China’s Horizon Robotics is confident to be part of a self-driving future where hands-off driving systems could be rolled out in three years. This could be followed by the wide adoption of eyes-off driving functions two years after that, before full autonomy becomes a reality by roughly 2035, founder and CEO Yu Kai told reporters in Shanghai on Monday.
Yu, a prominent deep learning scientist in China, expects such hands-off, eyes-off semi-autonomous systems, also known as Level 3 (L3) in the industry, to offer drivers temporary relief, allowing them to take over the controls of the steering wheel only in sticky situations. Yu added that he thinks a “minds-off,” fully autonomous driving experience would be achievable in the next decade.
The comments come as Horizon, a major partner of Volkswagen and BYD in China, announced on Monday that its full-stack automated driving solution, called Horizon SuperDrive, will start mass delivery with a Chinese automaker in the third quarter of this year. Further details of the collaboration will be announced later this year.
Using a single neural network to train sensor data and output control actions, known as end-to-end learning, the system could facilitate urban autonomous navigation to every major Chinese city at the time of delivery, according to the company. The SuperDrive driver assistance system uses a combination of sensors including cameras, radar, and lidar, but does not rely on high-precision maps, making it much easier for Horizon to scale up for a wider rollout.
TechNode on Monday had the opportunity to test ride in a Volkswagen electric crossover, powered by Journey 6, Horizon’s next-generation, automotive-grade computing solution, on a 30-minute trip through downtown Shanghai. On a sunny afternoon, the system had a zero intervention drive across eight kilometers (five miles) of the city, including stretches of urban road and single carriageway, filled with vehicles from trucks to scooters, as well as city dwellers and visitors.
When the system was activated on our test drive, it was proactive yet cautious, whether following narrow roads or navigating busy traffic conditions in the Jing’an district, the city’s old downtown area. It maintained a close following distance from the vehicle ahead to avoid an unexpected cut-in, while waiting patiently for pedestrians to cross, creating a generally smooth driving style. The ability to make U-turns at irregular junctions is a highlight.
Founded a decade ago by Yu, formerly a head of Baidu’s Institute of Deep Learning and NEC Labs America (owned by Japan’s technology corporation NEC), Horizon has a long list of backers including VW, BYD, HongShan Capital, and Hillhouse Investment. Last October, the Beijing-headquartered tech unicorn raised $696 million in the largest initial public offering (IPO) of the year in Hong Kong, Reuters reported. The company said more than five million vehicles have used its technologies as of last year, and another 100 new models will integrate its Journey 6 hardware in the next several years.
