A stark reminder about the NEED for autonomous systems
25th August 2022 |
On 22 August 2022, a horror crash between a Range Rover and Tesla vehicle in West London left one dead and three injured.
Travelling at a speed of 120mph, the Range Rover crashed into a stationary Tesla at the Park Royal Tesla Centre, after smashing through the barriers of the M40 motorway.
The Range Rover then summersaulted, before ending up on the railway tracks of Park Royal station.
Eyewitness David Palmer noted that he had “never seen a trail of such destruction.”
It’s unclear as to why the vehicle was travelling at such a clip.
It could’ve been due to any number of reasons. This includes drunk driving, sheer recklessness, being in a rush, or tiredness.
Regardless, it shows the consequences of human fallibility when at the wheel.
What’s more, this incident highlights the need for autonomous vehicle systems.
The need for this technology isn’t really something that people think about until there is a visceral reminder about the need for these systems.
On the road, human error continues to cost lives. Road accidents are the leading cause of death globally for those aged between 5 and 29 years.
The purpose of autonomous systems is to take vehicle control out of the fallible human’s hands, and into the vehicle systems.
For example, autonomous systems can moderate speed and help with detecting obstacles. Both capabilities would have been crucial in preventing the incident described above.
There are six stages to vehicle autonomy. Level zero is complete driver control. Level five is completely driverless.
Most new cars being sold today are level two. Level two is known as partial driving automation, where the vehicle can control aspects such as parking and acceleration.
However, level three on public roads has been achieved, for instance by Mercedes-Benz.
Level three is where vehicles have environmental detection capabilities, such as identifying and overtaking a slow-moving vehicle.
The world is shifting through the gears of vehicle autonomy. The UK is hoping to reach completely driverless vehicles (level five) by 2025.
However, this would be impossible without rigorous testing phases.
In delivering an autonomous future, it’s paramount that autonomous vehicles achieve health and safety standards before hitting the roads.
This is where AB Dynamics (LSE: ABDP) comes into play.
The company is a provider of automotive testing systems. The incident above reminds us of the importance of AB Dynamics’ work.
For example, at its test centres, AB Dynamics uses robot and wire-driven vehicles to mimic real world road environments, allowing automotive customers to safely test their vehicle technology.
In an ever-changing regulatory landscape, its up-to-date vehicle testing allows its customers to maintain safety standards.
Currently, AB Dynamics is recognised as the industry testing standard in Europe by Euro NCAP.
Euro NCAP is a governing body which assesses the safety performance of new vehicles in Europe.
In a market of slow news flow and negativity, AB Dynamics has been a shining light for us.
Currently, it reflects a 37% gain in the buy list. And… with the need for autonomous vehicles becoming more apparent, we can only see this rising further.
We reiterate our HOLD recommendation on the stock. You can find the original recommendation here.
Buy list update
Immotion Group (LSE: IMMO)
Immotion is a provider of virtual reality (VR) simulations to tourist attractions.
The company is making great progress now that footfall has returned to its exhibition locations after the pandemic.
For the six months ended 30 June 2022 (H1 2022), the company reported unaudited revenues of £4.4 million.
This is a near 100% increase on the £2.3 million figure reported for H1 2021.
In addition, Immotion announced its strongest ever trading month, with July 2022 generating £1.3 million in revenue.
What’s more, Immotion is expanding its commercial presence across tourist attractions.
According to the company, it “recently completed” two small-scale installations at Chester Zoo and Legoland Discovery Center Philadelphia.
This means Immotion now has 488 seats installed across 54 locations. Immotion expects to surpass the 500-seat mark by the end of H2 2022.
Immotion is making excellent progress.
We believe that it has the potential to become one of the pillars of the future VR world.
We reiterate our BUY recommendation on the stock. You can find the original recommendation here.
The Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three”
Sometimes it’s hard to decide on which stocks to invest in from our buy list.
Below is our Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three” section showing three stocks in open BUY positions. If you’re trying to figure out what to invest in next, these are three that we think are a great place to start.
This doesn’t mean our other stocks are no good: this is just a tool to help you spot the next Frontier Tech Investor stock that could be worthy of your consideration.
Volex (LSE: VLX) – Volex is a global manufacturer of power and connectivity products. This includes power cables, fibre optics and charging plugs. It might sound a little basic, but these are critical mechanisms which are powering some of the key technologies of the modern day. These technologies include electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence (AI) and big data networks. Volex has huge credibility behind it, particularly as it does business with some of most widely recognised companies in the world, including Tesla. You can find the original recommendation here.
Team17 (LSE: TM17) – Team17 is a video game publisher. It has a large collection of games which contains some of the most popular games of the gaming world. One of these is Worms, the enthralling last-man-standing survival game born out of the nineties gaming boom. Team17 is keeping up with the times and offers its games across a number of contemporary technology platforms. It has even flirted with the idea of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a megatrend which could revolutionise the gaming industry. At a time where sceptics think online gaming will come off the boil following the ease of lockdown restrictions, Team17 keeps gamers coming back for more. You can find the original recommendation here.
Pod Point Group (LSE: PODP) – The UK’s inadequate (for now) electric vehicle (EV) charging network is threatening to bring the EV transition to a halt. By 2032, the shortfall of EV charge points in the UK is estimated to reach 250,000. However, Pod Point’s innovative range of EV charging solutions could go a long way in ensuring this deficit is reduced. The company’s charging technology is fit for homes, public charging bays, lamp posts and commercial buildings, and can ensure that the EV transition reaches all areas of the UK. In our view, Pod Point can unlock the potential of the UK’s EV charging network. You can find the original recommendation here.
Sam Volkering
Editor, Frontier Tech Investor
Elliott Playle
Analyst, Frontier Tech Investor
