Apr 1, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Hyundai Mobis Secures the First Deep Learning Image Recognition Camera Sensor in Korea

On March 31, Hyundai Mobis (KRX:012330), announced during its meeting at the KINTEX Seoul Motor Show that the company would be the first in Korea to secure the global-caliber ‘deep learning-based high-performance image recognition technology’ for recognizing vehicles, pedestrians and geographical features of the road by the end of the year, and begin to mass-produce front camera sensors supporting autonomous driving in 2022.

The ‘deep learning-based image recognition technology’ consists of ‘image recognition artificial intelligence’ that uses the automation technique to learn image data. If Hyundai Mobis acquires the technology this year, the company will possess most of the software and hardware technologies applied to autonomous driving camera sensors. In particular, it is planning to elevate the object recognition performance, which is the essence of the image recognition technology, to a level equal to that of global leaders.

“The deep learning computing technology, capable of learning a trillion units of data per second, is greatly improving the quality and reliability of image recognition data,” said Mr. Lee Jin-eon, head of the autonomous driving development department of Hyundai Mobis, at this meeting. He added, “The amount of manually collected data used to determine the global competitiveness of autonomous driving image recognition, but not anymore.”

To apply the deep learning technology to cameras, Hyundai Mobis will also reinforce collaboration with Hyundai Motor Company. The company is planning to apply the deep learning-based image recognition technology not only to the front camera sensors for autonomous driving, but also to the 360° Surround View Monitor (SVM) through joint development with global automakers.

If the image recognition technology for detecting objects is applied to the Surround View Monitor, which has been used for parking assistance, automatic control will become possible, involving emergency braking to prevent front and broadside collisions during low-speed driving. Hyundai Mobis is planning to secure differentiated competitiveness in cameras and diversify its product portfolios by expanding the application of the image recognition technology.

In addition, the company will combine this image recognition technology with the radar that it already proprietarily developed, enhance the performance of sensors through data convergence (sensor fusion) between cameras and radars, and enhance its technological competitiveness in autonomous driving.

To this end, Hyundai Mobis doubled the number of image recognition researchers in the technical centers in Korea and abroad over the past 2 years. Currently, it will increase the number of test vehicles, used exclusively for image recognition, among the 10 or more ‘M.Billy’ autonomous driving test cars, which Hyundai Mobis is operating around the world, from 2 to 5 by the end of this year. The company is also planning to increase investment in related infrastructure by 20% each year.