Israeli startup Ottopia, a company that focuses on remote assistance for autonomous vehicles, will collaborate with Japanese-headquartered global automotive parts manufacturer Denso Corporation for a teleoperation solution, the Tel Aviv-based company announced on Tuesday.
Denso is currently ranked as the world’s second-largest Tier 1 auto parts supplier.
Ottopia also unveiled its new Advanced Teleoperation (ATO) platform, which provides direct and indirect remote control of self-driving vehicles. The platform integrates human operators with patent-pending artificial intelligence software to “set a new safety standard for teleoperation in the automotive industry” even in extreme weather conditions or loss of cellular connection, a statement said. ATO can also be used for vehicles in freight shipping, and construction industries.
Teleoperation is the use of a system or a machine at a distance, similar to the phrase “remote control.” Ottopia, with the support of leading autonomous vehicle, network, and cybersecurity experts, claims to provide the safest, most scalable, and cybersecure teleoperation on the market.
“Anyone who is interested in teleoperation – from robotaxi companies to fleet management and logistics companies – can now deploy our platform,” says Amit Rosenzweig, CEO of Ottopia.
Ottopia was founded in 2018 by Rosenzweig, former head of product management for Microsoft’s leading cybersecurity unit, and Leon Altarac, former head of the autonomous vehicles and robotics branch of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Denso, the $48.3 billion international mobility supplier, has 211 facilities in 35 countries to produce thermal, powertrain, mobility, electrification, and electronic systems.
Rosenzweig stated that the collaboration with Denso “has been phenomenal from day one.” Similar to Ottopia, “DENSO is interested in a teleoperation solution focused on safety and scalability,” he said.
Denso has been collaborating with local Israeli startups since April 2018, a month after it opened its satellite R&D Center in Israel and began building an R&D team in the country.
In December 2018, Ottopia closed a $3 million seed funding round led by Israeli-founded MizMaa Ventures with participation from Glory Ventures, Plug and Play, and NextGear. Aaron Applebaum, principal at Mizmaa Ventures, explained that there is a “real, unmet need” in the domain of safety and autonomous vehicles, and was “thrilled to partner with Ottopia’s talented and battle-tested team to solve the problem of safe teleoperation.”
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