NEWS
Magneti Marelli and French company sign autonomous driving agreement
Magneti Marelli has announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of 100 % of SmartMeUp , a French start-up operating in the field of ‘ perception software ’ aimed at autonomous driving , Smart Cities and safety technology applications . Closing is expected to take place in the last quarter of 2018 , following some formal steps .
In particular , SmartMeUp develops software for processing sensor ’ s signals , detecting and recognising objects around the vehicle , allowing 3D Environment Building and Object
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UnionPay accepted in French tourist attractions and on public transport
UnionPay International has announced that it has partnered with La Banque Postale to enable 37,000 merchants and 7,600 ATMs of the bank to accept UnionPay cards within the next year . The partnership makes UnionPay card use in the local tourist attractions , public transportation and post offices much more convenient for tourists . And the local UnionPay-accepting ATMs will reach 80 %. Now , tourists can use UnionPay cards to purchase tickets for the Palace of Versailles , take the Paris airport shuttle bus and send postcards at the French post office .
Movement Tracking . This type of software will be a key enabler for autonomous vehicles . The differentiating feature of SmartMeUp ’ s software is that it requires low computing power and generates low heat , making it possible to be rolled out on a large scale for embedded automotive applications . SmartMeUp also focuses on developing software for ‘ Driver Monitoring ’, that is included in the NCAP requirements roadmap , expected to be mandatory by 2020 . The acquisition will bring Magneti Marelli into a group of high-skilled scientists and engineers , with proven capabilities in the field .
“ The acquisition of SmartMeUp , combined with the investment in LiDAR expert LeddarTech and the long-established Lighting and Electronics capabilities , strengthens Magneti Marelli ’ s contribution to autonomous driving development with focus on the sensing and perception components of the architecture ,” said Pietro Gorlier , CEO of Magneti Marelli .
The first step of the company ’ s strategy for autonomous driving was the development of the ‘ Smart Corner ’ concept , which integrates sensors into the vehicle lights and the investment LeddarTech , for the joint development of LiDAR systems . Moreover , Magneti Marelli is internally developing automotive grade cameras and electronic control units for sensor fusion .
France is the world ’ s largest tourist destination and has been the first choice for Chinese tourists visiting Europe for five consecutive years . At present , about 70 % of ATMs and more than 200,000 merchants in France accept UnionPay cards , covering places such as Paris Champs Elysées , Place Vendôme and Charles de Gaulle . AccorHotels Group and Louvre Hotel Group are also accepting UnionPay in all their hotels .
The cooperation between UnionPay International and La Banque Postale will realise UnionPay acceptance at many cultural attractions , 8,500 post offices , Paris Airport shuttle buses , about 10,000 taxis in the Paris region and many transport , cultural establishments and supermarkets . Meanwhile , all the banks ’ ATMs in France will accept UnionPay cards . The local UnionPay card acceptance network will be further improved to better meet the growing payment demand of free-and-independent travellers .
So far , UnionPay is accepted at more than 3 million merchants in 39 countries and regions in Europe , accounting for over 60 % of all bankcard-accepting merchants in the region . UnionPay will reach 100 % acceptance in Spain this year . UnionPay is also accepted at more than 80 % of ATMs and 50 % of merchants in Italy .
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