Boaz Mizrachi, Co-Founder and CTO of Tactile Mobility – Interview Series
Boaz Mizrachi is a veteran technologist and entrepreneur with over three decades of experience in signal processing, algorithm research, and system design in the automotive and networking industries. As the Co-Founder and CTO of Tactile Mobility, Boaz has played a crucial role in driving advancements in the mobility industry since 2012. Tactile Mobility is a global leader in tactile data solutions, specializing in combining signal processing, AI, big data, and embedded computing to enhance smart and autonomous vehicle systems.
Boaz’s journey into the automotive tech space began after co-founding Charlotte’s Web Networks and serving as a systems architect and systems group manager at Zoran Microsystems. A conversation with a friend about optimizing vehicle performance inspired him to found Tactile Mobility. The company’s mission is to give vehicles the ability to “feel” the road, enabling them to understand road conditions and make real-time driving decisions.
One of the initial challenges Boaz faced when founding Tactile Mobility was generating real-time insights with limited vehicle resources. The breakthrough came when they implemented software in the vehicle’s existing engine control unit (ECU) to create “virtual sensors” that could provide essential information without requiring additional hardware.
Tactile Mobility’s AI-powered vehicle sensors capture tactile data by processing information from various hardware sensors like wheel speed sensors and accelerometers. This data is then used to create real-time insights about the vehicle’s load, grip, and tire health, improving driver safety and vehicle performance.
The company’s VehicleDNA™ and SurfaceDNA™ technologies focus on capturing road surface attributes and specific vehicle characteristics, providing a comprehensive understanding of vehicle performance on any road. Grip estimation technology plays a crucial role in autonomous driving, helping vehicles assess road conditions and meet safety standards.
Tactile Mobility collaborates with OEMs like Porsche and city municipalities such as the City of Detroit to enhance vehicle performance and monitor road conditions. These partnerships have helped expand Tactile Mobility’s impact by providing critical insights for safety features, drive assist technologies, and road maintenance.
Looking ahead, Boaz believes the major challenges for the automotive industry in AI and tactile sensing lie in achieving accuracy in autonomous vehicles and addressing cybersecurity concerns. The industry must surpass human performance levels to ensure reliability in complex driving situations and combat potential cyber threats.
Overall, Boaz Mizrachi’s work at Tactile Mobility is driving innovation in the automotive industry, revolutionizing the way vehicles interact with and understand the road. With a focus on AI, tactile sensing, and real-time data insights, Tactile Mobility is shaping the future of smart and autonomous vehicles.