Ridar Systems, LLC (Ridar) and !important Safety Technologies USA, Inc. (!important) announce that they have signed a Letter of Intent as a first step in merging both companies. Both companies have been working separately in the connected car space for over 10 years (combined). Now, in the name of safety, Ridar & !important have agreed to unite their efforts together and to propose a more robust, standardized solution to the market.
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“Ridar and !Important have worked for several years on similar Vulnerable Road Users Safety Systems in parallel. We have always shared the same vision and passion for safety,” said Bastien Beauchamp, Founder & CEO at !Important. “Competing wasn’t the best option. It confuses the industry and slows down technology adoption. In our mind, there is no competition when it comes to safety. It only made sense to regroup the technologies, the teams and our patents together to deliver a better solution to the industry that will save millions of lives over the years to come.”
!Important has been working closely since 2018 with OEMs & Tier 1 Suppliers with a focus on integrating their alerting and braking system into the information systems and tech stack of new automobiles & trucks. This mobile technology has the capability of triggering the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB or ADAS) found within most newer automobiles & trucks. !Important has also been working within SAE, The Automotive Safety Council and State/Federal Legislators to provide a standard solution for V2X safety communication to protect vulnerable road users (such as pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchairs, e-scooters, motorcyclists, etc.).
Each year, 1.3 million people die on roads according to WHO, 2021. According to CDC 2018, it is the third cause of death for children in the United States. Three out of four fatal accidents do not happen at intersections according to NHTSA 2019, suggesting that there is no safety infrastructure present but there ARE smartphones. !important’s solution addresses the problem at its heart by slowing and then stopping vehicles before they collide with vulnerable road users (such as pedestrians). By doing so, !important solves the famous “Trolley Problem.”
On Nov 18, 2021, !important’s novel braking system made history by solving the yet unsolved occlusion fatal scenario for pedestrians at the American Center for Mobility in Ann Arbor, MI
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Ridar has focused on providing a passive safety element for drivers in respect to two-wheeled vulnerable road users (VRU) since 2014. Ridar’s cloud-based mobile solution alerts drivers when a VRU is nearby & approaching the driver’s position. This mobile solution serves both InsurTech and Legacy Vehicles very well with its near real-time notifications for drivers.
Co-Founder and CEO Brent Massey said, “Ridar is extremely enthusiastic to move forward with this merger alongside !important. By combining both technology solutions that we have developed as well as our IP Portfolios, the new company will have broader reach within the respective markets where we have been advancing our Vulnerable Road Users safety solutions. Using only a smartphone, Ridar & !Important have removed the hurdle that most other safety solutions require which is additional hardware or an upgrade to infrastructure. Plus, by combing our solutions, we begin to standardize the connected car industry rather than add yet another solution to an already fragmented industry.”
Soon after the self-driving incident involving a cyclist/pedestrian in Tempe, AZ, Ridar Systems demonstrated our capabilities of detecting such pedestrians on an unlit road
Ridar has also participated in a recent cycling event where we did not have direct access to cyclists who may have had our mobile solution operating. We set out to test & locate these cyclists using Ridar in the fog
Combined, Ridar & !Important will now control 7 IP in the US, and their equivalent in Canada, Germany, UK, France, Sweden, Israel & South Korea with additional patents pending in Japan, China, Germany & Canada. Their IP portfolio represents an addressable market size in the billions.
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