TIDMTEK
Tekcapital plc
27 June 2019
27 June 2019
Tekcapital Plc
("Tekcapital", the "Company" or "the Group")
Portfolio Company Update:
Guident Ltd Acquires Additional IP for
Remote Control of Autonomous Vehicles and Drones
Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK), the UK intellectual property (IP)
investment group focused on creating marketplace value from
investing in university technology, is pleased to announce that its
portfolio company Guident Ltd has exclusively licensed U.S. patent
# 9,964,948 B2 entitled: "Remote Control and Concierge Service for
an Autonomous Transit Vehicle Fleet" from Florida International
University.
This patent describes methods for assisting autonomous vehicles
and drones by using their sensor inputs in coordination with a
remote control centre with the ability to take over operation of a
vehicle or drone from anywhere in the world, enabling it to
navigate in a variety of difficult situations such as heavy
weather, crowded and dangerous traffic scenarios, accident
prevention and remediation, and off-grid and last mile package
delivery. This proprietary method may improve both safety and
consumer satisfaction with autonomous vehicles and drones.
Harald Braun, Chairman at Guident said,
"We are pleased to announce that Guident has acquired the
exclusive license to U.S. patent 9,964,948 B2. This patent deals
with the operation and control of autonomous vehicles and drones
and describes methods and systems for assisting these vehicles
remotely, to increase safety and help to bridge the gap towards
Level 5 autonomy. We believe this back-up control system will
improve the safety, utility and consumer adoption of autonomous
vehicles and delivery drones."
The Market
In a recent survey by PWC(1) , 43% of respondents indicated that
a key perceived disadvantage of AV relates to safety concerns.
Guident is seeking to help address these concerns with IP and
software to enhance the safety and practical utilization of AV's
and drones.
The autonomous vehicle market is expected to reach US $65
billion by 2027(2) and the drone logistics and transportation
market is projected to reach US $29 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of
21% from 2022 to 2027.(3)
In the U.S. alone, approximately 50 m packages are delivered
each day. This number is expected to rise to 100 m by 2026(4) .
Over the next few years, many of these deliveries are likely to be
performed by autonomous vehicles and drones.
Recently, the United States Postal Service started a long-haul
test for transporting mail using self-driving trucks, to help
address driver shortages and reduce delivery times and costs.(5)
Walmart(6) and Kroger(7) also announced they are piloting grocery
delivery via autonomous vehicles to reduce delivery costs, narrow
delivery windows, make products more accessible and save time for
their customers. Earlier this year, Amazon began field-testing a
small, self-driving package delivery drone called the Amazon
Scout.(8)
All of these delivery applications could potentially benefit
from having a remote control center take over operation of these
vehicles, when necessary, to prevent or address difficult
situations and safety concerns and improve customer
satisfaction.
Dr Clifford Gross, Chairman at Tekcapital commented: "We are
delighted to see that Guident has exclusively acquired additional
intellectual property rights to enhance the adoption and
utilization of AV's. We believe that autonomous vehicles and drones
will help democratize transportation and delivery. However, to
enhance the safety and practicality of AV's, a back-up control
centre, on stand-by, would enhance consumer confidence that
unpredictable situations such as accidents and last mile package
delivery mishaps can be handled properly in real-time. This would
mind the gap in the foreseeable future between the vision of level
5 autonomy and the stubborn current reality of imperfect artificial
intelligence."
About Guident, Ltd.
Guident commercialises new technology to enhance the utility,
safety and enjoyment of autonomous vehicles and drones. Using its
proprietary IP, Guident is developing Apps and IP that allow users
of AV's to dispatch or control their vehicles remotely. To learn
more please visit www.guident.co.
About Tekcapital plc
Tekcapital creates value from investing in new,
university-developed intellectual properties and provides a range
of IP investment services to make it easy for organisations to
commercialise university-developed technology. Tekcapital is quoted
on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK)
and is headquartered in Oxford, in the UK. For more information,
please visit www.tekcapital.com
LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85
For further information, please contact:
Tekcapital Plc Via Yellow Jersey PR
Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D.
finnCap Ltd (Nominated Adviser and
Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7220 0500
Geoff Nash/ Max Bullen-Smith (Corporate
Finance)
Camille Gochez (ECM)
Novum Securities Limited (Joint
Broker) +44 (0) 20 7399 9427
Colin Rowbury (Corporate Broking)
Yellow Jersey Limited +44 (0) 20 7933 8780
Tim Thompson / Annabel Atkins tekcapital@yellowjerseypr.com
References
(1)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/720689/us-respondents-thoughts-on-the-disadvantages-of-autonomous-vehicles/
(2)
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/autonomous-vehicles-market-size-industry-growth-share-opportunities-emerging-technologies-competitive-landscape-future-plans-and-global-trends-by-forecast-2023-2018-07-31
(3)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/29-06-billion-drone-logistics-and-transportation-market---global-forecast-to-2027--300667775.html
(4)
https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/06/15/4-hard-to-believe-driverless-car-facts.aspx
(5)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tusimple-autonomous-usps/self-driving-trucks-begin-mail-delivery-test-for-u-s-postal-service-idUSKCN1SR0YB
(6)
https://progressivegrocer.com/walmart-pilots-grocery-delivery-autonomous-vehicles-az
(7)
https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/kroger-expands-driverless-delivery-houston
(8)
https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/amazon-tests-autonomous-vehicle-deliveries
This press release is for informational purposes only. The
information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an
offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future
business and financial performance and future events or
developments involving Guident and or Tekcapital that may
constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be
identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to,"
"anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate,"
"will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make
forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in
material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press
releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time
make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based
on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Guident's
and or Tekcapital's management. Please note that these are subject
to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not
limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect,
actual results, performance or achievements of Guident and or
Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or
implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Neither
Guident nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to
update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of
developments, which differ from those anticipated.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
NRALLFEERRIRFIA
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