Smart cars aren’t just an American or European project. NXP Semiconductors (NSDQ: NXPI) just announced it is partnering with Tongjo University in China to be the country’s first ever road test initiative for smart cars. NXP will be providing secure vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications technology for as many as 200 cars manufactured by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, one of China’s largest car manufacturers.

China is showing a strong interest in smart cars, both for safety and environmental reasons. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 200,000 people die as a result of traffic accidents each year, driven by a sharp increase in cars on the road mostly driven by inexperienced drivers. Smart cars, with their ability to automatically detect road hazards, have the potential to reduce those fatalities. They could also help reduce auto emissions in the country which is notorious for its smog by funneling cars along less congested routes.

This will be a long-term project, with the first 1,000 vehicles expected to by 2017 and as many as 10,000 by 2020.

NXP Semiconductors is a buy up to $97.

Shares of Ekso Bionics (OTC: EKSO) have made a nearly 50% jump higher over the past week on relatively scant news, though trading volumes have risen sharply.

On July 7^th the company announced that it would be participating in the upcoming Cantor Fitzgerald 2^nd Annual Health Care Conference. While it is a fairly impressive for such small company to be included in that lineup, which includes roughly 75 companies, that’s hardly enough to justify the recent run up in the share price.

The only other news is that on July 4^th, an Esko Bionics exoskeleton was demonstrated during a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A Navy veteran, who had broken his back during a parachuting accident and is now paralyzed from the waist down, donned a skeleton and was able to walk and stand in the visitor’s center during the ceremony. The initial plan was for the veteran to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, but current regulations prevent the use of the skeleton outdoors.

Again, an impressive feat which shows the benefits that can be realized from the exoskeletons, but it is hardly the first demonstration of the technology.

Given that share volume has jumped from an average of about 62,000 shares traded daily to more than 200,000 while there hasn’t been this much activity in the stock since April, clearly someone thinks there’s some very good news coming down the pike and is betting a lot of money on it being good.

While we’re not sure what that news could be, but Ekso Bionics remains a buy up $9.