Groupe Renault объявила о создании стратегического альянса с французской компанией Chronocam SA, которая разрабатывает системы компьютерного зрения для автономных транспортных средств, систем безопасности и видеонаблюдения. Новоявленные партнеры ожидают, что вместе они смогут удешевить электронные системы безопасности автомобилей, а также сделать такие комплексы более надежными.
По словам разработчиков из Chronocam, они смогли построить системы анализа дорожной ситуации при помощи нейроморфных вычислений, имитирующих работу человеческого мозга и зрения. Теоретически, такие алгоритмы позволяют рассматривать текущую сцену в динамике и «отбрасывать» все лишнее. В результате компьютер автомобиля работает и быстрее и принимает решения более корректно.
В Renault ожидают, что технологии Chronocam позволят ускорить по сравнению с другими системами, распознавание людей и различных предметов на дороге и обочинах, повысят надежность систем содействия водителю (так называемые ADAS-технологии) и при этом сделать их более доступными. Обе компании намерены совместно работать над внедрением новых подходов в системы предупреждения о столкновении, экстренного торможения, обнаружения транспортных средств в слепых зонах, а также удержания в полосе движения. В более отдаленной перспективе Renault и Chronocam займутся внедрением прогрессивных решений в системы автономного вождения.
Стартап Chronocam основан в 2014 году в Париже при финансовой поддержке таких компаний как Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Intel Capital, 360 Capital, CEA Investissement и iBionext. Компании удалось привлечь инвестиции в размере 15 млн долларов.
Automotive leader to leverage unique bio-inspired vision technology to extend capabilities of ADAS and autonomous driving.
Groupe Renault CEO and Chairman Carlos Ghosn today during a speech at Web Summit announced it has entered into a strategic development agreement with Chronocam SA, a developer of biologically-inspired vision sensors and computer vision solutions for automotive applications. Renault is actively co-innovating with startups for agile development of technologies and this agreement will focus on further developing and applying Chronocam's innovative approach to sensing and processing visual inputs to Renault's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving developments.
Renault previously announced an investment in Chronocam's Series B round of funding, which raised $15M for the Paris-based start-up and includes a group of international venture capital funds such as: Intel Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, iBionext, 360 Capital and CEA investissement.
Chronocam's proprietary approach to computer vision leverages the company's deep expertise in neuromorphic vision sensing, which mimics the human eye, and processing, which mimics the human brain. Because of the efficiencies it realizes through its data capture techniques, the technology can expand conventional vision methods and contribute to better adoption and effectiveness in the automotive market.
The Chronocam technology innovation translates into specific benefits for ADAS and autonomous driving applications, including:
- Quicker detection of people and obstacles.
- Enhanced robustness of the camera to adapt and detect environmental and contextual conditions.
- Lower overall cost of implementation, making ADAS feature more accessible to more vehicles and market, thus improving safety in a broader way.
The two companies will work together to apply Chronocam's technology to areas such as collision avoidance, driver assistance, pedestrian protection, blind spot detection and other critical functions to improve safety and efficiency in the operation of both manned and autonomous vehicles.
"With the ambition to become one of the first brands to offer "eyes-off/hands-off" technology on mainstream vehicles at affordable price, we're pleased to work with Chronocam on an innovative computer vision technology in order to bring to Renault customers safer and more affordable ADAS and progressively autonomous driving systems," said Gaspar Gascon, Executive Vice President, Product Engineering, Groupe Renault.
"We are pleased to be able to work with a global leader and innovator like Renault to apply our technology in a practical way to the challenges of connected, smart transportation," said Luca Verre, CEO and co-founder of Chronocam. "Autonomous vehicles have unique and demanding requirements that Chronocam is well-suited to address, such as require faster sensing systems which can operate in a wider variety of ambient conditions. Together, I am confident our two organizations can continue to advance the capabilities of vision-enabled vehicles."
About Groupe Renault
Groupe Renault has been making cars since 1898. Today it is an international multi-brand group, selling more than 2.8 million vehicles in 125 countries in 2015, with 36 manufacturing sites, 12,000 points of sales and employing more than 120,000 people. To meet the major technological challenges of the future and continue its strategy of profitable growth, the Group is harnessing its international development and the complementary fit of its three brands, Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors, together with electric vehicles and the unique Alliance with Nissan. With a new team in Formula 1 and a strong commitment in Formula E, Renault sees motorsport as a vector of innovation, image and awareness.
About Chronocam
Chronocam is developing a unique, bio-inspired and self-adapting approach to the need for visual sensing and processing in autonomous vehicles, connected devices, security and surveillance systems. Its innovative vision sensors and systems replicate the functioning of the human eye and address the limitations of conventional vision sensors by enabling real time sensing of the relevant dynamic scene context and acquiring only what is necessary. The result is that Chronocam's vision solutions set a new benchmark for computer vision performance with unprecedented speed, dynamic range, sensor level video compression and power efficiency, at the same time. Based in Paris, Chronocam is a venture backed company with investors including 360 Capital, CEA Investissement, iBionext, Intel Capital, Renault-Nissan Group, and Robert Bosch Venture Capital. More information can be found at www.chronocam.com.
