Flex helps Baidu roll out mass production of ACU, the world's first autonomous driving computing platform

As a preferred manufacturing partner for many companies, and a company dedicated to developing, designing and manufacturing diversified products that make the world a better place for customers, Flextronics successfully held the mass production launch of the world's first autonomous driving computing platform ACU (Apollo Computing Unit) tailored for Baidu, a world-leading Internet service provider , at Flextronics ' Suzhou Wuzhong Factory. More than 30 representatives from world-renowned vehicle manufacturers and parts suppliers witnessed this exciting moment. Flextronics and Baidu signed a strategic cooperation agreement in June 2018 and became Baidu's Apollo open platform partner, joining forces to provide comprehensive, systematic and reliable solutions for autonomous driving, intelligent networking and smart transportation.    

   
The unveiling ceremony of       Baidu's autonomous driving hardware platform ACU. Left: Wang Dianwei, Vice President of Market Development, Asia Pacific, Flextronics Automotive. Right: Wang Yunpeng, General Manager of Baidu's Autonomous Driving Technology Department.

"We are very honored to be the main partner of Baidu Apollo's autonomous parking solution and to witness the official launch of the world's first autonomous driving computing platform ACU ." Wang Dianwei, vice president of market development for Flex Automotive Asia Pacific, said excitedly, "In the future, Flex Automotive will continue to adhere to the strategy of taking root in China and deepening its presence in China. With its excellent global supply chain resources and advanced manufacturing capabilities, as well as its rich expertise and insights across multiple industries such as enterprise computing, mobile Internet, communications, and energy, we will provide more Chinese customers with localized, flexible, customized, safe and reliable innovative technology solutions and value-added manufacturing services."

In the process of cooperating with Baidu Apollo team on this project, Flextronics fully utilized the experience and expertise of Silicon Valley Innovation Center and four global R&D centers in L4 mass production of autonomous taxi (Robot taxi) projects, and based on the advice and architecture requirements of Baidu Apollo experts, provided innovative ADM auxiliary development business model, providing Baidu with customized hardware development, diagnostic software development, industrial design, thermal management structure design, test verification, supply chain integration optimization, production line design and large-scale production and manufacturing, etc. This ACU hardware platform, which is about to be mass-produced, will be first applied to the AVP autonomous parking product jointly developed by Baidu and WM Motor in the second half of this year.

“百度一直以来在自动驾驶领域不断深耕、厚积薄发，ACU量产下线预示着我们在车规级功能安全、自动驾驶产品商业化以及软硬件供应链管理方面能力的显著增强。在此次合作中，伟创力与百度分享各自的优势资源，通过资源、技术互补，形成有效的技术联盟，实现了智能化与工业化的高度融合。”百度自动驾驶技术部总经理王云鹏表示。

Autonomous driving is one of Flex's global strategic priorities. Flex's advantage in autonomous driving lies in giving full play to the company's expertise and product experience in the fields of computers/servers, information communications, interconnection, industry and automobiles, while providing customers with flexible customized ADM auxiliary development solutions, stable supply chain and production quality assurance. Currently, Flex's autonomous driving products include LiDAR, millimeter wave radar, data fusion module, L2 to L4 computer/controller, etc.

Flextronics is the only auto parts company with an electronics OEM background among the top 100 auto parts companies in the world. Its automotive division was formally established in 2005 as an independent division. It has more than 30 factories and R&D centers in 15 countries. In addition to the Silicon Valley Customer Innovation Center, it has automotive R&D centers in Stuttgart, Shanghai, Toronto, Ottawa, and Detroit. Since its inception, Flextronics' automotive division has successively acquired a number of automotive technology companies, including Sidler, Invotronics, Philips Lighting, Stribel, AGM, MCi, etc., and has maintained strategic investments or strategic partnerships with several high-tech companies around the world. The product strategy of the automotive division is ACES, namely autonomous driving, car connectivity, new energy and intelligence, with a turnover of nearly US$2.7 billion in 2019.