The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved waivers sought by six companies wanting to use the 57-64 GHz band for vehicular safety technologies. The waivers were approved in a single order for Vayyar Imaging, Valeo North America, Infineon Technologies Americas, Tesla, IEE Sensing and Brose North America. OET said granting the waivers, in coordination with NTIA, “will bring immediate relief to the industry and the public in this area.” The technologies all involve detection of children inadvertently left in vehicles in hot weather “and other related passenger safety functions at higher power levels than specified in the rule,” OET said Wednesday. The waivers “will enable important in-vehicle sensing technology to further the auto industry’s goal of saving lives,” Auto Innovators President John Bozzella said in a statement. “The industry is working to reduce pediatric heatstroke fatalities through advanced technology, public awareness efforts, and a 2019 commitment to equip vehicles with rear seat reminder systems by Model Year 2025,” he said.

Audi announced Sonos as the sound system provider for its Q4 e-tron electric vehicle, due in Europe in June at about $50,100, minus a $10,770 subsidy, its least expensive EV to date. In an Audi video announcing the Sonos sound system, its first for the automotive market, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence noted the relationship first acknowledged last month at a virtual investor meeting (see 2103100045) when an analyst asked about a Sonos logo that had appeared subtly in an Audi e-tron ad. “While we were born in the home, we really have an ambition to be the world’s leading sound experience company,” said Spence. That means giving customers the ability to listen to Sonos products “wherever they go,” he said in the video, against a backdrop of a tent showing customers taking the company’s portable Roam speaker, which began shipping this month, to the desert. Spence called Audi a “co-visionary” that “also values innovation and design.” Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, Sonos senior vice president-hardware and operations, said the two companies share “longevity and sustainability” as part of their design principles, developing product that “ages really well and keeps evolving over time.” Sonos’ Giles Martin, vice president-sound experience, described the e-tron sound system's “well-defined center and symmetric sound stage” with deep, clear bass “even at full output.” Sonos sound systems will also be offered in the Audi A1, Q2 and Q3 vehicles. Sonos didn’t respond to questions.

Texas Instruments requested an FCC waiver Wednesday for its single-chip vehicle radar systems operating in the 60-64 GHz band. The systems “enable interior cabin sensing capabilities for use while the vehicle is in motion, including hand gesture detection, seat belt reminders, and driver vital sign monitoring,” TI said: When the vehicle is stopped, they enable “occupancy detection, including child presence detection and intruder detection.” The waiver would allow operations at a maximum +10 dBm transmitter conducted output power, +13 dBm peak effective isotropic radiated power and +13 dBm/MHz peak power spectral density.

Growth in e-commerce is driving an increase in last-mile deliveries and the need for more drivers, with many new drivers lacking previous commercial driving experience, reported ABI Research Wednesday. At the same time, regulatory measures in North America, Europe and China are bringing more technology into commercial fleets, said the researcher. Shipments of video solutions that can prevent accidents by proactively detecting driver fatigue or distraction are seen rising 29% by 2026 to $8 billion, it said. Commercial video telematics developers are working on systems with gesture and object recognition, 360-degree views of in-cab and road-triggers, and livestreaming for up to eight cameras, it said.

AT&T began supplying 4G LTE connectivity to 2021-model Maseratis in the U.S. under a multiyear agreement, said the carrier Tuesday. Access is included with unlimited AT&T in-car Wi-Fi through AT&T data plans. Maserati owners can sign up for a free trial lasting three months or 3 GB, whichever comes first.

Tesla representatives spoke with staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on a waiver request from last year to permit marketing a short-range interactive motion-sensing device in the 60-64 GHz band at a higher power level than specified in rules (see 2008200027). “Tesla clarified that the subject device may be installed in any vehicle that Tesla currently produces or plans to produce,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-264. It cited possibilities for “child detection, occupant classification for advanced airbag deployment, seat belt reminders, intrusion detection and driver vitals monitoring.”

New Honda and Acura vehicles in Canada come equipped with built-in Wi-Fi hot spots that enable drivers and their passengers to stay fully connected hands-free, Bell Canada and Honda announced Thursday. Targeted to mobile workers, commuters and families, this capability “will seamlessly support browsing, streaming and sharing” on up to seven devices, leveraging 4G LTE. Devices can stay connected up to 50 feet away from the vehicle, said the companies.

DTS rebranded its Connected Radio solution as DTS AutoStage, saying it better represents the broad application of the platform for automotive infotainment systems. The rebranding was due partly to the DTS owner Xperi's combining with TiVo in June, enabling integration of TiVo’s music metadata and content discovery engine, said DTS Tuesday. Additional features added to DTS AutoStage are lyrics, content metadata and personalization capabilities. AutoStage recently launched in the Daimler MB User Experience. Broadcasters that have adopted the platform include Entercom, Beasley, Cox Radio and Bauer Media, along with regional platforms.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety supported a request by IEE Sensing for a waiver of FCC rules for a radar that detects infants and children left in an automobile and operates in the 60-64 GHz band. The waiver “will enable the introduction of technology into passenger vehicles to address the issue of hyperthermia deaths and in particular those of children who have unknowingly been left in or entered vehicles without adult supervision,” said the group in a Tuesday posting. Comments were due Monday in docket 20-435.

LG Innotek developed a digital car key module that uses ultra-wideband wireless LAN spectrum to enable vehicle owners to unlock car doors or start the engine using a smartphone, said the tech subsidiary Monday. Owners need not carry a physical key and the smartphone must be inside the vehicle to drive it, reducing the risk of car theft, it said. Previous Bluetooth based digital car key modules had “low location detection precision” and were prone to hacking, it said. A proprietary LG Innotek algorithm increases security and can detect the location of a smartphone five times more precisely than existing key modules, it said. “LG Innotek plans to actively make inroads into the market for next-generation communication components,” and will promote the device to automotive OEMs in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea, it said. Strategic Analytics projects nearly 30 million vehicles globally will have digital key capabilities in 2025, compared with 6.3 million in 2020, said LG Innotek. Owners of the Galaxy S21 Ultra and S21+ will be able to use their phones to unlock compatible car doors via ultra-wideband, Samsung announced Jan. 14 (see 2101140065).