BMW, Intel, Mobileye Link Up in Self-Driving Tech Alliance -- 2nd Update
July 01 2016 - 12:25PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Sloat
BERLIN -- BMW AG, Intel Corp. and Israel's Mobileye NV are
teaming up to develop self-driving vehicles, the latest alliance
among auto makers and technology companies working to build and
commercialize driverless cars.
The trio said they could have self-driving cars in production by
2021.
"Together with Intel and Mobileye, the BMW Group will develop
the necessary solutions and innovative systems for highly and fully
automated driving," the German car maker said.
The partnership combines the world's the best-selling luxury car
maker, the world's leading chip maker, and a software provider in
the evolving area of autonomous cars. Mobileye, which makes
software and components that help prevent collisions, already works
with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG.
The three companies aren't alone in the race to introduce
driverless-vehicle technologies. Rivals ranging from GM and
electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. to Alphabet Inc.'s Google also
are racing to bring the systems to market.
At the same time, safety issues regarding self-driving cars have
come to the fore this week with the investigation by U.S.
auto-safety regulators into what is believed to be the first fatal
crash involving a Tesla car that was driving itself. The incident
could ratchet up scrutiny of a technology that has been evolving
with little oversight. Mobileye supplies components used in Tesla's
Autopilot semiautonomous-driving system.
"It's very important given this accident...that companies would
be very transparent about the limitations" of autonomous driving
systems, Amnon Shashua, chief technology officer of Mobileye, said
at a joint press conference. "It's not enough to tell the driver to
be alert but to tell the driver why," Mr. Shashua added.
BMW Chief Executive Harald Krüger called the Florida accident
"very sad," and said the technologies for autonomous cars at
present are "not ready for series production."
Mr. Shashua said the partnership's planned time frame was short
but sufficient.
BMW said that automated driving technologies will make travel
safer.
"The goal of the collaboration is to develop future-proofed
solutions that enable the drivers to not only take their hands off
the steering wheel, but reach the so-called 'eyes off' level and
ultimately the 'mind off' level transforming the driver's in-car
time into leisure or work time," BMW said.
That level of autonomy would let the vehicle, at least
technically, reach the 'driver off' stage of driving without a
person inside.
"This establishes the opportunity for self-driving fleets by
2021 and lays the foundation for entirely new business models in a
connected, mobile world," the German auto maker said.
Intel itself has been pushing into the auto industry to tap the
growing market for semiconductors that regulate automotive
functions. In May, it announced the acquisition of Russia's Itseez,
which develops software and services for driver-assistance
systems.
Mobileye said the partnership would employ its EyeQ5 systems and
its Road Experience Management technology, or REM, to provide
precise localization. Intel is contributing computing,
connectivity, safety and security assets, the U.S. company
said.
BMW said it plans to make its iNEXT model the foundation of its
autonomous driving strategy and for fleets of fully autonomous
vehicles both on highways and in cities where they could offer
automated ride-sharing.
The companies have set a schedule for creating open
standards-based platform to bring autonomous cars to market
quickly. The platform will be made available to other car makers
and industries, BMW said.
Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 01, 2016 12:10 ET (16:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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