As assisted driving continues to gain ground in China, HikVision-owned WHST is looking to raise more capital to capitalize on the emerging opportunity.

Stereo vision, first utilized as far back as in the late 1800s, is now entering the autonomous driving space. Nodar, a Boston-based software company, is developing an algorithm to align camera measurement by software. Unlike the traditional practice of stereo vision that installs two cameras close together on a rigid metal beam to maintain alignment, Nodar's software can maintain alignment through signal processing when given fast GPU processors.

Bosch China signed a strategic partnership with China's state-owned Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) on Feb 1, strengthening ties with the leading supplier in the space of smart cockpit, smart driving, and automotive connectivity, according to the Group.

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is visiting China. He said the country's automotive market will make a robust comeback in the second half of this year. In addition, Blume also stated that Volkswagen will not be dragged into the EV price war started by Tesla.

International IDMs are entering a new wave of price competition for their auto-use mmWave radar chips solutions, which see increasing penetration as vehicles undergo electrification, according to industry sources.

Radar-based perception solution for autonomous driving – which has yet to see commercialization by players in the market – is under research & development at the Information Processing Lab (IPL) at the University Washington (UW).

Saudi Arabia's homegrown electric vehicle (EV) brand Ceer has placed orders with Hon Hai Precision Technology (Foxconn) for Level 3 autonomous driving solutions powered by Nvidia's technology, according to industry sources.

In the last six months, Tesla has made many moves to indicate that it's planning to reintroduce the mmWave radar to its sensing system. Supply chain sources have revealed that orders are indeed finalizing. There has also been speculation about whether 4D imaging radar, a direct competitor of LiDAR, is among Tesla's options, though industry sources stated that it's unlikely in the short term.

Baidu co-founder, chairman, and CEO Robin Li, at Baidu Create 2022 on January 10, said autonomous driving will become reality sooner than people have expected, while the commercialization of L4 autonomous driving technologies may come sooner than that of L3 ones as the liabilities for L3 are still unclear when accidents happen.

Cars require more microcontrollers (MCUs) and microprocessors (MPUs) as they become smarter and more connected, according to Avnet Taiwan, adding that the trend will continue driving MPUs' growth in the coming years with the market expected to reach US$8 billion in 2025.

IniVation, a Switzerland-based vision sensor and software company, introduced its latest high-performance neuromorphic vision sensor technology, Aeveon, at CES 2023. While the biology-inspired vision technology has many applications in highly specialized niche fields, particularly industrial vision, the company is pushing the ultra-high speed camera into the consumer and automotive segment.

Samsung Electronics and its US subsidiary Harman have partnered to develop a key function in Harman's Ready Care automotive solution. In the future, when a driver unconsciously starts to close their eyes due to drowsiness, a red light will flicker on their dashboard, accompanied by a warning sound.

Cars are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks as they become intelligent and connected. The threats have gone beyond vehicles to mobility applications and EV charging infrastructure. Experts said it is critical to have cybersecurity solutions supporting the entire security lifecycle and establish real-time collaboration among vehicle, IT and enterprise security operation center (SOC) cybersecurity perspectives.

Two major automotive Tier-1s last week revealed their latest moves to advance assisted and autonomous driving. Continental has partnered with Ambarella to offer energy-efficient solutions for EVs. Magna and LG will collaborate on developing autonomous driving-infotainment technology.

The year 2022 did not go easy on the automotive industry. Most companies saw their market capitalization shrink due to worldwide inflation, chip shortages and other supply chain disruptions resulting from COVID-19. Notably, the value of China-based OEMs changed dramatically.