ADAS

Volkswagen to plough €2.4B into vehicle automation in China and form JV with Horizon Robotics • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in ADAS, auto, autonomous driving, China, chip, nvidia, Robotics & AI, semiconductor, Transportation, volkswagenNo Comments

Volkswagen is accelerating the pace to automate its electric vehicles for Chinese customers. CARIAD, a wholly-owned automotive software company of the German auto behemoth, intends to set up a joint venture with Horizon Robotics, one of China’s most serious auto chip developers, the company said on Thursday. The German automaker plans to deploy around €2.4 billion to its cooperation with Horizon Robotics, a transaction that’s expected to be completed by 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval. Following the deal, CARIAD will hold a majority stake of 60% in the JV. It wasn’t until 2020 that China moved to ease the rules that had previously barred foreign companies from owning majority stakes in local auto firms. The tie-up comes at a time of global chip shortage and surging semiconductor costs. A handful of automakers are already moving some of their chip production in-house to counter supply chain uncertainties. China’s electric vehicle upstarts Xpeng and Nio have both assembled sizable teams to develop auto-grade chips, according to Chinese tech business publication LatePost. The deal came just weeks after Horizon announced it had received a strategic investment from China’s state-owned automaker Chery Automobile. Together with Horizon Robotics, Volkswagen will be working on full-stack advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving solutions for the Chinese market. The goal is to “drive forward the integration of numerous functions on one chip, increasing the stability of the system, saving costs, and reducing energy consumption.” The vision is reminiscent of Nvidia’s recently announced next-generation auto-grade chip that’s designed to unify autonomous driving and in-car technologies. It’s interesting to see Volkswagen forming close ties with a Chinese startup, while Nvidia’s state-of-the-art auto chip is widely recognized as the most cutting-edge in the industry. Given the escalation of U.S. chip limits on China, it won’t be surprising that supply chain diversification is on the mind of VW executives. The question is whether Horizon can deliver something that’s up to par with its American counterpart. In any case, having an on-the-ground partner will likely help VW create more customized solutions for the world’s largest auto market. As Ralf Brandstätter, member of the management board of Volkswagen AG for China, remarks in a statement: “Localized technology development grants the region more autonomy to further expand its position in the dynamic automotive market. Cutting-edge technology comprising the full software and hardware stack, which the new joint venture will develop, will enable us to tailor our products and services even faster and more consistently to the needs of our Chinese customers. Teaming up with Horizon Robotics will allow Volkswagen to accelerate the development of automated driving solutions as part of our NEW AUTO strategy and drive the repositioning of our China business.”

Many Americans treat driver assist systems like self-driving • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 11, 2022Posted in ADAS, GM Super Cruise, Tesla Autopilot, TransportationNo Comments

Many Americans feel comfortable treating their advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which partially automate certain driving functions, as full self-driving systems, according to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The survey explored habits, expectations and attitudes among regular users of General Motors Super Cruise, Nissan/Infiniti ProPILOT Assist and Tesla Autopilot. A total of 604 participants spread more or less evenly across the different brands took part in the survey from January to November 2021. All three groups were found to be more likely to engage in non-driving related activities — like texting or eating — while using their systems than when driving manually. That was especially true for Super Cruise and Autopilot users, who were more likely to report performing activities that would take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. Super Cruise and Autopilot users also said they could perform these types of tasks better and more often while using their systems, according to the study. A total of 53% of Super Cruise users, 42% of Autopilot users and 12% of ProPILOT Assist users said they were comfortable treating their systems as self-driving. The study’s publishing follows a series of incidents involving the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot system, and by extension, its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system, the company’s more advanced ADAS. Last month, some Tesla drivers filed suit against the company for falsely advertising the autonomous capabilities of Autopilot and FSD, something California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has also recently accused Tesla of. In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asked Tesla to provide more information about its cabin camera — which is meant to monitor the alertness of drivers using Autopilot and FSD — as part of its ongoing probe into 830,000 Teslas that include Autopilot. NHTSA is currently investigating 16 crashes in which Tesla owners had potentially engaged such systems before crashing into stationary emergency vehicles. The agency has opened a total 39 special investigations into Autopilot-related crashes since 2016. GM’s Super Cruise, by comparison, has been probed by NHTSA only twice in the same timespan, according to NHTSA data. Since Super Cruise launched in 2017, the ADAS has appeared on over 40,000 vehicles, so it’s a smaller pool than Tesla’s Autopilot which comes standard on all new Teslas. Super Cruise’s safeguards have also been described as more robust than Tesla’s. Consumer Reports issued ratings for ADAS on certain vehicles earlier this year, and found that Super Cruise and Ford’s Blue Cruise were the only automakers to receive two extra points for having systems that encourage safe driving. During CR’s tests of different GM vehicles, the agency said that each delivered “multiple warnings to grab an inattentive driver’s attention.” “If the driver still does not react, the system will start to slow the car down on its own, eventually bringing it to a stop. The system won’t operate if the camera is covered,” according to a statement from CR. With Tesla Model Y and S vehicles with software version 11.0, drivers could use Autopilot even with the vehicle’s cabin camera fully covered, according to CR. If the camera detected the driver’s eyes were off the road, it would shorten how long the driver could take their hands off the wheel. However, as long as the driver’s hands remained on the wheel, CR found no warnings if the eyes were off the road. The IIHS survey found that some drivers in the survey said such user safeguards, like attention reminders and lockouts, were annoying and they would try to circumvent them. However, most people said they found those safeguards helpful and felt safer with them. The study suggests that driver monitoring systems and “multifaceted, proactive user-centric safeguards” are key to shaping proper behavior and understanding about drivers’ roles while using partial driving automation. “Some regular users have a poor understanding of their technology’s limits,” the study reads. “System design appears to contribute to user perceptions and behavior.” This article was updated with special investigation data from NHTSA and the number of vehicles with Super Cruise from GM.