In the latest development on the rapidly moving road to autonomous vehicles, Renault now has an agreement with Chronocam SA, a developer of vision sensors and “computer vision solutions.” Renault is actively working with startups – like other auto companies are – for the creation of autonomous vehicle technologies.
Renault said 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).
Renault previously announced an investment in Chronocam’s Series B round of funding, which raised $15 million 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 uses the company’s deep expertise in neuromorphic vision sensing, which mimics the human eye, and processing, which mimics the human brain. Renault believes that because of the efficiencies Chronocam realizes through its data capture techniques, the technology can expand conventional vision methods and effectiveness in the automotive market.
Chronocam, ADAS, and Autonomous Driving Applications
- 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 to bring to Renault customers safer and more affordable ADAS and progressively autonomous driving systems,” said Gaspar Gascon, Executive Vice President, Product Engineering, Renault Group.
