Intel inside: Delphi, Mobileye tap chipmaker for self-driving car processors
It's all part of the group's plan to get autonomous vehicles on roads by 2019.
Suppliers Delphi and Mobileye have teamed up to build an autonomous-car system that they hope to sell to automakers. And now, they're relying on a little help from Intel .
Delphi and Intel have signed a deal whereby the chipmaker will supply Delphi with high-powered processors for its autonomous efforts, the Associated Press reports. It's unclear if the chip in question is the A3900 introduced back in October, but given its boost in computing and graphics power, it wouldn't be a surprise if that were the chip to which Delphi is referring.
Self-driving cars will need to process an insane amount of data in real time, from radar to cameras to laser emitters and back again. Delphi told AP that Intel's chip has the capabilities necessary to develop an autonomous-car system that can then be sold to automakers -- Delphi won't be selling self-driving cars under its own name.
The news comes just a couple months ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Delphi and Mobileye will conduct "automated driving's most complex, real-world demonstration." It will use a 6.3-mile circuit to show off the driving system, which is slated to be ready for production in 2019.
Delphi's test car will come equipped with cameras and radar and laser emitters. It claims to know its location within 10 centimeters (about 4 inches), even without access to GPS, and it can navigate spaces free of markings and detect pedestrians in 360 degrees.
Delphi and Mobileye contribute different strengths to the project. Delphi's focus centers around autonomous software, sensors and system integration, whereas Mobileye puts its efforts toward mapping, machine learning and computer vision.
The companies are already testing this autonomous system in Singapore. Next year, they'll expand that testing to include the US and Europe.