New Honda R&D Facility Opens in Silicon Valley
Today Honda officially opened its new Silicon Valley R&D facility, marking the occasion with the debut of the new 2016 Accord, which is the Japanese automaker’s first vehicle to feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The 35,000 square feet facility is located in Mountain View, California.
Honda’s Silicon Valley operation has actually been in effect since 2000, and is currently focused on issues such as connected mobility, computer science research for vehicle intelligence, novel human-machine interfaces, and spearheading working relationships with tech companies in the area. With the Honda Developer Studio initiative, the Japanese automaker is also supporting the efforts of independent app developers.
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Honda also took the opportunity today to announce the new Xcelerator initiative, which the company says will provide technology innovators with resources for rapid prototyping. Similar to the Honda Developer Studio, the program will fund proof-of-concept prototyping, and give the innovators a chance to collaborate with Honda’s R&D engineers.
Innovators interested in the opportunity can apply at xcelerator.hondasvi.com.
“As an industry, we are on the verge of some major transformational changes brought on by the convergence of what have been, to this point, largely disparate technology disciplines,” said Honda R&D Americas President Frank Paluch. “Honda will embrace and help lead this convergence. Our operations in Silicon Valley are a testimony to our focus on this new direction in our product and technology development efforts.”
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