A total of 12 cameras offer a 360-degree configuration for long-range surround view and parking in the Intel Mobileye autonomous car. (photo from Intel Corp.)
Jerusalem-based Intel subsidiary Mobileye reportedly has struck a deal to supply its future EyeQ5 chips for integration in eight million partially automated cars to be manufactured by an unidentified European automaker in 2021.
Partial automation, a step toward the eventual goal of fully self-driving vehicles, requires the driver to remain alert to road conditions. Mobileye is a world leader in advanced driver-assistance technology, dominating about 70% of the current market.
Intel acquired Mobileye in March 2017 for $15.3 billion, the largest-ever acquisition of an Israeli high-tech company.
“By the end of 2019, we expect over 100,000 Level 3 cars with Mobileye installed,” said Amnon Shashua, chief executive officer and chief technology officer, referring to self-driving cars in which the driver has about 10 seconds to take over if the system fails.
Shashua announced last month that Intel and Mobileye are starting to test their responsibility-sensitive safety (RSS) model in a 100-car autonomous vehicle (AV) fleet – each equipped with 12 cameras for 360-degree visibility – on the notoriously difficult-to-navigate streets of Jerusalem.
“In the coming months, the fleet will expand to the U.S. and other regions,” he said in a May 17 statement. “While our AV fleet is not the first on the road, it represents a novel approach that challenges conventional wisdom in multiple areas. Leveraging over 20 years of experience in computer vision and artificial intelligence, our vehicles are proving the Mobileye-Intel solution is the most efficient and effective.”
Shashua said a radar/lidar layer will be added to the cars in the second phase of development.
Regarding the next-gen EyeQ5-based compute system due out in early 2019, he added, “the current system on roads today includes approximately one-tenth of the computing power we will have available [then].”
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