Guident Acquires Additional IP

RNS Number : 5557D

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 PWC¹, 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 2027² 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 2026⁴. 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 Walmart⁶ and Kroger⁷ 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)	[phone]
Geoff Nash/ Max Bullen-Smith (Corporate Finance)
Camille Gochez (ECM)
Novum Securities Limited (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Colin Rowbury (Corporate Broking)
Yellow Jersey Limited	[phone]
Tim Thompson / Annabel Atkins	[e-mail]

References

¹https://www.statista.com/statistics/720689/us-respondents-thoughts-on-the-disadvantages-of-autonomous-vehicles/

²https://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

³https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/29-06-billion-drone-logistics-and-transportation-market---global-forecast-to-2027--300667775.html

⁴https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/06/15/4-hard-to-believe-driverless-car-facts.aspx

⁵https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tusimple-autonomous-usps/self-driving-trucks-begin-mail-delivery-test-for-u-s-postal-service-idUSKCN1SR0YB

⁶https://progressivegrocer.com/walmart-pilots-grocery-delivery-autonomous-vehicles-az

⁷https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/kroger-expands-driverless-delivery-houston

⁸https://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.

 

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