LACHINE, Québec (October 10, 2018) – Directed announced today it is now shipping the Viper Powersports GPS model VPSC450, custom designed for the Canadian market.

Directed engineered the VPSC450 for today’s popular powersports vehicles – side-by-sides, ATVs, watercraft, motorcycles and snowmobiles. “The Viper Powersports GPS is a revolutionary product specifically designed for our Canadian customers and their powersports vehicles,” said Geoff Weathersby, VP Connected Car at Directed. “The Viper VPSC450 provides consumers peace of mind knowing their powersports vehicles are safe and secure. If the vehicle is moved or tampered with, the customer receives a notification on their smartphone and will be able to locate the vehicle using the embedded GPS. The VPSC450 is launching just in time for snowmobile season and will make a great stocking stuffer.”

The Viper Powersports GPS unit is weather-resistant, includes a starter kill, accelerometer, and works on all Canadian cellular networks. It carries an IP66 rating for protection against dust and water. The VPSC450 uses ultra-low current consumption making it compatible with the electrical systems on nearly all powersports vehicles.

It features a full complement of alerts for the vehicle owner including towing, tilt, and tampering. A built-in backup battery offers additional protection and ensures the VPSC450 will still send alerts even if it is disconnected from power.

Visit www.viper.com/powersports for more information.

Directed will be showing off its Viper Powersports products at the SEMA Show in the South Hall Upper at Booth #37007.

VISTA, Calif. (October 31, 2018) – Directed completed a successful first day at the SEMA Show 2018 where it is showcasing its full line of Winter 2018 products, including breakthrough solutions for the remote start and security, connected car, powersports and ignition interlock categories.

Directed’s booth is located in the South Hall Upper of the Las Vegas Convention Center, at Booth #37003 in the Powersports section.

In the powersports category, Directed is showing its Viper Powersports GPS and Viper Powersports Security systems. These products were specifically designed to protect and track popular powersports vehicles - motorcycles, ATVs, side by sides, watercraft, snowmobiles.

Directed is also sharing the roadmap for its flagship DS4 remote start and security technology. The expanding DS4 ecosystem, including a preview of the latest extended range antenna, is on display. Booth attendees are also experiencing the blazing-fast speed of Viper SmartStart Pro. Finally, representatives from Alcohol Detection Systems, Directed’s Ignition Interlock Device (IID) business are on hand to assist dealers interested in growing their revenue with IIDs.

“The SEMA Show is one of the hottest and most important in our industry,” said Bob Struble, Directed’s CEO. “We’re here to compare notes and share our exciting new products with our longtime partners in 12 volt retail. We’re also making new friends and building business with an entirely new channel with our powersports offerings. We’re thrilled to be back on the SEMA showfloor.”

Gizmag -- Researchers have found a better way to crunch the data that GPS-enabled devices use to determine their location. The result could provide a level of accuracy down to the centimeter that's needed in things like autonomous vehicles and other precision tech.

We've seen other efforts to improve GPS location to centimeter-level accuracy using what's called "differential GPS," that makes use of ground-based reference points in addition to satellite GPS data. This latest effort from the University of California - Riverside (UCR) seems similar in that it's basically a software-based approach.

What's perhaps most revolutionary about the advance is not just the improved level of accuracy, but just how efficiently centimeter-accurate positioning is established.

"Achieving this level of accuracy with computational loads that are suitable for real-time applications on low-power processors will not only advance the capabilities of highly specialized navigation systems – like those used in driverless cars and precision agriculture – but it will also improve location services accessed through mobile phones and other personal devices, without increasing their cost," said UCR professor Jay Farrell, who led the research.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.gizmag.com/gps-accurate-centimeter-level-autonomous-cars/41803/

CNET -- Nokia has finally unloaded its mapping service.

The Finnish telecommunications giant said on Monday that it had agreed to sell its Here maps business to European automakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, who have agreed to pay a total of 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion, £2 billion, AU$4.2 billion).

The fact that the three major manufacturers have teamed up to buy Here shows how important mapping data is to the future of the car industry as new vehicles become more connected. The technology gives them a viable alternative to mapping services offered by Google and Apple. The deal also allows them to move past simple satellite-navigation-style directions and toward the next generation of navigation: cars that can collect data to share real-time updates on traffic, parking and other variables with other vehicles. Down the line, those highly accurate, up-to-date maps will be crucial for self-driving cars to know where they're going.

The 150-year-old Finnish company Nokia is best-known for making phones, especially in Europe. But since selling off its phone business to Microsoft last year, it has been reduced to its three less well-known divisions: Nokia Networks, making networking equipment; Nokia Technologies, researching and developing new technology; and Here. Nokia recently bulked up its telecom equipment business with the acquisition of rival Alcatel-Lucent.

Here is available to the public in the form of maps apps on Android, iOS and Windows Phone, but the majority of its business comes from licensing mapping data to other companies, particularly in the automotive industry. There were 17 million vehicles produced with navigation systems in 2014, according to research firm IHS. Those cars will all need a steady flow of map data.

Here is developing technology that will pull data from cars, phones and the furniture of the road to the cloud and deliver real-time and predictive mapping services. The business is also expected to play an important role in the development of self-driving cars.

Read the rest of the story here:
 http://www.cnet.com/news/nokia-sells-here-maps-business-to-carmaker-consortium-of-audi-bmw-and-daimler/