Foghorn teams up with Porsche to give drivers a better experience

FogHorn announced its completion of Program 6 of Startup Autobahn, the largest European innovation platform and accelerator connecting leading automotive organizations with promising startups. FogHorn partnered with sports car manufacturer Porsche during the 100-day challenge to develop a prototype of more secure means for drivers to access vehicles by leveraging real-time video recognition with multi-factor authentication (MFA) measures.

During the Startup Autobahn in Stuttgart, Germany challenge, Porsche sought to enhance the driver experience, while increasing vehicle security. Drivers can easily enter their vehicle with real-time face detection and infrared video processing at the edge coupled with MFA via a device, such as a personal phone, without the need for a key fob. By leveraging edge computing, connectivity to the cloud or a network is not necessary for the driver to access the vehicle. This means that a pre-registered driver need only walk toward the car for the doors to unlock and resolves safeguarding issues of key fobs being scanned by car thieves.

“During this 100-day challenge we partnered with FogHorn to evaluate their capabilities of solving a persistent challenge in the driver experience of easier access to their vehicle seamlessly – without compromising on security,” said Matthias Hub, IT Project Manager and Prototyper at Porsche. “This project supports our commitment to put the customer’s need in the center of what we are doing and at the same time using leading edge technologies.”

“Through Plug and Play's Startup Autobahn, FogHorn developed an innovative way for the automotive industry to leverage video analytics with edge computing to accelerate onboard intelligence,” said Chad Boulanger, managing director of EMEA, at FogHorn. “FogHorn collaborated with Porsche to create a prototype that enabled drivers to easily access their vehicles, while minimizing breach or tampering risks.”

Startup Autobahn connects industry-leading corporations and growing tech companies. Through their semi-annual programs, corporate partners collaborate with startups on an eye-to-eye level to evaluate the fit for both parties, pilot their technology and drive the ultimate goal — a successful production-ready implementation.