Imagination, together with China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and China Automotive Technology and Research Center, jointly launched the AIIA automotive chip and ecosystem project group

On November 2, the 2019 Artificial Intelligence Developers Conference, co-hosted by the China Artificial Intelligence Industry Development Alliance (AIIA) and the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government, was successfully held in Hangzhou. The conference invited leaders of relevant government departments, well-known experts and scholars, representatives of leading companies, and outstanding contribution teams and individuals in the open source community to exchange technology status and trends, share ecological construction experience, and discuss open source community operations.

As one of the co-organizers of this conference, Imagination, a world-leading semiconductor intellectual property (Silicon IP) manufacturer, jointly launched the "AIIA Automotive Chip and Ecosystem Project Group" with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (hereinafter referred to as "CAICT") and the China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CATARC") at the conference. The project group will adhere to the research purpose of "high-end, professional, clustered, and high execution" to help my country's automotive chip industry achieve accelerated development.

At the project launch ceremony, Sun Mingjun, head of the AIIA general group, introduced the project team's launch background and development goals. She said that my country's automotive industry is moving towards the "new four modernizations" - "electrification, networking, intelligence, and sharing". In the process of realizing the new four modernizations, the demand for automotive chips will continue to grow, and artificial intelligence (AI) chips, as the "brain" of intelligent driving, are of great importance and market value. Against this background, the "AIIA Automotive Chip and Ecosystem Project Group" was prepared and initiated by three parties. Zhang Xueli, deputy director of the Cloud Computing Institute of China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Wang Yafei, director of the Intelligent Networked Research Center of China Automotive Research Center, and Liu Guojun, global vice president and general manager of Imagination China, attended the launch ceremony. The project team will promote the development of my country's automotive chips, especially main control chips with AI capabilities, as the overall goal, and carry out related work with the specific goals of sorting out the distribution of my country's automotive chip industry chain, building a corporate cooperation platform, accelerating international cooperation, actively participating in the standardization of automotive-grade chips, and building a professional talent team.

Sun Mingjun, head of AIIA's overall team, introduced the project team's initiation background and development goals

One of the project team initiators, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, is a scientific research institution directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is positioned as a "national high-end professional think tank and industrial innovation and development platform". It is an important supporting unit in the field of national information and communication research and a supporting unit of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in the field of comprehensive policies. The Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Institute of China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, which participated in the project team, was established in 2017. It specializes in conducting research on new Internet technologies, new industries, new models, and new formats. Artificial intelligence-related research is one of its important businesses, including the formulation of standards and evaluation specifications in the field of artificial intelligence and management applications; conducting evaluations of artificial intelligence software and hardware products and services; promoting the in-depth application of artificial intelligence and its deep integration with traditional industries, etc.

As another initiator of the project team, CATARC is a comprehensive technology enterprise group with extensive influence in the domestic and international automotive industry. CATARC has the technical service capabilities covering the entire automotive industry chain and life cycle, with industry think tank services, automotive product testing and certification, common and forward-looking technology research and development as the core. Its business covers 12 major areas, including industry services, standard business, policy research, testing and testing, engineering technology research and development, certification business, big data, engineering design and general contracting, consulting business, new energy, industrialization and strategic emerging business.

Imagination is a wholly Chinese-owned company headquartered in the UK, ranking third in the world in the field of semiconductor IP. Against the backdrop of the current Sino-US trade friction, promoting "independent chip creation" is a top priority for the development of China's semiconductor industry. Imagination is relying on its deep accumulation in the field of semiconductor IP over the years to pour more and more resources into the Chinese market, providing strong support for China's independent chip design.

Liu Guojun, vice president and general manager of Imagination China, also delivered a keynote speech at the conference titled "Seizing the Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence and Realizing Dreams". When talking about the development of artificial intelligence in the automotive field, he said: "Imagination believes that cars will become another platform with the most frequent interactions with people after mobile phones, and it is also an important opportunity for the development of artificial intelligence. Among all the automotive GPU chips in the world, 40% are designed using Imagination's GPU IP, ranking first in the world."

Liu Guojun, Vice President and General Manager of Imagination China, delivered a keynote speech

Imagination's PowerVR GPU and NNA technologies can provide comprehensive support for current and future automotive intelligent applications. For example, its GPU technology can provide high-performance support for applications such as instrument panels, streaming media rearview mirrors, head-up displays, in-vehicle infotainment systems/navigation systems, and panoramic visual systems. At the same time, the GPU+NNA technology combination can also be used to achieve applications such as target object detection, collision monitoring, driving monitoring, and autonomous driving.

Imagination's PowerVR GPU/NNA technology provides comprehensive support for automotive intelligent applications