Maven Co-Pilot uses a hands-free, smart wireless headset.Maven Machines, creators of a “smart” wireless headset for driver safety, announced closing $1.5M in funding and the appointment of Ivan Hofmann, former executive of FedEx Ground, to its Board of Directors.
Maven Machines has a platform of enterprise wearable technology, mobile device software, and cloud services for driver safety, driver communications, and regulatory compliance. Its Maven Co-Pilot smart headset is “easy to adopt with nothing to install in the truck and familiar to use based on the platform’s mobile-cloud architecture,” explained Avi Geller, chief executive officer.
Maven aims to unlock opportunities and value through the fusion of sensors between the headset and phone and added layers of machine intelligence supported through the cloud.
Maven Machines plans to use the funds to accelerate business, manufacturing, and marketing.
The Maven Co-Pilot system measures driver head motion in real-time and detects activity drop-offs to provide early fatigue warnings. Additionally, the Bluetooth headset serves as a hands-free communications device.
“Moving freight from point A to point B requires communication,” said Geller. “Communicating is a delicate matter in driving situations where distraction can be deadly.”
The headset uses gesture control and speech technology to convert text-based dispatch messages into speech that’s read directly to the driver’s ear. The driver can acknowledge simply by nodding their head so as to never remove their eyes from the road or hands from the wheel.
With Hofmann, a retired FedEx Ground executive vice president and chief operating officer, on the Board of Directors, Maven Machines gains “a widely respected trucking visionary,” Geller says. “We are grateful to have his knowledge, insight, and connections as part of the steering body of this company.”
“I believe mobile technology will disrupt closed systems that rely on fixed hardware and private data centers,” said Hofmann. “No other company, young or old, has a driver-facing solution that simultaneously address fleet needs and the requirements of this heavily regulated industry.”
