Auto-Drive Technology and Ambarella reach in-depth cooperation in the field of intelligent cockpit visual perception

The intelligent cockpit perception system (IMS) jointly developed by the industry-leading intelligent automotive electronics service provider Auto-Drive and Ambarella has been mass-produced and delivered

On March 21, 2022, in Shanghai, China, Ambarella (hereinafter referred to as "Ambarella", a semiconductor company focusing on AI visual perception chips) announced that it has reached in-depth cooperation with Shenzhen Autocruis Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Autocruis" or "Autocruis Technology"). Autocruis Technology is an intelligent automotive electronics service provider with embedded AI technology as its core, and is a standard-setting member unit of China's "Driver Attention Monitoring System Performance Requirements and Test Methods" (known as DMS in the industry). The in-cabin monitoring system (IMS, including driver monitoring system (DMS) and occupant monitoring system (OMS)) based on the Ambarella CV2x series launched by Autocruis Technology has been mass-produced and delivered to commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle customers.

In addition to supporting the core functions of driver and passenger fatigue detection, attention detection, sight detection, and behavior recognition, the system can also customize extended functions such as identity recognition, state recognition, gesture recognition, posture recognition, emotion recognition, and in-cabin object recognition according to customer needs. Ambarella CV2x series chips are all open AI platforms that support the rapid transplantation and deployment of AI algorithms such as neural network models on the platform, and run in a high-performance, low-power mode to adapt to extremely short customer development cycles. In addition, Ambarella CVflow® architecture, development environment, and tool software are backward compatible, and the amount of secondary development is low when the product migrates to the high-end, which is very consistent with the rapid development of AI technology and the industrial development trend of automotive software. Zixing Technology has been committed to improving automotive in-cabin perception systems and solutions. Thanks to the Ambarella CVflow® architecture and on-chip processing ISP, Zixing Technology's in-cabin perception system can provide core function accuracy of more than 98% and comprehensive function accuracy of more than 96% in all scenarios, while maintaining a low missed detection rate and system latency of less than 100ms.

In December 2019, the European Union announced the new general safety regulation Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, which focuses on strengthening the monitoring and protection of driver safety, occupants and vulnerable road users. The regulation came into effect in 2021 and explicitly requires all new models to meet the requirements in July 2022, and all new cars to be mandatory and install driver fatigue and attention warning systems in July 2024. The China Automobile Standardization Administration's Intelligent Connected Vehicle Standardization Committee (SAC/TC114/SC34) launched the GB/T "Driver Attention Monitoring System Performance Requirements and Test Methods" standard formulation work in 2018, and completed the project in 2019 (project number 20193390-T-339). After two years, the drafting of standard texts such as functions and test verification methods was completed, and the standard is expected to be officially released in 2022. As one of the member units for the formulation of China's DMS national standard , Zixing Technology is not only familiar with the functions and performance testing methods of China's DMS standards, but has also been paying attention to the progress and status of DMS-related standards and regulations in traditional automotive industry-developed regions including the United States, the European Union, and Japan. Zixing Technology's driver fatigue and attention monitoring system based on the Ambarella CV2x series meets the functions and testing requirements of the national standard and can also meet EU regulatory requirements.

Dr. Guan Yanfeng, co-founder of Auto-Drive, said: " We have been committed to the innovation and breakthrough of technical solutions with safety as the core. Through the fusion perception of multiple sensors inside and outside the car, we can obtain accurate, complete and real-time basic information related to the driving environment and the driving of the driver and passengers. Auto-Drive attaches great importance to the in-depth cooperation with Ambarella: in the field of in-cabin, as the drafting unit of the national standard for driver fatigue and attention monitoring, Auto-Drive has long been committed to the in-cabin perception of the intelligent cockpit of the car and the promotion and practice of comprehensive solutions. The in-cabin perception and solutions based on the CV2x series will become a very suitable product and service for the current intelligent in-cabin of the car; outside the cabin, Auto-Drive also attaches great importance to the integration of vision and millimeter-wave radar. Based on the CV2x series, vision and 4D imaging radar can also be deeply integrated to support the mass production of large-scale, low-cost L2+ level out-of-car perception decision-making solutions. Becoming a strategic partner with Ambarella will promote the rapid development of Auto-Drive, and the two parties can jointly promote the in-depth technical cooperation and commercial expansion of the joint perception system of IMS+ADAS inside and outside the car.

Xie Jianjun, Vice President of Marketing for Ambarella China, said: "Through the strategic cooperation between Ambarella and Auto-Drive Technology, we can provide our customers with OMS and DMS integrated solutions that meet national standards. With the industry-leading energy efficiency of the CVflow® series AI visual perception acceleration engine and Auto-Drive Technology's advanced OMS and DMS perception algorithms, we will jointly create the most reliable automotive active safety system to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers."

Ambarella and Auto-Drive Technology The two companies will give full play to their respective advantages and industry accumulation, promote in-depth exploration and industrial cooperation of both parties' technologies, products and solutions in the field of AI visual innovation, and jointly create industry-leading driver monitoring systems and smart cockpit visual perception solutions. In the future, Ambarella will continue to exert its strength on the 5-nanometer advanced process chip platform and launch a continuously iterative and richer product line, and the cooperation between the two parties will be closer.