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 US and China.
Yehuda brings over 25 years of enterprise, technological and managerial expertise as a CEO of know-how and communications firms to guide Cipia. In his most up-to-date position, Holtzman served as CEO of On Observe Improvements Ltd. (OTI), a worldwide supplier of close to discipline communication (NFC) and cashless cost 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 attain it?
Cipia’s long-term imaginative and prescient leverages the alternatives and enterprise fashions created by every step on the best way to totally autonomous vehicles. Specifically, progresses by three most important levels:
First, we’re targeted on decreasing accidents by monitoring the driving force and elevating the alarm if they’re drained or distracted. Subsequent, we’ll transfer to semi-autonomous automobiles, the place our techniques change into much more essential as drivers could have to shortly take again management of the automobile. Lastly, in totally autonomous automobiles, we’ll shift to enhancing the in-car expertise by know-how that acknowledges the automobile’s occupants and remembers their preferences.
How has your earlier expertise at OTI and different tech firms ready you on your position at Cipia, and what are the largest challenges you’ve confronted since turning into CEO of Cipia?
My expertise managing a number of progress firms has well-prepared me to guide Cipia, particularly throughout this essential section within the firm’s lifecycle. I’m notably acquainted with the challenges and alternatives that include this stage. The twin deal with each increasing the corporate and establishing a sustainable progress technique is crucial. As an illustration, since I joined Cipia, we now have elevated our gross margin whereas greater than doubling the variety of automotive producers amongst our prospects. Our objective – and our greatest problem – is to be the chief in our discipline, and certainly one of our key benefits on this technology-driven market is Cipia’s in depth expertise with laptop imaginative and prescient and AI. The chance to use my experience in a market phase targeted on saving lives makes my work particularly significant.
How does Cipia’s know-how differentiate itself from different driver and occupancy monitoring techniques available on the market?
Cipia’s laptop imaginative and prescient AI is constructed on in depth expertise with edge processing, which has lean {hardware} necessities as a constraint from the design section. This implies our algorithms are optimized to require fewer {hardware} sources, enabling deployment in techniques that finally value much less to our prospects and allow wider deployment.
Are you able to clarify the 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 information doesn’t should be transmitted elsewhere for processing. On the planet of automotive security techniques, this can be a laborious 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 information we’ve seen, in keeping with the director of transportation at a serious beverage firm, earlier than utilizing Cipia, an awesome 86% of their accidents had been attributed to human error. This firm carried out Cipia’s resolution designed for fleets and noticed a 90% discount in cellphone 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 normal necessities. Amassing the required knowledge in keeping with the varied protocols takes time and sources, however that’s a part of the profit a long-time supplier of driver monitoring techniques presents. We’re additionally a member of the Euro NCAP tier 2 DMS suppliers workgroup and are very happy with our contribution to security by this necessary work.
Past security, what are some potential purposes of Cipia’s AI know-how that would improve the driving expertise?
Cipia’s underlying software program allows personalized experiences for drivers and passengers. A number of the options automobile producers can implement with Cipia embody mouth monitoring for voice instructions, guaranteeing the automobile responds solely to the driving force. Infotainment interplay detection, which tailors automobile controls based mostly on which person is interacting.
Driver’s gaze detection would stop distractions by pausing video content material when the driving force is peeking on the display screen. These are only a few of the handfuls of options enabled by laptop imaginative and prescient AI that will improve the driving expertise.
How does Cipia make sure the privateness and safety of the information 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 machine. For TSPs and Fleets, the client could select whether or not to obtain text-based alerts solely or embody video snippets earlier than and after an occasion. Underneath each circumstances, Cipia doesn’t obtain or retailer video knowledge of any form.
What developments do you foresee within the automotive AI and laptop imaginative and prescient business over the subsequent decade?
Wanting ahead, I imagine the business will proceed to deal with security, however we’ll additionally see a shift in the direction of enhancing the general in-car expertise. This might embody monitoring very important indicators, detecting if a driver is below the affect (even when they don’t seem to be actively driving), and enhancing youngster security options like detecting if a toddler has been left within the automobile.
We’re additionally prone to see extra personalization, with AI techniques studying particular person behaviors and preferences to create an optimum atmosphere for every person. Nonetheless, it is necessary to notice that the business remains to be exploring these prospects, and nobody is aware of precisely what is going to work greatest.
A significant 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 providers on a recurring foundation. That is much like how the cell phone business developed from promoting units for making calls to promoting platforms for apps and providers. This shift presents new alternatives and challenges for firms like Cipia as we work to offer worth on this altering panorama.
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Cipia.
