Category: Driverless cars

The Hyundai partnership with IonQ for the use of quantum computing is all about the acceleration of self driving technology

By Sahil Gupta

Highlights

• Object detection is central to autonomous cars 
• Hyundai will be training on IonQs Aria quantum computer 
• IonQ has already resolved images in the quantum state

Hyundai has expanded its partnership with IonQ to use Quantum computers for object detection for self-driving purposes. This will be a new project which harnesses the power of Quantum computers to run machine learning algorithms for learning image classification and 3d objects to develop technologies for its future vehicles. 

Object detection and image classification are the basis of computer vision techniques which is a field of artificial intelligence that is critical for the development of self-driving cars and ADAS technologies. IonQ and Hyundai are looking to enhance the computational functionality and be more efficient with the training process of their machine learning algorithms with the use of Quantum computers as they can process faster and more accurately than traditional techniques. 

IonQ and Hyundai will leverage a breakthrough in encoding images into a quantum state. IonQ is already classifying 43 types of road signs using its Quantum computers. Its machine learning data will be applied to Hyundai’s test environment and will simulate many real-world scenarios. 

Continue reading… “Hyundai To Use Quantum Computing For Object Detection For Self Driving”

By Sierra Mitchell

Autonomous vehicle technology startup Argo AI is valued at $7.5 billion, just a little more than three years after the company burst on the scene with a $1 billion investment from Ford.

The official valuation was confirmed Thursday nearly two months after VW Group finalized its $2.6 billion investment in Argo AI. Under that deal, Ford and VW have equal ownership stakes, which will be roughly 40% each over time. The remaining equity sits with Argo’s co-founders as well as employees. Argo’s board is comprised of two VW seats, two Ford seats and three Argo seats.

Ford’s announcement in February 2017 that it was investing in Argo AI surprised many. The startup was barely six months old when it was thrust into the spotlight. Its founders, Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, were known in the tight knit and often overlapping autonomous vehicle industry; prior to forming Argo, Salesky was director of hardware development at the Google self-driving project (now Waymo) and Rander was the engineering lead at Uber Advanced Technologies Group. But even those insiders who knew Salesky and Rander wondered what to make of the deal.

Continue reading… “Self-driving startup Argo AI hits $7.5 billion valuation – TechCrunch”

NOW WITH THE HELP OF EXPLAINABLE AI, HUMANS WILL READILY BELIEVE IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE

by Nasreen Parvez

The growing usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday computer systems is leading us down a path where the computer makes decisions and we, the humans, must live with the consequences. In any event, there’s a lot of buzzes these days about how AI systems should be configured to provide explanations for anything they’re doing. Explainable AI (XAI) is swiftly becoming a popular topic of discussion. People who use AI systems will most likely expect and perhaps demand that they be given an explanation. Given the rapidly increasing number of AI systems, there will be a large demand for a machine-produced explanation of what the AI has done or is doing.

What areas or applications could benefit from XAI the most? Autonomous Vehicles are one such subject of study (AVs). We will gradually develop autonomous modes of transportation, with the goal of achieving the mantra “mobility for all.” Self-driving cars, self-driving trucks, self-driving motorbikes, self-driving submarines, self-driving drones, self-driving planes, and more vehicles will be available.

In genuine self-driving vehicles at Levels 4 and 5, there will be no human driver involved in the driving task. All of the people on board will be passengers and specifically, XAI will be in charge of driving.

Continue reading… “AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WILL BE READILY ADOPTED BY HUMANS WITH EXPLAINABLE AI”

Baidu has also shown a L5 robocar concept

Chinese internet giant is full steam ahead on automotive and AV tech ambitions.

China’s technology giant Baidu is stepping up its efforts to expand in the autonomous vehicle segment with the commercial launch of a car model with Level-2 self-driving technology next year.

Last week the company’s CEO Robin Li confirmed that Jidu Auto, Baidu’s joint venture with local automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, plans to begin mass production of its first electric vehicle (EV) with Level-2 autonomous driving technologies in 2023. The vehicle’s self-driving system is powered by Nvidia chips and is scheduled to be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in April of this year.

Continue reading… “Baidu to launch Level 2 autonomous car in 2023”

The EyeQ Ultra should be powerful while keeping costs low.

By J. Fingas

Self-driving car technology is currently limited to test programs and specialized vehicles, but Mobileye thinks it can play a key role in making driverless vehicles you can actually buy. The Intel-owned company has unveiled an EyeQ Ultra system-on-chip designed with consumer self-driving cars in mind. The SoC can juggle all the computing needs of Level 4 autonomy (full self-driving in most conditions), but it’s reportedly the world’s “leanest” such chip — car brands won’t need to use more complex, power-hungry parts that could hike costs or hurt battery life.

The EyeQ Ultra is built on a more efficient 5-nanometer process, but the architecture is the key. Mobileye’s design revolves around four task-specific accelerators tied to extra CPU cores, graphics cores and image processors. The result can process input from cameras, LiDAR, radar and the car’s central computing system while handling ‘just’ 176 trillion operations per second. For context, NVIDIA’s Drive Atlan is expected to manage 1,000 trillion operations.

Continue reading… “Intel’s Mobileye unveils a chip that could bring self-driving cars to the masses”

Authorities eye rural areas, plan to submit bill to Diet session next spring.

by Nikkei Asia 

Japan’s National Police Agency is set to create a permitting system for the use of level 4 self-driving cars for transportation services in rural areas, Nikkei has learned.

Level 4 self-driving vehicles operate completely autonomously in certain conditions. A bill amending the road traffic law will be submitted to the ordinary Diet session next spring. If approved, the road to practical use of level 4 self-driving cars will be open for the first time in Japan.

Authorities are considering applying the permitting system for buses operating on designated routes in depopulated areas. Under the plan, prefectural public safety commissions will examine operators’ plans and grant permission for them to offer automated transportation services.

The government aims to put level 4 automated driving systems to practical use in areas, aimed mainly at elderly passengers, by the end of the fiscal year ending in March 2023, expanding them to more than 40 locations nationwide by around 2025.

Continue reading… “Japan to create legal framework for level 4 self-driving cars”

Mobileye launches a pilot for the testing of its autonomous vehicles in Paris. Courtesy.

By Simona Shemer

Israel’s Mobileye, a developer of driver assistance technologies acquired by Intel Corporation for $15.3 billion in 2017, announced on Thursday it is launching a pilot for on-demand, autonomous car rides in Paris with French public transport company, RATP Group, the world’s third-largest public transportation operator.

The Jerusalem-based firm will add Paris to the list of cities where it is conducting ongoing pilots for its self-driving technology. Those cities include New York City, Detroit, Tokyo, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, and Munich, where Mobileye will launch autonomous “robotaxis” next year.

Mobileye has received an AV testing permit to allow the company to drive its autonomous robotaxis on the streets of Paris.

Continue reading… “MOBILEYE LAUNCHES PILOT FOR AUTONOMOUS, ON-DEMAND CAR SERVICE IN PARIS”

Decision paves the way for the automaker to offer the Level 3 system globally

DAIMLER

Drive Pilot will be an option for the S-Class and EQS models from around the middle of next year.

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz won regulatory approval to deploy a hands-free driving system in Germany ahead of Tesla, gaining an edge in the race to offer higher levels of automation in one of the world’s most competitive car markets.

The automaker got the go-ahead to sell its Drive Pilot package for use on stretches of the country’s Autobahn network at a speed of up to 60 kph (37 mph).

The system was approved for Level 3 autonomous driving, a notch higher than Tesla’s Level 2 Autopilot system, and will allow a drivers to take their hands off the wheel in slow-moving traffic.

Continue reading… “Mercedes beats Tesla to hands-free driving on highways”

By Daniel Ren

Two operators including Chinese internet search giant Baidu have been given the green light to start charging passengers to use their autonomous taxis in Beijing.

Baidu and Pony AI became the first companies to be granted licences by mainland Chinese authorities to launch their driverless cab services commercially following successful trial periods.

On Thursday, the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area gave permission for Baidu and Pony AI to charge fees for their so-called robotaxis in a designated area of the capital covering 60 square kilometres.

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The plan, according to an announcement from Baidu, is to expand the service rapidly.

Continue reading… “Baidu, Pony AI granted China’s first licences to charge passengers for self-driving taxis in Beijing”

Researchers have managed to create a powerful holographic camera that is capable of seeing through objects such as corners, fog and even humans reveals a new study.

Developed by researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, it uses a technique called synthetic wavelength holography.. It works by reconstructing the path taken by a beam of light as it propagates through various objects, bouncing off surfaces until the beam returns to the source, where it is recorded by a detector.

An AI algorithm tracks the path of scattered light, allowing the viewer to see the world from the perspective of a remote surface, even if they are behind the camera’s line of sight.

This field of research, called non-line-of-sight (NLoS) imaging, is quite nascent, yet the Northwestern researchers’ implementation is well advanced as it rapidly captures high-resolution full-field images with submillimeter precision. 

Continue reading… “Researchers create ‘transparent’ holographic camera to make self-driving cars safer”

CP-enabled vehicle detects cyclist behind bus.

Australian researchers have developed disruptive technology allowing autonomous vehicles to track running pedestrians hidden behind buildings, and cyclists obscured by larger cars, trucks, and buses.

The autonomous vehicle uses game changing technology that allows it to “see” the world around it, including using X-ray style vision that penetrates through to pedestrians in blind spots and to detect cyclists obscured by fast-moving vehicles.

The iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre-funded project collaborating with the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics and Australian connected vehicle solutions company Cohda Wireless has just released its new findings in a final report following three years of research and development.

The technology’s applications, which are being commercialized by Cohda, involve an emerging and promising technology for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) called cooperative or collective perception (CP).

Continue reading… “New technology gives smart cars ‘X-ray’ vision, detecting hidden pedestrians, cyclists”

The ‘foldable steering system’ is movable to forward and back by up to 25cm.

The SBW is a high-tech control system that transmits steering power generated from the steering wheel to wheels through electronic signals.

Seoul: A foldable steering wheel system for self-driving cars has been developed by Hyundai Mobis.

Hyundai Mobis announced on Monday that it has developed the ‘foldable steering system’ that can store the steering wheel of the driver’s seat invisible by folding it.

It is a new technology that has not been globally commercialized before, and Hyundai Mobis successfully developed in around 2 years and is currently filling patents in Korea and overseas.

Continue reading… “Hyundai Mobis develops a foldable steering wheel system for self-driving car”