General Motors is starting to harvest technology startup companies over 20 in which it has invested.
GM global purchasing chief Steve Kiefer said the automaker is beginning to install gadgets and technology that were financed by Ventures, GM, its venture capital unit. Launched in 2010, GM Ventures, is exploring new businesses with technology related to infotainment, vehicle electrification, fuel economy, advanced materials and autonomous driving.
Some examples:
• New software Tula Technology Inc. will improve the efficiency of cylinder deactivation. Current technology uses a fixed pattern of off - say, half of the cylinders of a V-8 engine. Tula software, nicknamed Jump dynamic Fire, allows the engine control unit to adjust the pattern of each individual shot cylinder continuously.
• Several models equipped CUE Cad-Illac have a mobile phone charger designed by Powermat Technologies Ltd. motorist places the smartphone into a rubber pad, and an electromagnetic field the battery is recharged.
No need for a cable connection. CUE is a smart navigation screen as it allows the driver to control various functions of infotainment phones.
During a presentation on August 6 at the Center for Automotive Management Briefing Seminars Research here, Kiefer said Ventures, GM is gaining momentum.
"Two or three technologies have begun to bear fruit," he said. "We are accelerating innovation in our vehicles."
Kiefer says GM is taking other steps to accelerate the introduction of technology.
Previously, vendors were upset by terms-and-conditions of the contract automaker, allowing GM to dictate how it would make use of intellectual property from a supplier.
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