TAMPERE, Finland & MILAN, Italy – Link Motion and MTA SpA have announced a strategic cooperation on Link Motion platform, an optimized software and hardware vehicle computer, which helps vehicle manufacturers create cost-effective and secure in-vehicle infotainment systems. The companies aim to strengthen their common offering for vehicle manufacturers with this partnership.
Link Motion is a strategic alliance of leading European and Asian software and hardware companies that have worked in the automotive industry for the past seven years. The company’s goal is to provide a cost-efficient and secure solution for connected cars, and become a leading in-vehicle platform provider. MTA is a global provider of electromechanical and electronic components developed in-house for leading car, motorcycle, truck and tractor manufacturers. Founded in 1954, MTA now has two production units in Italy (Codogno and Rolo), six foreign branches and nearly 950 employees.
The increasing amount of connected vehicles creates demand for a well-integrated and cost-optimized vehicle platform, which offers all the previously separate in-vehicle systems and services in one package. The two companies say that Link Motion’s software background, combined with MTA’s expertise on hardware, enable the creation of a totally unique and comprehensive solution for vehicle manufacturers. MTA is known in the automotive industry for electronic and electromechanical components for today’s vehicles.
“We are very excited to work with Link Motion,” said Stefano Casari, technical director, electronic division of MTA SpA. “Teaming up with Link Motion enables us to offer total solutions that fit well with our customers’ needs.”
“MTA is a great partner for Link Motion because their experience on hardware combined with our software knowledge significantly improves Link Motion as a complete product platform,” said Pasi Nieminen, CEO of Link Motion. “The hardware can be truly designed to fit the software needs, improving performance and security. MTA shares our vision of offering a total solution for vehicle manufacturers, and together we can build the most integrated solution in the market.”
Link Motion is a new automotive platform, which changes the traditional vehicle computing infrastructure by implementing several previously discrete controllers with one computer, reducing costs significantly, according to the company. Security has been built in from the ground up using a layered approach. The system relies on ARM TrustZone and virtualization to protect critical system functions from vulnerabilities. It supports central unit, instrument cluster and head-up displays, rear-view cameras, CANopen protocol, and it offers connectivity through cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth connections, as well as location services using GPS and Baidu.
