Seeing a CES bonanza for Fovio

This yearā€™s CES show in Las Vegas has demonstrated strong interest in driver monitoring systems (DMS), from automotive manufacturers and their Tier 1 suppliers. All good news for Seeing Machinesā€™ Fovio division, which is fast becoming the dominant supplier of driver monitoring systems to guard against driver fatigue and distraction.

It was at CES in 2015 that Seeing Machines first showed its driver monitoring car technology with Jaguar. In addition, Seeing Machines has confirmed that Bosch, Takata and Volkswagen are showcasing Fovio tech at this yearā€™s CES.

  • Boschā€™s vehicle demonstrates new intelligent driver interaction capabilities enabled by Fovio
  • Volkswagen demonstrates a vehicle cockpit concept with integrated Fovio DMS
  • Takata demonstrates steering-wheel integrated DMS

I think it is only a matter of time before many other OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers are linked with Seeing Machines as the auto industry introduces advanced semi-autonomous vehicles, then fully autonomous vehicles.

As Mike McAuliffe, ceo of Fovio has noted: ā€œWeā€™re seeing a groundswell of demand in the industry for our Driver Monitoring technology.ā€

Tesla, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche are all marques that I personally think are likely to adopt its technology. For instance, Elon Musk would be in ā€˜ludicrousā€™ mode if he didnā€™t appreciate what Seeing Machines DMS could do to enhance safety features in his cars.

Ludicrous valuation

What is undeniably ludicrous is that this stock languishes at a market cap of Ā£45m when it is about to crack not only the auto market with Fovio but the fleet market with its Guardian product. (Caterpillar liked its driver monitoring product for the mining industry so much it bought the whole operation in return for an upfront payment and ongoing license and royalty stream for Seeing Machines).

Seeing Machines now has only to lie back and wait for the money to roll in from the Caterpillar sales team. Similarly, holders of this stock who hold it for a couple more years should make a stellar return.

According to projections from Lorne Daniels, a well respected analyst at house broker FinnCap, Seeing Machines will deliver sales of Aussie Dollars 141m (Ā£84m) in 2019 with pre-tax profits of A$22m (Ā£13m). I expect this figure to be revised sharply upwards along with his target price of 12p by the end of this year.

Any lingering doubts about the take up Seeing Machines offering in the fleet space were certainly dispelled with its tie up with Mix-Telematics, a global telematics provider in late December.

Following its fundraise this month, Iā€™m convinced Seeing Machines is set to rise steadily.

However, donā€™t take my word for it. Do your own research and then make your own mind up.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines