Mobileye Chauffeur

Mobileye Chauffeur
Name	Mobileye Chauffeur
Manufacturer	Mobileye
Type	Automated driving system
Platform	EyeQ SoC, SuperVision
Production	2024 (planned)

Mobileye Chauffeur. It is a comprehensive, camera-centric automated driving system designed to offer hands-off, eyes-off capability on highways and certain urban roads. Developed by the Intel-owned advanced driver-assistance systems leader Mobileye, the system represents the company's pathway to delivering a consumer-facing Level 3 and ultimately Level 4 driving experience. The platform builds upon the foundational technology of its SuperVision system while incorporating additional radar and lidar sensors for robust redundancy.

Overview

The system is positioned as a key product in Mobileye's three-tier technology strategy, sitting above the foundational EyeQ system-on-chip portfolio and the camera-only SuperVision platform. Announced in 2021, the development program aims to deliver a system that allows the driver to disengage from the primary driving task under defined conditions, aligning with global SAE International automation levels. The core computational power is provided by two of the company's next-generation EyeQ 6 system-on-chips, working in concert with a comprehensive sensor suite. This approach is intended to offer automakers a scalable, cost-effective solution for high-automation features without requiring extensive in-house research and development.

Technology and System Architecture

The technological foundation of the system is a true sensor-fusion architecture, termed "True Redundancy," which employs two independent, high-performance sensing subsystems. The primary perception path relies on 11 high-resolution cameras, building directly on the validated computer vision and Road Experience Management mapping data from the SuperVision system. A secondary, entirely separate perception path is created by a front-facing long-range lidar unit, a front-facing imaging radar, and several additional short-range radar units. This dual-path design is processed by the dual EyeQ 6 compute platform, with the Intel-designed chips running the proprietary driving policy software. The system leverages detailed, crowd-sourced REM maps for precise localization and predictive capabilities.

Development and Deployment

Development is being conducted primarily at Mobileye's headquarters in Jerusalem and its global engineering centers, with extensive testing on public roads in Israel, Germany, the United States, and Japan. The company has stated that the system is designed for volume production, with the first series production vehicle implementation slated for 2024 with a European automaker, later expanding to models from Zeekr and potentially other partners. The rollout strategy involves a gradual geographic and operational expansion, beginning with specific highway corridors in supported regions before broadening the operational design domain. This phased approach allows for continuous validation and system refinement based on real-world data collected from the growing fleet of SuperVision-equipped vehicles.

Capabilities and Operational Design Domain

The initial deployment is designed to manage all dynamic driving tasks on mapped highways, including navigating interchanges, performing lane changes, and handling traffic, without requiring driver supervision. This defines a geofenced operational design domain that includes controlled-access highways under certain weather and lighting conditions. The system is engineered to provide a sufficient lead time for the driver to resume control when approaching a system boundary or during unforeseen scenarios. Future iterations, enabled by software updates and expanded mapping, aim to extend functionality to include urban driving scenarios, thereby significantly widening the usable geographic and road-type coverage.

Partnerships and Commercialization

Commercialization is being pursued through strategic partnerships with global automakers. A landmark agreement was announced with Volkswagen Group's software unit CARIAD to integrate the technology into future vehicle platforms for brands including Audi, Porsche, and Bentley. Other key partners include Ford Motor Company, which plans to utilize the system for future Level 3 features, and Geely's premium brand Zeekr. These collaborations typically involve Mobileye providing the full sensor suite and compute hardware along with the core driving software, while the automaker integrates the system into the vehicle's user interface and handles the final vehicle-level validation and homologation processes.

Safety and Validation Approach

The safety case is central to the system's design philosophy, heavily reliant on the "True Redundancy" sensor architecture to ensure system availability and functional safety. Validation employs a multi-faceted strategy combining billions of miles of virtual simulation, closed-course testing at facilities like the M City proving ground, and millions of miles of real-world driving data. The system is being developed to comply with emerging global regulations, including the UN Regulation No. 157 for Automated Lane Keeping Systems and anticipated standards from bodies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Furthermore, the system is designed with a rigorous responsibility-sensitive safety model to ensure conservative driving behavior.

Category:Advanced driver-assistance systems Category:Autonomous cars Category:Mobileye