Sony has become the latest producer of electric cars as it unveils its prototype model at CES 2022. The electric giant’s Vision-S 02 electric car is the latest prototype from the company as it looks to explore the rapidly growing market.

The Japanese firm, better known for its TVs and video game consoles, will create the Sony Mobility subsidiary in the first half of 2022 as it weighs entering the field. Sony joins a number of electric and tech companies that have shown interest and developed their own electric cars in recent times.

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In Asia, more Chinese carmakers and tech companies are working together to get ahead in electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle production. Among them are China’s BYD and autonomous driving startup Momenta, which has entered a 100 million yuan (US$15.7 million) joint venture to deploy autonomous driving capabilities across certain BYD car model lines. Another carmaker, Jidu Auto, an EV venture between tech giant Baidu and automaker Geely, also announced that it would start mass production of its first “Robot” EV in 2023.

According to a statement by Sony, “the new company will aim to make the best use of AI and robotics technologies, help realizes a world where everyone can live in harmony with robots on a daily basis, fill people with emotion, and contribute to society. With VISION-S, which contributes to the evolution of mobility, together with the autonomous entertainment robot Aibo, and the drone Airpeak, Sony will seek to continue to create new value in a variety of fields.”

According to Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony’s chief executive officer the Vision-S 02 is a new version of the firm’s first prototype that has begun road testing. Through this new branch, the electronics giant intends to explore entry into the EV market.

This vehicle uses the same EV/cloud platform as the prototype (VISION-S 01), which is being tested on public roads. By offering entertainment experiences utilizing the large interior space and variations of a 7-seater, this new prototype will, together with VISION-S 01, promote the accommodation of a large variety of lifestyles within a society where values are becoming increasingly diversified.

To demonstrate the concept in the real world, Sony started public road testing in Europe in December 2020 for the Vision-S. Sony started verification tests of the safety and user experience of the imaging and sensing technology installed inside and outside the vehicle, and the human-machine interface (HMI) system. In April 2021, Sony began 5G driving tests and will continue to apply its cutting-edge technologies to provide new experiences in the realm of mobility, which is undergoing a shift to electric vehicles.

Globally, the electric vehicle sector is still growing. In the US, it only accounts for only about 3% of current sales but it is attracting a lot of interest and investment. For example, General Motors has planned to invest more than US$ 35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.

Authorities in Asia, Europe, and the United States plan to spend billions of dollars to strengthen the network of charging stations or encourage individuals to abandon their fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

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For autonomous car manufacturers, automotive software is essential to ensure these vehicles operate smoothly. Over the years, car manufacturers have invested millions in the research and development of automotive software.

And when it comes to automotive software, Tesla arguably tops the list for being the most innovative in its solutions. However, recent issues such as accidents involving its self-driving vehicles have brought in some negative publicity for the carmaker.

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Despite this, Tesla is still the top producing autonomous car manufacturer in the world.

However, this is also rapidly changing as Asian carmakers are now making their presence felt in the global autonomous vehicle industry. For example, Chinese autonomous vehicles have been seeing increased demand and sales, not just in China but globally as well.

Part of the reason for this is that most of these automakers are manufacturing and designing their own automotive software.

Automotive software includes the use of AI for self-driving as well as processing data the vehicle sends and receives.

Apart from autonomous driving, automotive software is also needed for managing electric motors and batteries as well as navigation and providing entertainment.

With more automated features being developed for autonomous cars, some manufacturers are now deciding to design and build their own operating software as well.

According to a report by Nikkei, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp is planning to launch its own operating system, which would be capable of handling advanced operations such as autonomous driving, for its vehicles by 2025.

Building a native automotive software

The automotive software platform, Arene is expected to compete with German rivals, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG. Volkswagen is already working on its ‘VW.OS’ software, while Daimler is planning to roll out its own ‘Mercedes-Benz Operating System’ in its cars by 2024.

General Motors is also developing an operating system that can be updated instantly via the internet, pouring US$35 billion by 2025.

At the same time, tech companies have also jumped into the bandwagon and are developing their own autonomous vehicle and automotive software. For example, Apple is rumored to be working on an autonomous vehicle while Google seeks to bring the business models that succeeded in smartphones to the auto industry.

For Toyota, the Japanese carmaker also plans to make it available to affiliates such as Subaru in the future. Reports also showed that Toyota is considering a licensing model to make Arene available to other car manufacturers and companies working on electric or self-driving cars.

Nikkei reported that Arene will control basic components which include the steering wheel, brakes, and accelerator.

The automotive system will also manage the vehicle’s safety systems as well as location and traffic information. All vehicles fitted with the operating system, regardless of make or model, will have access to shared functions. Consumers can update the system online, much like smartphone software, enabling quick improvements to performance.

As competition in the autonomous vehicle industry increases, vehicle manufacturers are likely to feel pressured to continuously work on developing and improving their own automotive systems.

This is not just to stay ahead, but also sidestep supply chain complexities, especially given the global semiconductor shortage that’s expected to persist to 2023.

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And now, with robotaxis being granted approval to launch paid driverless taxi services in the capital, the industry is clearly moving way ahead other similar services around the world. The robotaxis are from Chinese internet giant Baidu and self-driving startup company Pony.ai.

China had recently published its first national standards for grading autonomous driving. According to reports, the standards provide a benchmark for carmakers to develop future technology in autonomous driving. China’s six-level standards, called “Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles”, provides official definitions for self-driving cars from level zero (L0), which relies largely on human drivers, to L5 that achieves “full driving automation”.

(Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

The global robotaxi market is also likely to grow at a CAGR of around 60% during 2021-26 due to the surging demand for e-hailing services and mounting concerns over road safety and emissions. Robotaxis can also help reduce the cost of vehicle ownership, enhance fleet management, and provide a convenient and budget mode of transportation.

According to Reuters, Baidu said in a statement this will be its Apollo Go service’s first commercial deployment on open roads. Customers will be able to hail one of the daily service’s 67 cars at more than 600 pick-up and drop-off points in both commercial and residential areas.

Baidu had already established itself as the world’s largest autonomous driving service provider. The Apollo Go ride-hailing platform has already been providing free ride services in the last quarter and now operates in Beijing, Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province, Cangzhou, North China’s Hebei Province, and Shanghai.

Robotaxis the future of urban transport?

CNBC reported last week that Baidu CEO Robin Li aims to expand its Apollo Go service to 65 cities by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030. The company also announced its next generation of robotaxis would cost half the price to manufacture compared to the prior generation.

Meanwhile, AutoX, the Alibaba backed autonomous driving company is also offering fully driverless robotaxis in the Pingshan District of Shenzhen. The company has been offering free robotaxi rides to members of the public who signed up but it was not immediately clear whether there was a cost to ride.

Interestingly, the world’s first ever self-driving taxis started trials in Singapore in 2016. However, since then, the development of robotaxis in the island nation and other Southeast Asian countries have not taken a huge step forward. In Vietnam, Phenikaa Group, a multi-sectoral corporation, has introduced its prototype of a level-4 autonomous vehicle. NanoMalaysia Berhad have also announced a development of level 4 autonomous vehicles in the country. It is unclear if these vehicles will be made into robotaxis.

Over in the US, Alphabet’s Waymo have been testing similar products, primarily in California and Arizona while General Motor-backed Cruise said earlier this month it has applied with the California government for final approval to become the first robotaxi operator to commercialize fully autonomous rides in San Francisco.

For now, it seems that robotaxis in China are making their presence felt around the world. Other countries will be looking closely at the China to see how they can implement similar regulations to robotaxis as well. Either way, autonomous driving taxis are fast becoming the future of urban transportation.

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The Chinese government has been relatively tentative when it comes to autonomous vehicles and as it looks to be ahead in the global self-driving vehicle industry, the country laid out its first national standards for grading autonomous driving. Drafted by 11 major carmakers and suppliers, the standards will come into effect in March 2022.

The benchmark is basically for carmakers to develop futuristic autonomous technology involving vehicles. Basically, the six-tier standard, “Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles”, provides official definitions for self-driving cars from level zero (L0), which relies largely on human drivers, to L5 that achieves “full driving automation”.

Currently, local carmakers in China use the United States-based Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) definition. The classification by the SAE was rolled out in 2014 and updated  several times since. It also has a six-level rating based on the engagement of human drivers and automation.

SAE vs Chinese self-driving vehicle standard

To be frank, the SAE definition is a bit ambiguous as it defines L2 as “partial automated driving” and L4 level as “high-level automated driving”. On the contrary, the Chinese version of classification is more detailed and clear. 

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China’s L0, L1 and L2 levels require that the driver and the automated driving system work together on detecting and responding to objects and events while the SAE version only requires drivers to perform the tasks for these levels.

Meanwhile, L3 is named as Conditionally Automated Driving as it could continuously perform all dynamic driving tasks under its designed operating conditions. L4 on the other hand is called highly automated driving. At this level, the vehicle is also able to take measures to reduce the risk of accidents should the driving automation system fail to perform the necessary actions.

Then there is L5 for fully automated driving. This level means that there are no limitations by any operating design scope, and the vehicle can continuously perform all dynamic driving tasks under any conditions. Should the driving automation system fail to perform dynamic driving tasks, the L5 system takes measures to reduce the risk of accident and to minimize any damages

The latest standards in China were drafted  by 11 major carmakers and suppliers, including Ford, BMW and Volkswagen’s China units as well as some domestic giants like Geely and GAC Group. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will oversee its adoption. Interestingly, the standards are not mandatory. However, the taxonomy is a recommended standard that authorities hope self-driving car companies will voluntarily adopt.

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But whilst the rest of the developed world is pushing for autonomous vehicles largely for reasons of safety and convenience for people in general, Japan’s a little different.

It’s to compensate for its aging population.

The Japanese ageing population is in need of transportation — but the country is plagued by persistent labor shortages.

“In the cargo and transport sectors, drivers have become older and the shortage of human resources has become serious,” a recent METI report said.

It also warned of “terrible traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers making operational errors”.

Accelerating tech for autonomous cars

Japan is focusing on accelerating the development of the technology behind autonomous vehicles — mainly machine learning, and IoT sensors supported by cutting edge hardware.

They have also changed laws to pave the way for increasingly advanced autonomous vehicles on the road.

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Additionally, the ministry of economy, trade, and industry (METI) has plans for 40 autonomous taxi test sites nationwide by 2025.

Last year, it became the first country in the world to allow a vehicle capable of taking full control in certain situations to operate on public roads.

Local automakers cautiously optimistic

Top-selling Toyota plans to run its e-Palette self-driving buses along dedicated roads in the smart city it is building at the foot of Mount Fuji.

The Honda car has “Level 3” autonomy, meaning it can take certain decisions alone, though a driver has to be ready to take the wheel in emergencies.

This picture taken on September 9, 2021 shows a Nissan Motor staff member, his hands off the steering wheel while seated in the driver’s seat of the company’s autonomous vehicle, during a press preview for a field operation test of Easy Ride, a driverless mobility service, at the Minato Mirai business district in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

For rural Japan, autonomous vehicles “will become a necessity”, said Christopher Richter, head of Japan research at brokerage CLSA.

“I can see why it’s a priority for the government, for carmakers… (but) big-scale autonomous driving is probably not coming in our decade.”

Japan’s automakers admit the time horizon is a complex proposition at this stage.

Ubiquity of autonomous cars still a distance away

When Nissan launched tests of its “Easy Ride” self-driving taxis in 2018, it said it expected them to be commercially available from the early 2020s.

But Kazuhiro Doi, the company’s global vice president in charge of research, is more circumspect now.

“Social acceptance (of autonomous cars) is not high enough,” he told AFP.

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“Very few people have experience with autonomous driving. Without having experience, I think it’s very hard to accept it because it’s too new.”

This month, the Easy Ride taxis are in their third round of tests on public roads in Yokohama outside Tokyo, albeit in a limited area designated for the purpose.

“When we provide a test ride for customers, everybody is surprised… It’s better than what they expected,” Doi said.

“And that kind of experience needs to be accumulated.”

Doi admits it is hard to say when autonomous taxis could be commercially available in Japan, noting that the Easy Ride cars currently avoid “complicated” areas with narrow or winding streets.

“Unfortunately, complicated areas have customers,” he said.

Autonomous cars are the future, but more work is still needed

Seemingly paradoxically, superior safety promised by automated vehicles is facing issues — as a result of humans at the wheel. 

Last month, an accident involving a self-driving bus at the Tokyo Paralympics had injured a visually impaired athlete. The bus had detected the man and stopped, but an operator on board overrode the system.

Autonomous electric vehicles, used at the Olympic Village, are seen during a media tour of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo on June 20, 2021. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Richter opined that the incident in Tokyo demonstrates how far the sector has to go. “People said autonomous is ready for these kinds of controlled communities,” but even there “it failed”, he told AFP.

In June this year, Tesla recalled over 285,000 vehicles of its Model 3 and Model Y sedans in China due to a safety risk with their cruise control feature.

Last year, a tragic incident involving an Uber self-driving car resulted in the death of a pedestrian — because apparently the driver was “visually distracted by her mobile phone” during the drive.

Clearly, the technology is far from perfect — not so much because of its technological precision per se, but with regards to how humans operate and interact with it.

Nevertheless, this move by the Japanese government appears to be heading in the right direction in order to ensure complete safety for passengers and other road users.

Aside from perfecting the technology, there’s lots of room still for automakers and engineers to also look into the human aspect of self-driving cars — and try to mitigate lapses in human judgments that would otherwise render the technology inefficient.

With additional reporting by Etienne BALMER for AFP

The post Japan’s betting on autonomous cars – for a unique reason appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

The route from Guangzhou to Beijing is 3,670 kilometers, and that is the distance popular Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng’s cars completed in one week – mostly without a driver behind the wheel. Xpeng is routinely regarded as a competitor to market-leading Tesla, with the record-breaking driverless road trip as an attempt to showcase how automotive robot systems perform in the real world.

The Chinese startup used a fleet of its electric P7 models to cover the route, visiting 10 cities in six provinces. The route includes a range of complex and busy highways and for 2,900km the company’s navigation guided pilot (NGP) was in charge. The driver onboard each car seldom had to intervene, achieving an average of just 0.71 human-driver interventions per 100km.

Indirectly, the historic test sets a new benchmark for long-distance autonomous driving by mass production passenger vehicles. The NGP system uses 14 cameras, five radars, 12 sensors, and sophisticated, high-definition mapping. According to reports, Xpeng said the average success rate of the cars for lane changing and overtaking was 94.4%, with similar figures for highway ramp entering and passing through tunnels. “The expedition has fully challenged the robustness and reliability of the NGP function,” said Xpeng chairman He Xiaopeng.

In regular electric mode, the P7 electric can cover up to 700 kilometers on a single charge. It was early January this year when Xpeng started rolling out its new autonomous highway driving features to eligible customers, as it looks to ramp up its challenge to foreign entrant Tesla and other local incumbents in the world’s largest auto market. The electric vehicle startup announced the NGP that month – a feature that allows drivers to automatically change lanes, speed up or slow down, overtake cars, as well as enter and exit highways.

The company headquartered in Guangzhou is trying to highlight its software and autonomous driving capabilities as a way to differentiate from domestic rivals like Nio and Li Auto as well as challenge Tesla that has its own autonomous ADAS called Autopilot.

China’s electric vehicle companies are looking to add more autonomous features to their cars. Theoretically, the law in China does not allow such advanced tests of autonomous driving. But as Beijing strives to promote the strategic autonomous vehicle sector, companies are being allowed to operate in a legal gray area, condoned at a high level.

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However, in January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a proposal that encourages local governments to open more roads for testing driverless cars. “The development of autonomous driving technology in our country has entered a fast lane. The industry has a strong demand for testing cars in a real-time traffic environment,” the ministry said.

Analysts see authorities’ willingness to allow aggressive experiments for new technology as a major advantage in China’s fierce competition with the US for the most advanced autonomous driving technology, which many believe will change the automobile industry. As a matter of fact, China has grown to be the world’s largest car market and produces tens of millions every year. 

Now, the country wants to turn the tables with autonomous driving technology, which would also transform taxis, buses, trucks, and delivery vehicles. China’s target is for vehicles with at least partial self-driving functions to account for 50% of new auto sales in five years, according to a blueprint published by a government research body in November last year.

The post China’s robot cars can go the longest driverless distance appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

At the back of our minds though, is just how safe this technology can ever be. In tests so far, collisions have rarely been due to technical glitches or systems failures. Instead, they’re down to humans changing lanes without warning or, in the tragic case of Elaine Herzburg, who was hit and killed by an Uber self-driving car on a pilot test, attempting to cross a road in the dark. 

To say that autonomous vehicle technology will make our roads safer is an oversimplification, and there is a long way to go before any real autonomous vehicle technology emerges whose developers can confidently call ‘safe’. The death of one individual is evidence enough that the technology isn’t complete, and that the heady race to the front of the market which is magnetizing investment from tech giants, incumbent carmakers, hundreds of new startups and even electronic firms could come at a significant cost if the industry’s “inadequate safety culture” isn’t tackled head on. 

Stan Boland is CEO Five, a self-driving technology creating cloud-based development and safety assurance platforms for autonomy programs. Asked by Tech Wire Asia whether there has been too much eagerness to leap forward into real-world trials by the likes of Uber and Tesla (the latter whose automated driving systems have been linked to five fatalities), his reply was straightforward: “no question.”

The safety challenge

The systems we are able to see in controlled tests today, such as Waymo, may most of the time seem flawless. In the wild, Elon Musk’s car brand sold 367,500 semi-autonomous cars last year, and how many made bad press? But achieving AI that can perform as good as, if not better than a human, is incredibly difficult, if not impossible to achieve.

British IT entrepreneur Five CEO Stan Boland studied physics at Cambridge. Source: Five

“We are actually pretty good at driving, as humans,” Boland explained. “In Europe, we will typically have a collision every 150,000 miles. Well, what does that mean for machine performance?”

“Let’s imagine we’re driving in a city at 20 miles an hour, and we take a decision every two seconds – that means that we can afford to make one mistake for every 10 million decisions […] replicating that type of behavior is incredibly difficult when things like deep neural networks typically today make one mistake every hundred decisions.”

Discussing a system that can perform with human-like decision-making, amounts to advocating something complex as the holy grail of artificial general intelligence, Boland said; “We’re really going to have to be very smart about the way we train and develop the way we fuse data together; the way we use search in context. And then we’re going to have to understand risk and propagate that through to production planning, and to create a system that is as safe as a human one. 

Work towards autonomous vehicle safety “cannot be done lightly”, he continued, and the industry must first establish a deep understanding of the framework and set of capabilities that can generate and prove safety, if the technology is to be accepted not just by regulators, but by society. “I think a lot of these companies have been too quick to get stuff out there,” Boland said.

“We’ve got to find the balance here between the velocity of development, and safety.”

Striking a balance

It’s the mission of The Autonomous to find that balance of controlled progression. This is a collaborative forum launched by Austria-based automated driving safety software platforms firm TTTech Auto, devoted to shaping the future of safe autonomous mobility through open idea exchange and discussion. Representing the eclectic mix of the autonomous vehicle industry’s entrants, membership comprises car giants like Audi, Volkswagen, Daimler; hardware and chip-making leaders like Intel, Nvidia, Arm; and autonomous technology startups such as Five itself.

The participants are aligned on safety as being the main hurdle to autonomous vehicles’ broad acceptance and, breaking the kilter of this already highly-charged, competitive industry, they don’t believe going alone as single OEMs or tech companies is the wise answer to achieving it. Instead, investments and innovations and research can be shared, development frameworks and legal standards hashed out and agreed upon, and regulations sought.

Open innovation for mutual benefit is not something the traditional car industry is a stranger to, and for many incumbents now moving into autonomous vehicle technology, it’s the most viable approach to doing so. Coming together as an industry can ensure the vast banks of knowledge and innovation are shared to overcome the industry’s largest obstacles, enabling an ecosystem to flourish all the more sooner. 

Small steps first

Much of the work in developing and training safe and effective autonomous driving systems will involve test tracks, controlled road trials, and thousands of hours devoted to data-led scenario modelling and the creation of virtual environments, which can simulate weather conditions, road signs, unpredictable traffic and thousands of other variables. But it will also happen if the industry tempers its eagerness and takes small but confident steps forward with the technology already on the road today.

While it’s full-, or level 5, autonomous vehicle technology that captures our imaginations, these systems are evolving on the roads now. 

Most new, higher-end cars today have level 2 autonomy; computers can take over functions from the driver and are smart enough to moderate speed and steering using multiple data sources. Firms like Mercedes and Lexus have developed vehicle systems that can take over directional, throttle and brake controls using satnav data. Even more advanced systems – coined as ‘Level 2+’ by Nvidia – can respond to surroundings outside, but also monitor for things like driver tiredness on the inside, while Mercedes is close to releasing an “eyes-off” level 3 autonomous S-Class. 

AI programs can be trained in modelled, virtual scenarios. Source: Five

“The good news is that we have this level two plus system where we don’t need to replace the operator,” Georg Kopetz, co-founder and CEO TTTech Auto, told Tech Wire Asia. “The more we are deploying those systems now in real use cases, the more data we collect, and the more understanding we collect about different sensor sets about different, let’s say, road conditions.

“We are connecting those systems to the cloud, so we are understanding much more than we used to, so I believe this emerging and evolving trend to level 2+ will give us a lot of insights, and then moving to level three and level four will do as well.”

Developing safe autonomous systems then will be a process that continues to evolve, steadily, in the coming decade and most likely beyond. But there will always be intrinsic risks, and we have only skimmed the surface of a deep ocean of discussion and debate – led by platforms like The Autonomous – as to what ‘safe’ means in a self-driving vehicle where the state space for testing is near infinite.

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“There’s always going to be a validation gap between what the real world really is and what our testing environment is, and that gap is never going to be zero,” said Boland. 

“Accidents will happen – but we hope that those gaps will be sufficiently small that they’ll be contained within the envelope that today looks like human driving. And so the accident rate here would be the same or less than we in human driving.”

The post Why achieving ‘safe’ is so difficult for autonomous vehicle makers appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

One such example is the deployment of robots and various autonomous vehicles to deliver grocery and food orders to customers, part of an ongoing effort to mitigate the risk of spreading the deadly coronavirus through human-to-human contact.

The delivery app Meituan Dianping is behind this ‘contactless delivery’ initiative that was launched last month in the Shunyi district of Beijing. According to the company’s spokesperson, the vehicle is capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms of goods and can deliver three to five orders per trip.

While this is the first time the system has been piloted on public roads, the e-commerce giant had already tested robots and autonomous for home deliveries extensively since last year, but trials were carried out indoors.

This initiative spells good news for those in the food delivery industry, which have been taking severe blows as people fear potential infections caused by human contact, although it may be a push for many companies to deploy the technology themselves.

Using autonomous vehicles for delivery extends beyond food or groceries, however. Beijing-based JD.com has plans to deliver medical supplies as well. These vehicles can fulfill 50 percent to 70 percent of deliveries that go in and out of Wuhan’s Ninth Hospital, which is at the epicenter of the current outbreak.

The vehicles negate the need to send physical couriers, unless the packages are too large to be placed inside the vehicles, or if there are too many orders simultaneously.

Yang Xu, a senior analyst at the research firm Analysys, noted that while unmanned delivery services existed before the epidemic, the outbreak has the potential to highlight the extraordinary capabilities of autonomous vehicles, and even help some businesses weather the storm.

However, Yang cautioned that “Companies will face challenges because real-life situations are complicated, with interactions between people, roads, and building to take into consideration”.

Autonomous vehicles aren’t just being deployed in the services industry, though. China is also deploying robots and drones to disinfect hospitals remotely, while there are unverified reports of law enforcement using loudspeaker-equipped aerial drones to supervise the public, and direct individuals to go back inside or return to quarantine areas.

Drones have joined fight against novel #coronavirus (COVID-19) in China. Equipped with thermal imaging technology, they can detect those with a fever up in the air. Check out drone patrol in central China’s Hunan pic.twitter.com/BP6ZTYTdkA

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 16, 2020

The takeaway from this is that technology deployment has the potential to change the tide when it comes to businesses. It is simply about identifying current needs, being sensitive to the trends of the market, and finally utilizing the right solution.

The post Autonomous vehicles could help us weather the coronavirus appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

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Most recently, for example, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi recently announced that it set up an independent autonomous cars unit/business venture.

Didi isn’t late to the party. It set up its autonomous cars team back in 2016 — which it has grown with more than 200 staff (primarily technology professionals) — spread out in the US as well as China.

While the spin-off is expected to help the autonomous cars unit go faster, the long-term view is that the business will be fully integrated into the parent’s service portfolio when possible.

Didi might not have paid money upfront to get into the ‘autonomous driving’ game, but other companies have. Osram, for example, joined BMW, Toyota, and others to provide US$25 million in funding to an autonomous driving startup recently.

According to GlobalData, more than US$48 billion worth of mergers, acquisitions, and investments have been witnessed in the shared mobility sector from the start of 2016 to the end of 2018.

The think tank’s latest report Shared mobility – Thematic Research reveals that, if the development of shared mobility networks continues at its current rate, self-driving taxis will become a commonplace transportation option by 2035.

GlobalData’s forecasts are quite reasonable, of course, with the automotive industry rooting for autonomous cars to revolutionize not just their own businesses but also the larger mobility industry.

“Consumers are becoming ever more comfortable with the concept of having access to a shared product without the financial burden of private ownership,” said GlobalData Automotive Analyst Mike Vousden.

“There is a momentum towards these services, whether that is shared cars that can be rented for a few hours or a network of autonomous taxis that can be summoned to your door via a smartphone app.”

According to a survey of more than 5,500 consumers from around the world earlier this year, 59 percent said they were awaiting the arrival of autonomous cars with anticipation. About 47 percent of the respondents also said they believe self-driving cars will give them a sense of freedom.

Further, the survey highlights that within the next five years, 52 percent would prefer to be driven in a self-driving car than a normal one. That’s an exciting finding and highlights the strong positive sentiment in the market among consumers.

GlobalData’s forecast for 2035, to be clear, doesn’t conflict with the findings of the survey as it discusses when the technology will be commonplace as against it becoming available.

While GlobalData uses shared mobility as a catch-all term for transport services where the means of getting around is shared between multiple users, the industry is expected to see massive changes as companies from all sectors plunge into the mobility space with fleets of autonomous cars.

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In the future, autonomous cars will change the face of mobility — and are expected to change consumers relationship with vehicles entirely.

What GlobalData and other analyst firms are emphasizing, however, is that consumers are prepared for that change, and businesses that champion and pioneer it will be rewarded handsomely.

The post GlobalData makes positive forecast about autonomous cars appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

The company showcased the system at CES, an annual trade show held in Las Vegas, reported Reuters. The new solutions were developed by Samsung Electronics in conjunction with Harman International, a company it bought nearly a year ago.

CES: Samsung and Harman unveil new automotive solution https://t.co/0mjW9XGqvh pic.twitter.com/AtfW7Wvkgw

— ZDNet (@ZDNet) January 9, 2018

Samsung plans to begin shipping its new camera system, which is built on machine learning and augmented reality, later this year.

The company, which bought Harman in March last year for US$8 billion – its biggest overseas acquisition ever – also showcased a “digital cockpit” that allows drivers to personalize cars and store their profile on mobile devices and the cloud so it can be used and displayed even in cars they don’t own.

Samsung and Harman’s “digital cockpit”. Source: Samsung

Harman and Samsung have previously outlined their plan to deliver 5G technology for cars in September, announcing it had set up a strategic business unit for autonomous and advanced driver assistance services, along with a US$300 million fund to invest in automotive start-ups and technology.

BAIDU, NVIDIA AND ZF TEAM TO DRIVE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN CHINA

Tech Wire Asia | 8 January, 2018

Technology for the automotive industry is one of the fastest-growing segments in the tech sphere, as carmakers look to add more autonomous features, paving the way for fully autonomous, self-driving cars.

Competition in the space is hotting-up, specifically in China, which is the world’s largest automotive market, representing 30 percent of the global passenger vehicle market alone.

Samsung’s unveiling follows the announcement of a new autonomous vehicle joint development project by Chinese search giant Baidu, Japan’s Nvidia chipset manufacturers and German automotive concern ZF Friedrichshafen on Sunday.

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