Yehuda Holtzman serves because the CEO of Cipia. The corporate makes a speciality of image processing and AI, with extensive expertise in research, implementation, and optimization of algorithms for embedded platforms and the in-car automotive industry. Cipia is headquartered in Israel, with global offices in the US and China.
Yehuda brings over 25 years of business, technological and managerial experience as a CEO of technology and communications corporations to guide Cipia. In his most up-to-date role, Holtzman served as CEO of On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI), a world provider of near field communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions. In prior years he served as CEO of Mobilogy, overseeing its sale to the American ESW Capital fund. Yehuda was also a co-founder of the software company ExploreGate, where he served as CEO from 2012 to 2016, in addition to co-founder of MobileAccess, where he served as President of the corporate through its acquisition by Corning Incorporated In 2011. Yehuda has a master’s degree in management from Ben-Gurion University and a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from the University of Brighton in England.
Are you able to elaborate on Cipia’s vision for the long run of in-cabin sensing solutions and the way you intend to realize it?
Cipia’s long-term vision leverages the opportunities and business models created by each step on the option to fully autonomous cars. Namely, progresses through three most important stages:
First, we’re focused on reducing accidents by monitoring the driving force and raising the alarm in the event that they are drained or distracted. Next, we’ll move to semi-autonomous vehicles, where our systems turn out to be much more crucial as drivers might have to quickly take back control of the vehicle. Finally, in fully autonomous vehicles, we’ll shift to enhancing the in-car experience through technology that recognizes the automotive’s occupants and remembers their preferences.
How has your previous experience at OTI and other tech corporations prepared you to your role at Cipia, and what are the largest challenges you’ve faced since becoming CEO of Cipia?
My experience managing several growth corporations has well-prepared me to guide Cipia, especially during this critical phase in the corporate’s lifecycle. I’m particularly conversant in the challenges and opportunities that include this stage. The twin deal with each expanding the corporate and establishing a sustainable growth strategy is important. As an example, since I joined Cipia, we now have increased our gross margin while greater than doubling the variety of automotive manufacturers amongst our customers. Our goal – and our biggest challenge – is to be the leader in our field, and one in every of our key benefits on this technology-driven market is Cipia’s extensive experience with computer vision and AI. The chance to use my expertise in a market segment focused on saving lives makes my work especially meaningful.
How does Cipia’s technology differentiate itself from other driver and occupancy monitoring systems available on the market?
Cipia’s computer vision AI is built on extensive experience with edge processing, which has lean hardware requirements as a constraint from the design phase. This implies our algorithms are optimized to require fewer hardware resources, enabling deployment in systems that ultimately cost less to our customers and enable wider deployment.
Are you able to explain some great benefits of lean edge processing in Cipia’s solutions?
The advantage of lean edge processing is twofold. First, it facilitates lower system costs since fewer hardware resources are required. Second, it brings more capabilities to the sting, meaning that more processing can occur locally, ensuring no connectivity is required, and the information doesn’t must be transmitted elsewhere for processing. On the planet of automotive safety systems, this can be a hard requirement. It enables low latency, safety, and security.
With distracted driving being a number one explanation for accidents, how effective are Cipia’s solutions in reducing such incidents?
Very.
To provide only one example of the information we’ve seen, in response to the director of transportation at a serious beverage company, before using Cipia, an awesome 86% of their accidents were attributed to human error. This company implemented Cipia’s solution designed for fleets and saw a 90% reduction in phone use while driving and a 70% decrease in accidents.
How does Cipia ensure its technologies comply with the newest GSR and Euro NCAP requirements?
Cipia employs comprehensive validation methods, including on-track and on-road testing of its offerings, to make sure full compliance with regulatory and safety standard requirements. Collecting the required data in response to the varied protocols takes time and resources, but that is a component of the profit a long-time provider of driver monitoring systems offers. We’re also a member of the Euro NCAP tier 2 DMS suppliers workgroup and are very happy with our contribution to safety through this necessary work.
Beyond safety, what are some potential applications of Cipia’s AI technology that might enhance the driving experience?
Cipia’s underlying software enables customized experiences for drivers and passengers. Among the features automotive manufacturers can implement with Cipia include mouth tracking for voice commands, ensuring the vehicle responds exclusively to the driving force. Infotainment interaction detection, which tailors vehicle controls based on which user is interacting.
Driver’s gaze detection would prevent distractions by pausing video content when the driving force is peeking on the screen. Those are only a number of of the handfuls of features enabled by computer vision AI that will enhance the driving experience.
How does Cipia make sure the privacy and security of the information processed by its in-cabin sensing solutions?
Cipia’s embedded solutions are fully private and secure. Our solutions analyze the video stream in real-time, translating it to metadata. No images are stored, recorded, or sent from the device. For TSPs and Fleets, the shopper may select whether to receive text-based alerts only or include video snippets before and after an event. Under each cases, Cipia doesn’t receive or store video data of any kind.
What trends do you foresee within the automotive AI and computer vision industry over the following decade?
Looking forward, I consider the industry will proceed to deal with safety, but we’ll also see a shift towards enhancing the general in-car experience. This might include monitoring vital signs, detecting if a driver is under the influence (even when they don’t seem to be actively driving), and improving child safety features like detecting if a baby has been left within the automotive.
We’re also prone to see more personalization, with AI systems learning individual behaviors and preferences to create an optimal environment for every user. Nevertheless, it is vital to notice that the industry continues to be exploring these possibilities, and nobody knows exactly what is going to work best.
A significant trend we’re seeing is a shift in automotive manufacturers’ business models. They’re moving away from simply selling a vehicle to selling a set of features and services on a recurring basis. This is analogous to how the cell phone industry evolved from selling devices for making calls to selling platforms for apps and services. This shift presents latest opportunities and challenges for corporations like Cipia as we work to offer value on this changing landscape.
