As the future of mobility trends toward solutions that prioritize connectivity in the car, we at HARMAN are always looking for unique, powerful ways to use our cutting-edge technologies and solutions to advance that effort. That’s why we’re so excited to again participate in Smart Mobility Community’s world-renowned EcoMotion Week 2021! This annual event highlights the brightest and most powerful innovators in Israel’s mobility ecosystem. Gathering a range of startups to multi-national enterprises, 600 different companies are actively working in the Israeli mobility industry as part of a nationwide initiative to bring together innovation in software, cyber, data storage, analytics and global automotive companies. The previous EcoMotion event brought in over 4,000 attendees, almost a quarter of whom were international representatives from leading OEMs, governments, Tier 1 suppliers and more. At the 2019 event, HARMAN showcased some of our most exciting technologies, including the integrated solution and the digital dashboard debuted in the Maserati earlier that year during the Consumer Electronics Show.
At EcoMotion 2021, HARMAN’s Hadas Topor Cohen, Senior Director, Head of Product and Business Development, OTA and Cyber, participated in a riveting panel titled, “Bringing Connectivity to the Next Level.” Speaking on the power of 5G and how it will translate to vehicles, Cohen said automakers have the opportunity to expand cellular vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology that gives our cars, buses, and infrastructure the ability to “talk” to one another and the cities around us. V2X will help prevent collisions among vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists by sending a mobile alert on 5G networks warning of potential incidents. He also described how consumers’ heightened desires for connectivity will shape the space for years to come. The mobility industry must meet these customer expectations and focus on delivering technology to elevate their experiences per mile. “In 10 years, our most important digital device won’t be in our pockets,” he said. “It’ll be in our driveways, and we won’t focus only on the engines inside our vehicles – but more on the digital experiences they provide us.”
HARMAN General Manager, OTA and Cybersecurity Michal Geva also participated in EcoMotion 2021 by giving an exclusive presentation on taking a proof-of-concept from idea to millions of units of production, in a session titled, “From POC to a Million Dollar Deal.” This joint workshop looked at product development through both a business and legal lens. She broke down the steps companies must take in order to reach and deliver major deals when starting from a mere proof of concept, as HARMAN does so well with many of their greatest innovations. What makes a good POC? Specificity, according to Geva. It must be well-defined, include success criteria and achieve specific requirements.
In a region that is teeming with innovation, passion and promise, we at HARMAN are proud to see that how our teams there are using cutting-edge technologies to aid the advancement of the automotive industry. As we drive further into the future of mobility, we will be looking to the ingenuity and inventive spits of our teams there in helping us deliver unprecedented, connected in-car experiences for drivers and passengers around the world.