Photo: BMW
Intel and BMW have announced that they will deploy a fleet of highly-automated vehicles on public roads later this year.
The announcement was made in San Jose, California, during Intel’s “Innovation Campus.” The chip manufacturer has showcased a modified BMW 7 Series during the event, which will be the base of the fleet. In total, 40 cars will compose the roster of highly-automated prototypes that will be operated on American roads.
Evidently, the fleet of forty vehicles is just a small part of the strategy between BMW, Intel, and Mobileye. The three allies will eventually deploy more units on the roads of other countries, but these should come at a later date.
It is important to remark that the vehicles are not fully autonomous, but highly-automated, Engadget notes. The difference in terms means that the cars can operate without the need for a human behind the wheel in particular conditions, but are unable to drive from one point to another without assistance.
Intel wants to develop a “base functionality platform” for automakers interested in building self-driving cars. The product would be licensed to various companies once it would be completed. Until that point, the chip maker will partner with BMW and Mobileye to develop those systems.
In other words, Intel has developed the “brain” of the driverless car technology that will be ultimately exercised in production vehicles, but it is restricted to highly-automated operation at the moment.
The restriction helps engineers gather data, learn from events the system records on the road, and advance the technology for the time when all of the components will be ready for testing.
Competition is fierce in this industry, and NVIDIA, another company that builds computer chips, is already involved in the field of autonomous cars.
Both Intel and NVIDIA are based in Santa Clara, but the latter sells processors to Tesla, which is already testing autonomous driving features in its products.
Evidently, the fleet of forty vehicles is just a small part of the strategy between BMW, Intel, and Mobileye. The three allies will eventually deploy more units on the roads of other countries, but these should come at a later date.
It is important to remark that the vehicles are not fully autonomous, but highly-automated, Engadget notes. The difference in terms means that the cars can operate without the need for a human behind the wheel in particular conditions, but are unable to drive from one point to another without assistance.
Intel wants to develop a “base functionality platform” for automakers interested in building self-driving cars. The product would be licensed to various companies once it would be completed. Until that point, the chip maker will partner with BMW and Mobileye to develop those systems.
In other words, Intel has developed the “brain” of the driverless car technology that will be ultimately exercised in production vehicles, but it is restricted to highly-automated operation at the moment.
The restriction helps engineers gather data, learn from events the system records on the road, and advance the technology for the time when all of the components will be ready for testing.
Competition is fierce in this industry, and NVIDIA, another company that builds computer chips, is already involved in the field of autonomous cars.
Both Intel and NVIDIA are based in Santa Clara, but the latter sells processors to Tesla, which is already testing autonomous driving features in its products.
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