Valeo has acquired all of the outstanding shares of gestigon, a German developer of 3D image processing software for the vehicle cabins.

The move is designed to reinforce Valeo's technological leadership in automated driving with the acquisition providing a solution to the need to develop simple, intuitive and effective human-machine interfaces in a hyper-connected world. With the acquisition, Valeo will be able to develop its cabin comfort and driving assistance operations, particularly in high-growth technologies such as interior cameras and image processing.

Valeo says these technologies are increasingly a key differentiating factor in the automotive industry, and gestigon's cutting-edge artificial intelligence-based solutions will contribute to the development of Valeo's automated driving strategy. The start-up's software suite, which is compatible with all types of in-vehicle gesture and movement recognition sensors, signals a real technological breakthrough.

Building on Valeo's existing Driver Monitoring system, which can sense driver drowsiness or distraction, the acquisition will lead to the development of a comprehensive offering of object and occupant detection features. Going forward, the vehicle will be able to analyse the cabin environment and seamlessly adapt to the occupants' safety needs by activating airbags, for example.

"We are delighted to welcome gestigon to the Valeo community," said Marc Vrecko, head of Valeo's Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group. "A leader in human-machine interface solutions, this start-up enjoys recognized expertise in the automotive industry. By combining our skills in a larger team, we will sharpen our edge and reinforce our leadership in autonomous and connected cars."