AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – January 7, 2021 – Nexteer Automotive expands its growing software capabilities with an investment in Tactile Mobility, the leading tactile virtual sensing and data company based in Israel.
“Nexteer’s collaboration with Tactile Mobility is a perfect complement to our existing global software business model and focus on motion control software. We are looking forward to building-out even more of our software offerings that maximize over-the-air updates and connectivity for even safer, more reliable driving,” said Robin Milavec, Senior Vice President, Executive Board Director, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Nexteer Automotive. “Software plays an important, central role in the automotive industry and especially in steering features and a driver’s connection to the road. This investment is yet another example of how we are executing our strategy for growth in alignment with key industry megatrends.”
Tactile Mobility’s software collects data using vehicles’ built in, non-visual sensors including wheel speed, wheel angle, RPM, paddles position, gear position and then analyzes it to yield actionable insights in real-time. These insights provide a clear-cut, highly accurate description and analysis of the continually evolving state of vehicles, roads and vehicle-road dynamics.
Steering plays a unique role in giving the driver a “feel of the road.” Beyond the performance aspect of a driver’s road connection, this road feedback also plays an important safety-critical element in giving the driver a sense of hazardous road conditions (e.g., icy, gravely, potholes etc.). Already a leader in software-tuning for steering feel, Nexteer expects to elevate its expertise via Tactile Mobility’s real-time data feeds on vehicle environments. Nexteer joins other global automotive companies collaborating with Tactile Mobility.
“Having the support and vote of confidence from Nexteer is sure to strengthen our position in the market, and we couldn’t be more delighted,” said Eitan Grosbard, VP of Business Development at Tactile Mobility. “We are seeing a burgeoning demand for our unique tactile sensing technology as well as our data which offers a true to life picture of the state of our road and mobility ecosystem in real-time. We will continue to harness the potential of that data with our partners – be they cities, municipalities, insurers, OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers.”
ABOUT NEXTEER
Nexteer Automotive (HK 1316), a global leader in intuitive motion control, is a multi-billion dollar global steering and driveline business delivering electric and hydraulic power steering systems, steering columns, driveline systems, as well as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving enabling technologies for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company has 27 manufacturing plants, four technical and software centers and 13 customer service centers strategically located in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The company serves more than 60 customers in every major region of the world including BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, PSA Groupe, Toyota and VW, as well as automakers in India and China. nexteer.com
ABOUT TACTILE MOBILITY
Tactile Mobility is the world’s leading tactile virtual sensing technology and data provider, enabling actionable insights for autonomous vehicles, municipalities, and fleet managers. Tactile Mobility’s unique technology collects “first principle”, crucial, anonymized real-time data generated from vehicles’ non-visual, existing sensors and turns it into actionable insights on road attributes including grades, grip, and curvatures as well as vehicle attributes such as weight, tire parameters, and more. Insights provided by Tactile Mobility greatly enhance vehicle intelligence and ride safety, efficiency and experience as well as empower city officials with new and much higher value data to better conduct planned maintenance and detect hazards in near real-time. Tactile Mobility was co-founded in 2012 by Boaz Mizrachi, Yossi Shiri, and Alex Ackerman. The company is already working with multiple OEMs, road authorities, and municipalities and is based in Haifa, Israel with a presence in Europe, the US, and Asia.
