Flex and Caruma Partner to Deliver AI-Powered, Vision-Based Automotive Interior Systems

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AGM Automotive, a leading global developer and supplier of automotive interiors and consoles – recently acquired by Sketch-to-Scale™ solutions provider Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) – has entered into a joint development and licensing agreement with Caruma® Technologies, Inc., an Intelligent Connected-Vehicle Platform™ company, to develop AI-powered, vision-based interior systems for automakers, as announced today at Internet of Things World – co-located with Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif.

The two companies will collaborate on the integration of AGM's Intelligent Interior System with Caruma's system empowering the automotive data platform, which combines artificial intelligence, computer vision, and big data analytics —the underlying technologies found in self-driving cars—to alert drivers of unsafe driving behaviors, roadway hazards and vehicle security risks. These systems are designed to connect to the cloud to provide Advanced Driver Assisted Systems (ADAS) and Driver Management Systems (DMS).

Chris Obey, president of Automotive at Flex, said, "One of the specific reasons Flex acquired AGM was for the enhanced ability to develop collaborative industry synergies such as this partnership with Caruma. We believe our automotive OEM customers will be very interested in the advanced technologies resulting from these collaborations."

Flex intends to offer the Intelligent Interior System to automakers for integration into new vehicles and for aggregating anonymized data on driving patterns, road infrastructure changes, and traffic congestion to ramp up their autonomous vehicle strategies.

"Automotive manufacturers gain an edge by being the first to offer differentiated products in a highly competitive industry," said Robert Blinstrub, Vice President and General Manager of AGM, a Flex Company. "We chose to work with Caruma because of their expertise in intelligent transportation technology. This partnership will allow AGM and Flex to quickly deliver a comprehensive technology solution at the most efficient cost to our automotive customers."

The Caruma platform connects cameras and sensor hardware to a continuous learning cloud and an artificial intelligence powered vehicle network, which 'learns' behavioral patterns of drivers and passengers, situational factors external to the vehicle and road infrastructural changes.

Chris Carson, founder and CEO, Caruma Technologies, said, "The partnership between Flex, AGM and Caruma will allow automakers to offer a wider range of advanced features and services in vehicles, including adaptive intelligence gained from a smart network and continuous learning cloud, as part of Caruma's autonomous development efforts."

Flex, AGM and Caruma anticipate their advanced hardware technology and AI, computer vision based software platform to be available to automakers by Q4 2017.

About Flex

Flex is the Sketch-to-Scale™ solutions provider that designs and builds Intelligent Products for a Connected World™. With approximately 200,000 professionals across 30 countries, Flex provides innovative design, engineering, manufacturing, real-time supply chain insight and logistics services to companies of all sizes in various industries and end-markets. For more information, visit flex.com or follow us on Twitter @flexintl. Flex – Live Smarter™

About AGM Automotive

AGM was founded in 2001 and is the leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of the automotive industry's most advanced interior products, including interior lighting, overhead consoles, switches, assist handles, textiles and other interior assemblies, such as electronic components and wire harnesses, to the automotive marketplace. AGM was acquired by Flex in April 2017.  For more information about AGM Automotive, please visit www.agmautomotive.com.  

About Caruma Technologies, Inc.

Caruma is an Intelligent Connected-Vehicle Platform™ that utilizes the underlying technologies found in autonomous driving vehicles to improve safety, security, and convenience.  Caruma's AI-powered connected-vehicle platform collects data that empowers fleet managers with context-rich information, insurance sector with a vision-augmented driver score, smart cities with deep insights about road segment infrastructure anomalies, and automotive sector with real data sets needed for ramping to level 4 autonomy. 

Caruma and the Caruma logo are registered trademarks of Caruma Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE Flex

Related Links

http://www.flex.com