of the leading companies using computer vision for traffic safety and autonomous driving tech. It offers a range of technology and services including sensor fusion, mapping, front- and rear-facing cameras among other. We can read in the statement:
The acquisition will couple the best-in-class technologies from both companies, including Intel’s high-performance computing and connectivity expertise and Mobileye’s leading computer vision expertise to create automated driving solutions from the cloud through the network to the car. The combination is expected to accelerate innovation for the automotive industry and position Intel as a leading technology provider in the fast-growing market for highly and fully autonomous vehicles.
Intel estimates the vehicle systems, data and services market opportunity to be up to $70 billion by 2030. The transaction extends Intel’s strategy to invest in data-intensive market opportunities that build on the company’s strengths in computing and connectivity from the cloud, through the network, to the device. But the deal will not only bring Intel closer to the autonomous driving technology but also extensive relationships that Mobileeye has with automakers.
Self-driving cars business is clearly the next big thing and it is clear that no one wants to be left behind. Follow us to learn more about the market and the technology behind this revolution.
