Skip to main content

Artificial intelligence systems for autonomous driving on the rise, says IHS

According to the latest report from market research firm HIS, Automotive Electronics Roadmap Report, as the complexity and penetration of in-vehicle infotainment systems and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) increases, there is a growing need for hardware and software solutions that support artificial intelligence, which uses electronics and software to emulate the functions of the human brain. In fact, unit shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) systems used in infotainment and ADAS systems are
June 17, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
According to the latest report from market research firm HIS, Automotive Electronics Roadmap Report, as the complexity and penetration of in-vehicle infotainment systems and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) increases, there is a growing need for hardware and software solutions that support artificial intelligence, which uses electronics and software to emulate the functions of the human brain. In fact, unit shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) systems used in infotainment and ADAS systems are expected to rise from just 7 million in 2015 to 122 million by 2025, says IHS. The attach rate of AI-based systems in new vehicles was 8 percent in 2015, and the vast majority were focused on speech recognition. However, that number is forecast to rise to 109 percent in 2025, as there will be multiple AI systems of various types installed in many cars.

According to the report, AI-based systems in automotive applications are relatively rare, but they will grow to become standard in new vehicles over the next five years, especially in: Infotainment human-machine interface, including speech recognition, gesture recognition (including hand-writing recognition), eye tracking and driver monitoring, virtual assistance and natural language interfaces; ADAS and autonomous vehicles, including camera-based machine vision systems, radar-based detection units, driver condition evaluation, and sensor fusion engine control units (ECU).

Specifically in ADAS, deep learning -- which mimics human neural networks -- presents several advantages over traditional algorithms; it is also a key milestone on the road to fully autonomous vehicles. For example, deep learning allows detection and recognition of multiple objects, improves perception, reduces power consumption, supports object classification, enables recognition and prediction of actions, and will reduce development time of ADAS systems.

The hardware required to embed AI and deep learning in safety-critical and high-performance automotive applications at mass-production volume is not currently available due to the high cost and the sheer size of the computers needed to perform these advanced tasks. Even so, elements of AI are already available in vehicles today. In the infotainment human machine interfaces currently installed, most of the speech recognition technologies already rely on algorithms based on neural networks running in the cloud. The 2015 BMW 7 Series is the first car to use a hybrid approach, offering embedded hardware able to perform voice recognition in the absence of wireless connectivity. In ADAS applications, Tesla claims to implement neural network functionality, based on the MobilEye EYEQ3 processor, in its autonomous driving control unit.

Related Content

  • Heavy cost of car safety systems gives buyers pause
    September 11, 2013
    New research by Frost and Sullivan finds that constant technological innovations in automotive safety warrant frequent updates to legislation. With the number of fatalities and injuries on the rise, legislative authorities in Europe are taking a keen interest in the safety of pedestrians, passengers and drivers. This enhanced focus on safety has far-reaching ramifications for the automotive industry.
  • Voice recognition still a top problem says report
    August 12, 2014
    Speaking in a presentation at the annual Management Briefing Seminars of the Center for Automotive Research, held in Traverse City, Michigan, Kristin Kolodge, J.D. Power’s executive director of driver interaction claimed that in-car voice recognition systems work so poorly that automakers should give up trying to add new features and go back to the basics. According to the consulting firm’s annual Initial Quality Study of vehicle models sold in the United States, voice activation was identified as the mo
  • The move towards shared telematics platforms
    February 27, 2013
    Is the end for dedicated, in-vehicle telematics systems now in sight? Some seemed to think so at the recent Telematics Munich 2012 conference… Geoff Hadwick reports. Forget smartphone apps – leave that sort of thing to Apple and Google,” Roger Lanctot, associate director of the global automotive practice at consultancy Strategy Analytics told more than 700 delegates in Munich last month at the Telematics Munich 2012 conference. They are a waste of time and money, he said. Forget putting too much data on das
  • Innoviz and Harman combine to offer LiDAR to car makers
    January 17, 2019
    Innoviz Technologies and Samsung Electronics subsidiary Harman International have teamed up to offer LiDAR solutions to car manufacturers. The companies – Innoviz the manufacturer and Harman the supplier – say their partnership will support the “unstoppable move towards semi- to fully-autonomous vehicles (AVs)”. Last year, Innoviz signed a serial production agreement with BMW. InnovizOne is a solid-state LiDAR sensor designed specifically for automotive deployments, with an emphasis on what the com