Onkyo Corp. (TYO:6628) announced on Aug. 15 that it will develop AI-equipped smart speakers for use in connected cars. Connected cars use the internet and other technology to connect with external resources, and are expected to continue growing in popularity. This will mean an increase in the quantity of information available to drivers and, as...
AI
Denso Advances Development of Semiconductors for Self-Driving Cars
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) is accelerating its development of semiconductors for perception, judgment and control functionality in self-driving cars. The company is working on a semiconductor that uses sensor data to enable a level of perception on par with that of humans and another that allows for human-level snap decisions. The former, which is targeted for...
METI to Support Corporate Product Design Strategies
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is pledging its support for Japanese corporate product design strategies. METI has set up an exploratory committee to consider industrial competitiveness and design and already started having discussions on the topic. The committee will submit an interim report by November and a final report next March, with...
NEDO Partners with Top Japanese Universities to Train AI Professionals
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) is starting up a project in partnership with Osaka University and the University of Tokyo to develop talent in the field of AI. Beginning in the current academic year, the two universities are providing a special “AI Data Frontier Course” over the next three years. The...
ARM Survey: Many Remain Skeptical About Autonomous Driving
A recent survey conducted by major semiconductor manufacturer ARM Holdings plc has found that 45 percent of 4,000 respondents across the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are skeptical of current AI-enabled autonomous driving technology. However, the survey found also that interest in the technology is growing, especially in Asia, and that two-thirds of respondents...
Nuance Communications Speeds up Development of AI That Adapts to User Tastes
Nuance Communications Inc. is accelerating its development of Automotive Assistant AI technology for automotive infotainment. Based in the U.S., the speech recognition technology company is aiming at early commercialization of cooperative AI that learns user preferences through vocal conversations between the driver and the in-vehicle system. Automotive Assistant is a set of AI technologies specialized...
Panasonic Develops AI Technology to Prevent Drowsy Driving
Panasonic Corp. (TYO:6752) subsidiary Automotive & Industrial Systems Co. (AIS) announced on July 27 that it has developed an automotive technology that can help rouse a drowsy driver up by predicting when he or she may become sleepy. The system’s main selling point is its ability to use AI to predict conditions in which the...
Renesas to Offer Development Kit for AI-Based “Emotion Engine” by Year’s End
Renesas Electronics Corp. (TYO:6723) announced on July 19 that this year it will begin offering a new development kit enabling engineers to build driver emotion-detecting AI into vehicles using the Renesas R-Car onboard computing and infotainment system. The R-Car development kit features System LSI, an onboard system-on-chip (SoC) information system that works with the “emotion...
Nvidia and Baidu to Collaborate on Autonomous Driving
U.S. company Nvidia Corp. recently announced that it will work with China’s Baidu Inc. to utilize AI in a variety of fields, including autonomous driving and the establishment of cloud data centers. The companies will offer a deep learning platform using Nvidia’s next-generation GPUs and Baidu’s cloud. Furthermore, Nvidia’s AI platform Drive PX will be...
NTT Data, Gunma University Target Fully Autonomous Driving for 2020
NTT Data Corp. (TYO:9613) and Gunma University recently announced that they will collaborate on bringing next-generation vehicles capable of fully autonomous driving into practical use. They will jointly research technical elements required for a society with fully autonomous driving, including AI and technology for Big Data processing. The two partners will start demonstration tests in...
Honda Brings in Boston University to Research AI Data Security
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) announced on May 16 that subsidiary Honda Research Institute (HRI) and Boston University have agreed to begin joint research in the area of AI data security. Honda works on AI that cooperates with people, which will require collecting and analyzing personal information about the users. To this end, the joint...
Aisin Seiki Looks to Build Foundational AI Technology at Daiba Development Center
Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd. (TYO:7259) is aiming to establish foundational technologies for artificial intelligence (AI) vital to next-generation vehicles at the company’s Tokyo-based Daiba Development Center, which opened this past April. Lagging behind its competitors in AI technology, Aisin Seiki is accelerating the development of software technology to combine with mechanical components, which the company...
Denso to Enhance Collaboration With Toshiba, Buys Stake in Ibiden
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) announced on April 28 that it will bolster its collaboration with Toshiba Corp. (TYO:6502) in Internet of Things (IoT)-based manufacturing, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), automated driving and other fields. The two companies are already working together in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) for image recognition systems and lithium-ion battery (LiB)...
Mitsubishi Electric Develops High-Precision, Automated 3D Mapping Technologies
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (TYO:6503) recently announced that it has developed automated mapping and differential extraction technologies capable of efficiently creating and updating highly precise 3D maps. Mitsubishi Electric will make practical use of these new technologies by leveraging AI and the company’s Mobile Mapping System (MMS). These will serve for the early preparation of dynamic...
Goodyear Showcases “Intelligent” Concept Tire for Self-Driving Vehicles
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. of the U.S. has announced its development of the Eagle 360 Urban, a spherical concept tire optimized with AI technology for use with self-driving vehicles. The tire has sensors embedded in its surface, enabling it to detect road surface conditions and change the shape of the tread accordingly. By optimizing...
In Race to Autonomous Driving, Japanese Government Considers Image Data Sharing
The Japanese government has begun deliberations on private–public sharing of driving image data gathered for the development of autonomous driving technology. In addition to the enhanced performance of sensors and other devices, the government regards AI that will make judgments on behalf of drivers as being key to autonomous driving. In the realm of driving...
Yupiteru Launches Development of Next Generation In-Vehicle Infotainment Device
Yupiteru Industries Co. Ltd. has started developing a next-generation in-vehicle device that incorporates car infotainment service. Partnering with NTT Docomo Inc. (TYO:9437), Yupiteru will incorporate Docomo’s AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technology into a device the size of a radar sensor. The device will include a route-anticipating navigation system and interactive features that utilize...
NTT Docomo Eyes Using AI to Make Bus Routes Flexible
NTT Docomo Inc. (TYO:9437) and Hokkaido-based Mirai Share Co. Ltd. announced on March 9 that they have teamed up to bring about an AI smartphone system to support bus operations, providing efficient running of shared services in response to demand. The system will enable the allocation of shared vehicles to be dispatched according to user...
Honda to Launch New AI and Robotics R&D Lab
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) announced on Feb. 28 that subsidiary Honda R&D Co. Ltd. will be establishing a new lab, R&D Center X, to take on challenges in high-tech fields such as robotics, mobility systems and energy management. The company intends to create new value by combining its strengths in two-wheel, four-wheel and general-purpose products...
NTT Docomo Provides Public Demonstration of AI Taxi Service
NTT Docomo Inc. (TYO:9437) launched on Feb. 17 a demonstration of AI Taxi, a taxi dispatch system that matches demand and supply of taxis using artificial intelligence. As a result of trials conducted since June 2016, Docomo reports a high level of accuracy in predicting taxi demand. Docomo aims to commercialize AI Taxi in the...
Japan Looks to Have Self-Driving Consumer Vehicles on Freeways by 2025
The Japanese government has solidified plans to popularize self-driving technology for consumer use. Current traffic laws will be revised by 2020, and fully automated driving on freeways will be allowed by 2025. Additionally, as the number of elderly drivers is expected to increase, the government is encouraging the development and popularization of cars with advanced...
