The year 2020 is history – most of us will be glad about that. Looking back, it was a far more challenging year than usual. At the same time, however, within the uncertainty and oddness of the past months lots of opportunities were hidden. We had time to take a step back, reflect about the past and prepare for what’s coming. With the start of 2021, the future is here and we can’t wait to see what it holds.
A brief 2020 recap
The automotive industry took a major hit in 2020 and many planned projects were pushed back. Nevertheless, Tier-1s and OEMs knew they couldn’t stand still for a year which is one of the reasons we were able to achieve all our pre-crisis set goals. We entered into numerous new partnerships with Tier-1s as well as Tier-2s and continued to further develop our DMS and OMS technology. 2020 was challenging but we believe we managed to make the most of it. In addition to a rather positive recap, strong traction from our customers with various projects kicking off soon lets us look very positively into the coming year.
What’s to come in 2021?
It’s safe to say that we will see some big leaps in many industries, especially so in the automotive industry. Although somewhat turbulent, we feel like 2021 might be a blast. Here is what we expect for in-cabin monitoring in the coming year.
2021, an innovation booster?
As mentioned, automotive companies didn’t sleep in 2020, however, many innovation and research projects have been postponed. After a year of home office, Covid restrictions and cut budgets it seems like optimism has returned. The industry is very, very hungry for new projects, innovations and game-changing products. Will 2021 bring about a boost of innovation? We certainly see some hints that this might be the case.
DMS everywhere
As we know, driver monitoring will become mandatory step by step in Europe starting with 2022. OEMs have one year to go – they and their Tier-1 and 2 suppliers have been working hard to meet this tight deadline which will result in an increasing number of new car-models coming to the market with “Driver Monitoring Inside”. Let’s be curious how many of them are camera-based, how well they work and how the public responds to a camera inside the cabin. With a wide deployment of driver monitoring systems we will finally be able to obtain real-life statistics about the effectiveness of the systems to prevent accidents. In-cabin monitoring will make some noise next year, that’s for sure.
Bold companies doing bold things
Not only in the space of “normal” vehicles will we see changes. Honda claimed to bring Level 3 vehicles to the road in 2021. As we know from a previous blog post, especially the handover process, one of the most critical moments in Level 3 mobility, must be monitored with suitable driver monitoring technologies that make sure the driver is able to take over control. It will be critical for the first Level 3 vehicles on the market to be safe since they will shape public perception of this next Level. Tesla even claimed they will reach Level 5 in 2021 – time will tell whether that’s just a bold statement or an accurate prediction.
Big innovations and big news in the making at emotion3D
We didn’t stand still in 2020 and won’t be in 2021 either. Together with our partners we will continue to provide top-notch driver and occupant monitoring systems to the industry. Next to product updates further improving the performance of our software and broadening the variety of analysis modules, a number of partnership announcements and a groundbreaking innovation are about to come. Watch out for those exciting news coming the next few months.
Although we believe 2021 will be a great year, it will not be as it was before the crisis – it surely will be very different. Covid isn’t gone yet and it won’t be gone for some time. However, science has made great accomplishments allowing us to deal much better with the situation and we will eventually declare victory. Optimism has already returned, and it will be the overall sentiment for the coming year.
Let’s face this year’s challenges with confidence and make the best of it!