Yehuda Holtzman serves because the CEO of Cipia. The corporate focuses on picture processing and AI, with in depth experience in analysis, implementation, and optimization of algorithms for embedded platforms and the in-car automotive business. Cipia is headquartered in Israel, with international workplaces in the USA and China.
Yehuda brings over 25 years of enterprise, technological and managerial expertise as a CEO of expertise and communications firms to steer Cipia. In his most up-to-date function, Holtzman served as CEO of On Observe Improvements Ltd. (OTI), a world supplier of close to area communication (NFC) and cashless fee options. In prior years he served as CEO of Mobilogy, overseeing its sale to the American ESW Capital fund. Yehuda was additionally a co-founder of the software program firm ExploreGate, the place he served as CEO from 2012 to 2016, in addition to co-founder of MobileAccess, the place he served as President of the corporate by its acquisition by Corning Integrated In 2011. Yehuda has a grasp’s diploma in administration from Ben-Gurion College and a bachelor’s diploma in electronics engineering from the College of Brighton in England.
Are you able to elaborate on Cipia’s imaginative and prescient for the way forward for in-cabin sensing options and the way you propose to realize it?
Cipia’s long-term imaginative and prescient leverages the alternatives and enterprise fashions created by every step on the way in which to totally autonomous vehicles. Specifically, progresses by three fundamental phases:
First, we’re targeted on decreasing accidents by monitoring the motive force and elevating the alarm if they’re drained or distracted. Subsequent, we’ll transfer to semi-autonomous autos, the place our techniques develop into much more essential as drivers might have to shortly take again management of the automobile. Lastly, in totally autonomous autos, we’ll shift to enhancing the in-car expertise by expertise that acknowledges the automobile’s occupants and remembers their preferences.
How has your earlier expertise at OTI and different tech firms ready you to your function at Cipia, and what are the most important challenges you’ve confronted since changing into CEO of Cipia?
My expertise managing a number of development firms has well-prepared me to steer Cipia, particularly throughout this crucial part within the firm’s lifecycle. I’m significantly accustomed to the challenges and alternatives that include this stage. The twin give attention to each increasing the corporate and establishing a sustainable development technique is crucial. For example, since I joined Cipia, now we have elevated our gross margin whereas greater than doubling the variety of automotive producers amongst our clients. Our purpose – and our largest problem – is to be the chief in our area, and one among our key benefits on this technology-driven market is Cipia’s in depth expertise with pc imaginative and prescient and AI. The chance to use my experience in a market section targeted on saving lives makes my work particularly significant.
How does Cipia’s expertise differentiate itself from different driver and occupancy monitoring techniques available on the market?
Cipia’s pc imaginative and prescient AI is constructed on in depth expertise with edge processing, which has lean {hardware} necessities as a constraint from the design part. This implies our algorithms are optimized to require fewer {hardware} sources, enabling deployment in techniques that in the end price much less to our clients and allow wider deployment.
Are you able to clarify some great benefits of lean edge processing in Cipia’s options?
The benefit of lean edge processing is twofold. First, it facilitates decrease system prices since fewer {hardware} sources are required. Second, it brings extra capabilities to the sting, which means that extra processing can occur regionally, guaranteeing no connectivity is required, and the info doesn’t must be transmitted elsewhere for processing. On this planet of automotive security techniques, this can be a exhausting requirement. It allows low latency, security, and safety.
With distracted driving being a number one reason behind accidents, how efficient are Cipia’s options in decreasing such incidents?
Very.
To offer only one instance of the info we’ve seen, in accordance with the director of transportation at a serious beverage firm, earlier than utilizing Cipia, an amazing 86% of their accidents have been attributed to human error. This firm applied Cipia’s answer designed for fleets and noticed a 90% discount in telephone use whereas driving and a 70% lower in accidents.
How does Cipia guarantee its applied sciences adjust to the newest GSR and Euro NCAP necessities?
Cipia employs complete validation strategies, together with on-track and on-road testing of its choices, to make sure full compliance with regulatory and security customary necessities. Amassing the required information in accordance with the varied protocols takes time and sources, however that’s a part of the profit a long-time supplier of driver monitoring techniques affords. We’re additionally a member of the Euro NCAP tier 2 DMS suppliers workgroup and are very pleased with our contribution to security by this essential work.
Past security, what are some potential purposes of Cipia’s AI expertise that would improve the driving expertise?
Cipia’s underlying software program allows personalized experiences for drivers and passengers. Among the options automobile producers can implement with Cipia embrace mouth monitoring for voice instructions, guaranteeing the automobile responds solely to the motive force. Infotainment interplay detection, which tailors automobile controls based mostly on which consumer is interacting.
Driver’s gaze detection would stop distractions by pausing video content material when the motive force is peeking on the display. These are just some of the handfuls of options enabled by pc imaginative and prescient AI that will improve the driving expertise.
How does Cipia make sure the privateness and safety of the info processed by its in-cabin sensing options?
Cipia’s embedded options are totally non-public and safe. Our options analyze the video stream in real-time, translating it to metadata. No pictures are saved, recorded, or despatched from the gadget. For TSPs and Fleets, the client might select whether or not to obtain text-based alerts solely or embrace video snippets earlier than and after an occasion. Below each instances, Cipia doesn’t obtain or retailer video information of any type.
What traits do you foresee within the automotive AI and pc imaginative and prescient business over the subsequent decade?
Wanting ahead, I imagine the business will proceed to give attention to security, however we’ll additionally see a shift in the direction of enhancing the general in-car expertise. This might embrace monitoring important indicators, detecting if a driver is underneath the affect (even when they are not actively driving), and enhancing youngster security options like detecting if a baby has been left within the automobile.
We’re additionally more likely to see extra personalization, with AI techniques studying particular person behaviors and preferences to create an optimum atmosphere for every consumer. Nevertheless, it is essential to notice that the business remains to be exploring these prospects, and nobody is aware of precisely what is going to work greatest.
A serious development we’re seeing is a shift in automobile producers’ enterprise fashions. They’re transferring away from merely promoting a automobile to promoting a set of options and companies on a recurring foundation. That is just like how the cell phone business developed from promoting units for making calls to promoting platforms for apps and companies. This shift presents new alternatives and challenges for firms like Cipia as we work to supply worth on this altering panorama.
Thanks for the nice interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Cipia.
