BMW is teaming up with Intel and Mobileye to develop new technology for the auto industry that could put self-driving cars on the road by around 2021.
The
alliance highlights a shift in the dynamics of research and development
in the car industry, which until recently saw automakers largely
dictating terms for suppliers to manufacture their proprietary
technologies at specified volumes and prices.
Now
carmakers are increasingly striking up partnerships with technology
firms using open technology standards, seeking to harness their
expertise in areas including machine learning and mapping as they race
against Silicon Valley companies such as Google , Tesla and Apple to develop driverless vehicles.
"Highly
autonomous cars and everything they connect to will require powerful
and reliable electronic brains to make them smart enough to navigate
traffic and avoid accidents,” Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said
on Friday at a joint news conference announcing the alliance.
The
three companies said their new platform would be made available to
multiple carmakers and they expected vehicles with highly and
fully-automated driving would be brought into mass production by 2021.
It is too early to say which other carmakers would join the alliance,
BMW Chief Executive Harald Krueger said at a news conference on the
outskirts of Munich on Friday.
Sophisticated
cruise control systems already enable "hands off" driving as cameras
and computers allow cars to automatically brake, steer and accelerate in
traffic at low speeds. But drivers are required to stay in control.
Now
BMW, Intel and Mobileye will develop cars with even higher levels of
automation described as "eyes off," "mind off," and "driver off". This
requires much more computing power and software know-how, forcing
traditional carmakers to collaborate more closely with technology
specialists.
Both
industries see huge revenue opportunities in the market for autonomous
vehicles, although it is unclear how many drivers will be prepared to
relinquish control and how quickly laws will be put in place to allow
fully autonomous vehicles on the roads.
But
creating common technology standards would help all manufacturers
update their vehicles faster, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said.
"That will be critical for advancing the safety aspects of this."
A
common approach to standards will also make it easier for regulators to
understand and approve the roadworthiness of a vehicle while still
leaving enough scope for individual car manufacturers to customize their
cars, Mobileye Chairman Amnon Shashua said.
Beyond
technological hurdles there are legal questions over who is responsible
when a crash occurs. On Thursday, the driver of a Tesla Model S car,
operating in Autopilot mode, was killed in a collision with a truck in
the United States, prompting an investigation by federal highway safety
regulators.
When
asked about the crash, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said: "The accident is
very sad .... We believe today the technologies are not ready for series
production," he added, explaining the alliance had not forecast that
until 2021.
"For the BMW group, safety comes first," he said.
As
part of the new alliance, Intel, the world's largest computer chip
maker which has been looking to expand into the automotive electronics
market, will supply the microprocessors - or central processing units -
to control an array of sensors.
Auto
camera and software maker Mobileye will supply its Road Experience
Management (REM) technology and make its latest EyeQ5 chip available to
be deployed on Intel computing platforms.
The three companies said they would demonstrate their technology in a prototype in the near future.
Source : Reuters
