Mobileye, the self-driving car company that Intel acquired for €15 billion in 2017, outlined its plans to bring autonomous vehicles (AVs) to the general public through new laser sensor technology to reduce the cost of vehicle production. autonomous. Speaking at CES 2021, the company announced that it has integrated LiDAR technology, that is, lasers that measure depth and distance, on a silicon chip from Intel, signifying its projects. Plans to bring affordable self-driving cars to retail buyers by 2025 could become a reality. Mobileye President and CEO Amnon Shashua explained why the Intel subsidiary is so confident in achieving its lofty goals: "Intel's support and the trinity of our focus means Mobileye can evolve in unprecedented ways." Said Shashua. "From the beginning, every part of our plan has been aimed at rapid geographic and economic scalability, and today's news shows how our innovations allow us to execute on this strategy. The Israeli company has around 80% of the global market of advanced driver-assist vision systems and is currently focusing its efforts on features in cars that help drivers navigate blind spots or stay in their lane, its partnership with Intel, and recent advancement in LiDAR-on -a-chip, means Mobileye can move away from camera-based automotive technology development and move towards a full suite of autonomous sensors to be built in-house, thereby reducing production costs and making autonomous vehicles as accessible as possible for the mass market. “The ultimate holy grail is anyone can go out and buy a car and have that car's range turned on,” Shashua said in an interview with Bloomberg. "It's a dream that can come true by 2025. We are in serious discussions with several car manufacturers to start adopting this type of technology.
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(Image credit: Intel/Mobileye) Intel has been going through a tough period recently. The chip giant has been accused of lagging behind rivals such as AMD and Apple in processor innovation, and was held back by numerous manufacturing delays even before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. . But the announcement that its Mobileye subsidiary has made a breakthrough in audiovisual development will appease those enthusiastic about the important role the company will play in the future of autonomous vehicles.
LiDAR love
The challenge of reducing LiDAR technology in terms of size and cost is a familiar one for major players in the AV industry. Companies like Aeva and Voyant Photonics, for example, the first to develop assistive technology for Porsche, are working on their own methods of condensing LiDAR down to its smallest possible size to fit multiple sensors on a single car (currently, most sensors LiDAR are about the size of a hand). But Mobileye's partnership with Intel means the company has access to large-scale manufacturing resources that other developers don't, which means it will be able to produce its new LiDAR chips, which will allow cars to detect road hazards at 200 meters. away. , according to Shashua - en masse and (hopefully) on time. The news comes amid a period of rapid development for the audiovisual industry. Foxconn, the main manufacturing supplier to Apple and Tesla, has partnered with Chinese startup Byton to help produce the company's first electric vehicle, the M-Byte, which looks set to bring autonomous technology to an affordable package. Tesla also recently hinted at plans to offer its full self-driving (FSD) mode to customers via a monthly subscription in 2021, meaning drivers won't have to shell out big bucks to access it. innovative technology. Mobileye's breakthrough means Intel has gained a foothold in the automotive market, but most of all it marks an exciting development for drivers hoping to benefit from technology that has long been stuck in the realm of science fiction and, more recently, in cars. Rich. By 2025, self-driving wheels may no longer be the subject of wishful thinking.