The Tel Aviv lab, technological spearhead of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

[ad_1]

It was in the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv that the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi laboratory was installed, on the lower floors of one of the buildings of a huge technology park. Behind a backdoor are four brand new spaces, shared between offices and workshops where Alliance prototypes are stored. The director of the laboratory, Antoine Basseville, takes us around the place, navigating between modesty and ambition.

 "Today, there are about ten of us occupying the premises, but we plan to both expand the team and host start-ups within this space, which has a larger capacity, slips there. In terms of technological innovation, we are one of the Alliance sites most open to collaboration with the outside world, which gives us special visibility ", he adds. If for the time being Alliance Ventures has only invested financially in a start-up, Upstream Security, collaborations are numerous and open the field to technological transfers which would be decisive for the future of the manufacturer. Overview.

Brightway Vision, infrared sensors for remote vision

As is often the case in Israel, the night vision technology developed by Brightway Vision (BWV) was born out of a large non-governmental defense company, namely Elbit System, a shareholder of BWV. "The principle, explains Ofer David, the founder-president, involves illuminating the environment with a short infrared laser pulse, and taking very short shots as the light reflected from the scene returns to the sensor. We cut the image into slices that correspond to distances. "

The system allows you to locate any object up to 250 meters away, and in any atmospheric condition, day or night. Right now, the technology is there to prevent risks, but ultimately it could also become useful for autonomous driving. Meanwhile, it's the cost-effectiveness that charmed the Alliance. "For the purposes of the feasibility Review, a dedicated transmitter was placed at the bottom of the bumper, in addition to a sensor in the car. The technology, which is based on a CMOS sensor, should be much cheaper than a LIDAR for example, but could prove to be very effective, especially at night or in difficult weather conditions ", confirms Antoine Basseville.

IRP systems, a more efficient engine

Funded in part by the Israeli Innovation Authority, Renault began in 2017 a partnership with IRP in the development of a more efficient battery, especially for hybrid circuits. Antoine Basseville shows us the prototype installed on a Twizy: "Here we have an engine prototype about half the size of the original, with an efficiency of around 15% higher. This jump is made possible by an innovation linked to the control. It notably allows a really linear acceleration, which provides more pleasure while driving ", underlines Antoine Basseville.

The next step will be to develop this solution on more substantial engines, like that of the Zoé. "We have already started the tests", specifies the director of the laboratory. In addition to this technology, Renault has adapted photovoltaic panels on the roof and hood of the Twizy. Easy to install, the panels work like stickers and reduce the energy cost of the car of the future.

With Upstream, the Alliance chooses security

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is very careful in its investments. While it has entered into partnerships with more than 10 Israeli start-ups, it has so far invested in only one of them: Upstream. No figures have yet been released. But when it last raised 30 million euros, Upstream cited the Alliance as one of its contributors. The Israeli nugget is developing a platform called Upstream Security C4 (for Centralized smart health connected Car Cybersecurity), intended to protect the smart health connected vehicles themselves as well as the associated services.

Via an interface, car manufacturers and fleet managers can detect cyber threats in real time and respond to attacks targeting any part of the chassis of smart health connected vehicles, ensures Upstream Security. In its April 2019 report, the Israeli company details the events observed: 47% of the incidents were allegedly remote intrusion attempts, 18% of attacks on servers linked to vehicles and characterized by ransom, and 8% of direct attacks on vehicles. Upstream Security seeks to create a virtual umbrella to protect vehicles against all these intrusions.

Moodify, the smelling solution

There are ideas that surprise. Moodify is one of them. This new start-up wants to replace car air fresheners with a gadget that can not only fight bad odors, but also keep drivers alert, and even reduce stress and aggressiveness. "We tested the first samples and the result is impressive", notes Antoine Basseville. Moodify has an exclusive license agreement with the Weizmann Institute to commercialize olfactory research from the Israeli university to mass produce a variety of "active scent" products.

The company's first product, Moodify White, eliminates the perception of bad odors by temporarily affecting the way the brain interprets them. A second product, Moodify Red, aims to wake up the driver and thus prevent an accident. The smell this time is not neutral and can even be quite unpleasant. If the solution has been assessed by the lab, Antoine Basseville is still working on how to use it: would the client be ready to be woken up suddenly or would he prefer to press a button himself? What about the driver who would not be alone, and would for example have children sleeping in his car?

A long-term vision

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi laboratory in Tel Aviv has long-term objectives. Concrete innovations could emerge after at least five years, even if certain solutions, notably software, could be imported more quickly. The main thing, for now, is to have made a place in the Israeli ecosystem and to have started working with several hand-picked start-ups. Antoine Basseville does not hide the fact that there are difficulties, notably linked to the confrontation of two cultures.

The Israelis are often in a hurry and "go inside", unlike the French, a little "old school" … The director of the laboratory is less talkative about the competition that rages in Israel around the different manufacturers who, like BMW, Mercedes or Chrysler, have attached the services of the pearls of Israeli technology. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has not committed the same financial means, but it is now well positioned to make a success of it.

[ad_2]