RNS REACH
Seeing Machines
Limited
("Seeing Machines" or the
"Company")
Seeing Machines' Guardian
Generation 3 successfully fitted into Wrightbus and confirmed for
regulatory approval homologation
Canberra, 30 July 2024: Seeing
Machines Limited (AIM: SEE), the advanced computer vision
technology company that designs AI-powered operator monitoring
systems to improve transport safety, announces that its recently
launched Guardian Generation 3 AI-powered driver monitoring
solution has passed 'homologation' (i.e been approved and
certified) for its inaugural commercial vehicle customer, Northern
Ireland based Wrightbus, the UK's largest electric bus
manufacturer.
Highlights:
- Successful homologation for
Guardian Generation 3 paves the way for adoption by more commercial
vehicle manufacturers in Europe, with rising demand being driven by
Europe's new General Safety Regulation
(GSR) that came into effect this month and
mandates driver monitoring systems for signs of
drowsiness
- Wrightbus becomes Seeing Machines'
first customer to achieve homologation, setting a new safety
standard in the public transportation industry
- An additional three commercial
vehicle OEM customers are in the process of homologation with
Guardian Generation 3
Homologation involves testing,
certification and documentation to verify that a Driver Monitoring
System (DMS) is compliant with specific regulatory standards in a
region or country. This process is rigorous but, crucially,
confirms that Guardian Generation 3 has now been approved by the
relevant authorities in Europe as compliant for use in reducing the
risks associated with drowsy and subsequently distracted
driving.
Ballmena based Wrightbus, which
produces class leading electric and hydrogen powered buses and is
known for its cutting-edge and environmentally friendly bus
designs, has specifically chosen Seeing Machines' Guardian
Generation 3 to ensure compliance with the EU GSR and further
enhance the safety features of its fleet, ensuring its drivers
remain safe on the roads across Europe and the UK, now and into the
future.
With Europe's GSR targeting all new
vehicles having now come into effect, successful homologation
ensures Wrightbus' compliance with a stringent standard known as a
Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW), using
factory-fitted Guardian Generation 3.
The process for manufacturers of
commercial vehicles to install technology, known as a factory fit,
requires significant planning to ensure alignment with the wide
range of other technology installed inside the vehicle during the
manufacturing process. Wrightbus' homologation is therefore an
important milestone for the public transportation sector and
logistics industry more widely, and Seeing Machines is confident
that this process will continue to be streamlined and made more
efficient for subsequent customers.
Furthermore, Guardian Generation 3
is also well equipped to meet new European GSR which from 2026 will
require all vehicles to be installed with direct (or camera-based)
DMS technology to detect distraction. This makes Guardian a
market-leading, future-proof solution that will enable customers
installing today to meet regulations set in the future, a key
factor in an industry where the average life of a vehicle can
exceed 14 years.
Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc
Gales, said: "Vehicle safety is always at the fore of everything we do and
we're constantly looking at ways to enhance our excellent safety
record. Having the Guardian Generation 3 technology operational in
Wrightbus vehicles is helping us set a new standard for safety in
the public transportation industry."
Paul McGlone, CEO of Seeing Machines, added:
"Achieving
homologation or technical approval with Wrightbus for Guardian
Generation 3 marks a significant milestone in the deployment of
advanced driver monitoring systems within the public transportation
sector. Integrating our cutting
edge, AI powered camera technology into Wrightbus vehicles is an
important step forward in reducing the risks and accidents
associated with driver fatigue, which will soon encompass
distraction as regulations comes into effect, fundamental to our
mission of saving lives."
Guardian Generation 3 leverages
Seeing Machines' automotive-grade technology with early and
continuous drowsiness detection to protect drivers.
~ENDS~
About Seeing Machines (AIM: SEE), a global company founded in 2000 and headquartered in
Australia, is an industry leader in vision-based monitoring
technology that enable machines to see, understand and assist
people. Seeing Machines' technology portfolio of AI algorithms,
embedded processing and optics, power products that need to deliver
reliable real-time understanding of vehicle operators. The
technology spans the critical measurement of where a driver is
looking, through to classification of their cognitive state as it
applies to accident risk. Reliable "driver state" measurement is
the end-goal of Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) technology. Seeing
Machines develops DMS technology to drive safety for Automotive,
Commercial Fleet, Off-road and Aviation. The Company has offices in
Australia, USA, Europe and Asia, and supplies technology solutions
and services to industry leaders in each market vertical.
www.seeingmachines.com
Media and investor enquiries:
sophie.nicoll@seeingmachines.com
or +61 419 149 683
About Wrightbus: Wrightbus has
been leading the way in the transportation industry with innovation
since 1946. The company has a reputation for pushing the boundaries
in its pursuit of excellence. The company developed the world's
first hydrogen double deck bus and the world's most efficient
electric double deck. It is the only manufacturer in Europe to
offer a complete suite of zero-emission buses, with both battery
electric and hydrogen fuel cell single and double decks.
Wrightbus media enquiries should be made to:
Nathan Rous
Atmos Comms
07971 603477
nathan.rous@atmoscomms.com
Sarah Hughes
Atmos Communications
07376255251
sarah.hughes@atmoscomms.com
