Thursday, 4 July 2024, Tokyo – Harada Industry, global automotive antennas leader, collaborates with UnaBiz, Massive Internet of Things (IoT) service provider and integrator, to design and manufacture Sigfox 0G technology-based vehicle tracking solution and in-vehicle antenna for the automotive industry.
HARADA has been delivering automotive antennas since 1957 with the “Lock Antenna ®”, a radio-receiving automotive antenna. Since then, the company has advanced into an OEM supplier for global automakers with offices in China, Germany, the United States, and other countries.
The collaboration between HARADA and UnaBiz involves joint efforts from R&D teams to create a “Film-type Vehicle Smart Tracker”, empowered by Sigfox 0G technology, that can be attached to the windshield of automobiles. The transparent film tracker will not obstruct the driver’s view, and its’ placement at the top of the windshield improves the radio wave environment, enhancing Sigfox 0G network reception. This retrofit tracker will be followed by fully integrated Sigfox-based solutions that automotive manufacturers can embed directly during vehicle assembly. Combined with HARADA’s advanced antennas, the integrated solution will open a broad range of use cases for the industry.
Micware, a tier 1 in-vehicle platform software provider for automotive control and car navigation systems, and an existing partner of HARADA will also be working with UnaBiz to develop the tracking and telemetry software platform.
HARADA and UnaBiz are set to explore various commercial strategies for the newly developed automotive products, with plans to introduce them to the market by the second half of 2024.
Keigo Harada, Executive Officer of HARADA expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, “It is a pleasure working with the UnaBiz team to combine our expertise in radio communication technologies to advance the automotive sector. Sigfox 0G and its global footprint are powerful, yet simple and elegant LPWAN technology that are straightforward to integrate into our portfolio of vehicle products and antennas. We are committed to leading the way, driving technological innovations that provide the best products and services for our customers.”
HARADA is located in 13 cities across 9 countries, supporting Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the Central America markets, while UnaBiz has networks deployed in 70+ countries worldwide through its global 0G operators empowered by Sigfox 0G technology.
Alexis Susset, CTO of UnaBiz said, “We are excited to work with HARADA, a world-class supplier for global automakers as we see more and more Sigfox 0G technology engagements and applications in the automotive sector. Our automobile OEM customers in Europe and Japan are leveraging Sigfox for asset tracking, stolen vehicle recovery, and telematics. HARADA’s antenna knowledge is unique and a key enabler for us to expand globally and deploy solutions tailored to the automotive sector. We couldn’t be more excited to launch such a key collaboration in an industry we look forward to supporting in its digital transformation.”
Takuma Segawa, Executive Director of Micware added, “Micware is thrilled to collaborate with HARADA and UnaBiz, both leading experts in their fields, to revolutionise the future of vehicle tracking and telematics. We will contribute our deep knowledge of software and other digital tools to build industry-leading solutions and products to build modern and inspiring experiences for end-users.”
For more information on the film-type vehicle smart Tracker”, contact UnaBiz Japan Team at [email protected].
