The Race to 2021: The State of Autonomous Vehicles and a "Who's Who" of Industry Drivers

By Brian Solis, Principal Analyst at
Altimeter, a Prophet Company
Updated: Feb 27, 2017
THE RACE TO 2021:
THE STATE OF AUTONOMOUS
VEHICLES AND A “WHO’S
WHO” OF INDUSTRY DRIVERS

State of Autonomous Vehicles: Executive Summary
For this market profile report, we examined
the autonomous offerings of 26 auto
manufacturers and 50 hardware and
software providers, uncovering the following
insights and trends:
• Semi-autonomous vehicles are the
stepping stone to fully autonomous
vehicles, with most car manufacturers and
technology companies taking the lead of
Tesla and offering features such as self-
parking, adaptive cruise control,
emergency braking, and semi-hands off
driving within highway/interstate
conditions. Semi-autonomous features
help consumers become comfortable with
the idea of robots taking the wheel.
• Startups and technology leaders are
driving the accelerated innovation in
autonomous technology, forcing
incumbents to partner, acquire, or ramp up
R&D to compete (e.g. BMW and Baidu;
Fiat Chrysler and Waymo, an Alphabet
company; and GM and Lyft). Toyota, Intel,
and Mercedes-Benz have dedicated
business units. Automakers are essentially
getting into the software/hardware and
utility business as future profits will depend
less on manufacturing, selling and
financing automobiles and more on
monetizing driving.
• Luxury car manufacturers such as Jaguar
Land Rover, Maserati, and Porsche are
looking toward a future where the driver
still has an experiential role in autonomous
vehicles. Cars will become platforms for
passenger experience, creating a new
canvas for cockpits and space.
• In addition to data science, social science
is also becoming prevalent in autonomous
development as companies such as
Nissan and Audi take an anthropological
approach to teach self-driving cars to act
more human in their control and on-road
actions (e.g. honking, signaling other
people or vehicles, moving closer to lane
marketing before switching lanes).

• Large automakers, tech companies, and
mobility providers are taking on "acqui-
hiring" strategies, acquiring startups (or
partnering with them) to absorb not only
their technology but also their talent. We'll
see a surge in tech jobs in the
autonomous industry in coming years on
the programming and development side.
And, in response to all the acquisitions
and partnerships, we're seeing other
startups approach the market from a
"plug and play" perspective; as in, their
technology (hardware or software) can be
easily retrofit into existing models of cars.
This solidifies their position in the market
without the need for a buyout, as their
model works more like a supplier.
• With the latest round of updates from
CES, there is more focus on intelligent
vehicles (e.g. Toyota, AutoLiv, Ford's
concept vision video). These self-driving
cars can think on their own, communicate
with other vehicles (V2V) through deep
learning and AI. This means that all
software that exists may run into
compatibility issues when asked to
communicate with other systems within a
vehicle. This is similar to the
interoperability conundrum the industry
witnessed around IoT. However, when
solved for, V2V opportunities abound in
improving traffic experience, reducing
accidents, and new value-added in-car
design components.
• Mapping software has emerged as its
own category among technology
providers in the autonomous space, as
3D terrain mapping is a critical
component to the effectiveness and
safety of self-driving cars as they
navigate their environments.

• Though most autonomous leaders are
testing prototypes on the road in Silicon
Valley, Austin, Pittsburgh and other
metropoles, Honda and Hyundai are
focusing their autonomous vehicle testing
in large-scale controlled environments
that allow for pedestrian situation testing
as well as high-speed loops and
simulated cityscapes.
• Progressive automakers are repositioning
their future foci away from just “making
cars” to becoming mobility services and
sharing companies, i.e. BMW, Daimler,
Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, GM, Mercedes,
Nissan, Tesla, VW, et al. To this trend,
ride/hail companies are also attracting
investments from traditional automakers
to develop next-generation autonomous
services. Toyota invested an undisclosed
amount of money in Uber. Volkswagen
AG invested $300 million in Gett, an Uber
and Lyft competitor. General Motors Co.
acquired a stake in Lyft.
• Autonomous vehicles, to varying extents,
are already operating in vertical
applications such as farming,
warehousing/inventory management, and
construction. Uber, Tesla, and Mercedes-
Benz are also experimenting with other
applications of self-driving technologies in
city busses and semi-trucks.
• Carmakers will also become data
companies, borrowing cues from Apple,
Google, and Facebook to convert data
into insights and customize consumer
services to deliver value-added
experiences. Companies such as BMW i
Ventures and Toyota Research Institute
are already partnering with data startups
such as Nauto to share driver data as a
means of more rapidly improving
autonomous vehicle systems.

Update Feb 27, 2017: Additional Executive Insights
• There is unprecedented collaboration
between would-be competitors to
accelerate the development of self-driving
cars. These collaborations and individual
efforts are investing in scaling self-driving
technology to consumer markets by
reducing technology costs. For example,
Waymo’s initial implementation of LIDAR
came at a cost of $80,000 per car, but
recent efforts are seeking to bring those
costs down to $50 at scale. LIDAR was
originally touted as the go-to tech for radar
mapping in self-driving cars, but now we're
seeing more startups emerge that are
using other vision processing technologies
with longer range and higher resolution
optics for better sensing. This is one
reason why LIDAR is decreasing in costs,
as better "seeing" technology is emerging
in the market.
• When analyzing automaker and vendor
announcements, public policy and
infrastructure, and test results, the year
2021 seems a realistic launch date for
Level 5 self-driving cars from
a technology perspective but not
at consumer levels. Initial applications for
self-driving cars will be limited to fixed
public transit courses, university and
business campuses, and inner-city
ride/hail services where infrastructure and
pedestrian laws have been adapted for
safety. Consumers are largely wary of
autonomous cars, with many still
questioning viability, ethics, and trust. They
want to drive a vehicle with semi-
autonomous features, and automakers are
introducing these features in waves to
tame fears and humanize the technologies
before fully autonomous vehicle release
and adoption is feasible.
• Self-driving cars are the latest "gold rush"
sparked by public tests from the likes of
Google and Tesla. Detroit and auto capitals
around the world were pushed to
accelerate self-driving programs to appear
innovative and not lose brand equity.

The Five Levels of Autonomous Driving

The Five Levels of Autonomous Driving
Level 0: Zero Automation - Driving as Usual
A human driver is required to operate the vehicle safely at all
times.
• Driver in full control
• Eyes on the road
• Hands-on the wheel
• Foot on the acceleration pedal/brake
Level 1: Driver Assisted/Function-Specific -
Intelligent features add layer of safety and comfort
A human driver is required for all critical functions. The car can
alert the driver to conditions, environment and obstructions. It
can also offer assisted/smart performance and driving
capabilities.
• Driver in full control
• Hands-on the wheel (relief offered in certain modes)
• Foot on the acceleration pedal/brake (relief offered in
certain modes)
Vehicle aids driver
Level 2: Partial Automation/Combined
Autonomous Functions - Key automated
capabilities become standard but driver still in
control
At least two simultaneous autonomous tasks become are
managed by the vehicle in specific scenarios.
• Driver in control
• Hands-on the wheel or ready to be on the wheel in cruise
control mode
• Foot on the acceleration pedal/brake or ready in cruise
control mode
Vehicle in partial, temporary control (fixed scenarios)
Level 3 : Conditional Automation/Limited Self-
Driving - The car becomes a co-pilot
The vehicle manages most safety-critical driving functions in
known (mapped) environmental conditions. A human driver is
still present and expected to manage vehicle operation.
• Driver in partial control
• Eyes temporarily off the road but still observant
• Hands-off the wheel in specific scenarios but at the ready
• Foot off the acceleration pedal/brake but at the ready
Vehicle in conditional control (known environments)

Level 4
High Automation - Capable of performing all
safety-critical driving functions while monitoring
environments/conditions in defined use cases
Per NHTSA, this is full self-driving automation. Per SAE, Self-
driving is fully possible in most road conditions and
environments without need of human intervention. A functional
driver cockpit is still in place (steering wheel, brake/acceleration
pedal, etc.)
• Driver becomes passenger but can assume control
• Eyes off the road
• Hands-off the wheel
• Foot off the acceleration pedal/brake
Vehicle in control (once input is provided and in most situations)
Level 5
Fully Autonomous - Vehicle is completely
driverless
No level 5 per NHTSA. Per SAE, full-time automated driving in
all conditions without a human driver. These vehicles will not
feature driving equipment and will no longer look like the
vehicles of the past.
• No driver
Vehicle in control

That’s the year auto manufacturers have
promised fully autonomous vehicles on the
road. Depending on who you follow, 2021 (or
2020, in some cases) is either overly
optimistic or cautiously conservative. Either
way, it’s clear that startups and incumbents
are racing toward a self-driving future with
press and media documenting every mile-
marker. What remains unclear, though, is
when––and to what extent––autonomous
vehicles will arrive on the roads and how
consumers and commercial industries will
adopt progressing levels of autonomy over
time. With the increasing level of activity in the
autonomous space, and more companies,
products, and partnerships expected to enter
the fray, mapping the ecosystem proves a
complex and ongoing commitment.
In our attempt to keep pace with the frequency
of press announcements in the space, it
became clear that information is distributed
and rarely accessible in a centralized, public
manner.
This report serves as a comprehensive primer
for those monitoring the state of autonomous
vehicle development. It offers an introduction
to key players, organized by industry sector, to
outline initial and evolving applications for
consumer markets and verticals. It will be
updated at key intervals when significant
announcements are made or milestones
achieved.

Get Out of My Dreams and Into My [Self-Driving] Car
Self-driving cars have always stoked our
imaginations. From movies, to cartoons, to
advertisements, autonomous vehicles portray a
life only possible in science fiction or a dream to
be realized off in the distant future. Though our
“Jetsons” or “Minority Report” moment is still
forthcoming, autonomous capabilities are arriving
in increments. With each new invention, science
fiction is transformed into reality, one chapter at a
time.
Today, aspects of self-driving cars are
making their way into new models,
introducingintelligent, driver-assisted
features that are slowly bridging the gap
between semi- and fully autonomous
abilities. This is years in the making of
course.
The race toward self-driving vehicles is as
much about technology as it is about
infrastructure and support. Beyond
sensors, cameras, processing, etc.,
everyday things that drivers take for
granted today also have to advance. From
lanes and lights, to signs and obstructions,
to rules and regulation, government, cities
and manufacturers must also improve to
protect people inside and outside the car.
All of this needs to rapidly evolve to keep up
with autonomous technologies and
capabilities.
Like any new technology, prices initially appeal
to specialized industries such as
transportation and deliveries, as well as
individual consumers willing to spend big.
Eventually, semi- and fully autonomous
vehicles will be offered in shared and owned
formats for almost everyone to enjoy.
Autonomous technology will ultimately
change the entire automotive industry and
supporting ecosystems and supply chains.
Let’s consider ownership, financing, and
insurance? Data shows

that on average, cars are parked 95% of the time.1 With such downtime, traditional ownership could
be considered obsolete. Shared or rental models now become more economically feasible. Users
could simply summon the car on-demand or based on algorithmic patterns of need. As such,
automotive financing may now shift from programs for individual ownership to shared ownership
models. Or, if companies like Uber successfully transition to the self-driving economy, service
providers would assume vehicle leasing/financing programs to offer personalized autonomous
driving services.
As new ownership scenarios play out, insurance and maintenance industries will also
needto productize new solutions to various stakeholders. Cars will be able to drive
themselves to dealership services. And, because many self-driving cars will be
catering to different stakeholders, insurance companies will stabilize
potential losses in traditional income with modern,
scenario-based premiums.
Open the door, buckle up, and enjoy the ride as we explore
the autonomous ecosystem. There’s a lot of to see, so
think of each section as a vista point. And, don’t worry,
there are rest stops along the way.
“To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every
step of the road, to live the greatest number of good
hours, iswisdom.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
1 http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/PayAsYouPark.htm

Autonomous Driving Applications v1.0

Audi has revealed a series of autonomous vehicleprototypes,
including consumer-oriented test vehicles, based on its A7 and
RS7 models. Audi is working on plans to bring its“Audi
Piloted Driving” to market in its next-generation flagship model A8.
Initially, the A8 will have the ability to park itself and drive
autonomously up to 37 mph. Audi is also working with NVIDIA,
supplier of AI driving technology, on expediting a fully autonomous
vehicle program to hit the market by 2020.2
Audi announced in July 2016 a dedicated subsidiary devotedto
developing autonomous driving tech called SDS Company.
Similar to Nissan’s anthropological approach to making
autonomous driving more human, Audi has been teaching its
robotic vehicles to drive more like humans in an effort to make
them safer on the roads. For example, the car will move closerto
lane markings before signaling that it is about to changelanes.
Additionally, it will offer larger vehicles a wider space when
passing. When another car aims to merge into its lane, thevehicle
will either speed up or slow down to let them in. Engineers believe
that this approach will help ease driver anxiety toward embracing
autonomous vehicles over time while also behaving “normally” on
the road as to not disrupt the everyday patterns of other drivers.
2 https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/04/nvidia-and-audi-aim-to-bring-a-self-driving-ai-car-to-market-by-2020/

BMW is actively pursuing an autonomous strategy. At CES 2016,
it introduced an autonomous concept of its i8 wonder car. The
company also announced that its autonomous strategy would be
run as part of its BMW iNEXT initiative, a shift from its BMW i EV
sub-brand.
In 2014, BMW forged a strategic R&D partnership with Chinese
search engine Baidu. Additionally, BMW is developing a range
of autonomous vehicles with different levels of human and
machine control. BMW also announced a partnership with Intel
and Israeli tech firm Mobileye with plans to create an open
standards-based platform.
As a result, BMW hopes to introduce a fleet of 40 fully
autonomous 7 Series vehicles in 2017 that will drive on both
highways and in urban environments in the U.S. and Europe.3
It has received permission from the California Department of
Motor Vehicles to test driverless cars on public streets. BMW
expects a steering wheel and pedals to remain in fully self-
driving vehicles, as an option for the driver to take control as
needed/wanted.
3 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-04/bmw-to-deploy-fleet-of-self-driving-7-series-on-roads-this-year

Faraday Future, a California-based startup company, primarily
funded by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting and his LeEco tech
company, is aiming to market high-performance, autonomous
electric cars. Faraday’s initial model unveiled at CES 2016 is a
race-car inspired FFZero1. Sneak peeks of the latest model,
with plans to start building in 2018,4 were also teased from the
company’s Twitter account in early December. Interesting features
speculated based on the images include replacement of side-view
mirrors with cameras and a retractable Lidar sensor.5
In June 2016, Faraday Future received approval to test self-
driving vehicles on California roads at the end of the year. Spy
photographers reported in August that the company was testing
autonomous equipment in California using a Lincoln MKZ sedan.
The future of Faraday is reportedly in flux though, as cash
shortages, unpaid construction payments, missed shipping
deadlines, and staff departures have plagued the startup since
October.6 Still, at CES 2017, Faraday Future showcased its new
FF 91 electric vehicle which is equipped with more than 30
advanced sensors for autonomous driving (and parking,
demonstrated onsite), as well as cameras, radar, ultrasonic
sensors, and a retractable LIDAR unit.7
4 http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/faraday-future-electric-car-teases-continue/
5 http://www.businessinsider.com/faraday-future-ces-electric-car-teaser-images-photos-2016-12
6 Ibid.
7 http://investorplace.com/2017/01/tesla-motors-inc-tsla-stock-faraday-future-ff-91/#.WHatmbYrK3V

Even though Google (Alphabet) isn’t expected to enter the
automobile manufacturing space, the company announced a
dealwith FiatChryslerto testChryslerPacificaminivansas its first
automotive partner for its self-driving technology.8 Fiat Chrysler hasn’t
publicized any formal internal development, but partnering with
Googleoffersbenefitsforbothcompanies.
For one,FiatChryslerintroduceda differenttypeof modelinto
the space,one thatboastsadditionalpassengerroomoverits
competitorsand alsoautomateddoors.Thisis importantin a future
of autonomousvehiclesharingand “taxis”becausetherewill be
circumstanceswhenpassengersforgetto closethe dooruponexiting.
Without human intervention, self-driving vehicles would become
temporarily immobilized without automated features. For Alphabet,
now spinning its driverless car efforts into new company Waymo, this
partnership presents the opportunity to scale its technology, at
significantly reduced costs,with the help of automotive expertise to
help it meet federal regulations and mass produceits technologyin
market-ready,consumer-orientedvehicles.
At a Google press conference in December 2016, the company
officiallydebutedWaymo.Priorto the event,Bloombergpublished a
reportthatWaymoand FiatChryslermay be planningto launcha
ridesharingservice,expectedto launchbeforethe end of 2017.9
8 http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-fiat-chrysler-begin-work-on-self-driving-minivans-146420018090
9 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-13/google-said-to-plan-ride-sharing-service-with-chrysler-minivans-iwnox94h

Henrik Fisker was an early innovator in the advancement of electric high performance vehicles. Launched
as Fisker Automotive, the company debuted its hybrid Karma model at the 2008 North American
InternationalAuto Show. After selling 2,000 Karmas worldwide, FiskerAutomotive met its demise.
Citing major differences with management, Fisker resigned in 2013. The company subsequently for
bankruptcy10,11. Chinese parts supplier Wanxiang bought its assets for $149.2 million in 2014 and formed
Karma Automotive. In February 2014, the company’s designs, engineering, and manufacturing facility were
purchased by Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group for $149.2 million.12
Fisker Inc. was then re-launched in 2016 as an all-electric vehicle.13 The company is now working on its
Emotion EV vehicle expected to debut in the summer of 2017. The vehicle is designed to be a luxury
electric sedan that is estimated to drive up to 400 miles on a single charge and reach a top speed of
161mph.14 The EMotion was announced with autonomous capabilities but details are not yet available.
10 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-fisker-specialreport-idUSBRE95G02L20130617
11 http://www.law360.com/articles/510543/bankrupt-fisker-gets-nod-for-149m-sale-to-wanxiang
12 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/02/18/business/ap-us-fisker-
bankruptcy.html?action=click&contentCollection=Automobiles&region=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article
13 http://www.fiskerinc.com
14 http://fortune.com/2016/10/31/henrik-fisker-emotion-car/

In early 2015, Ford announced its “Smart Mobility Plan,” which
lead to the formation of Ford Smart Mobility, LLC, in March2016,
a subsidiary focused on connectivity, autonomous vehicles, and mobility
(e.g. car- and ride-sharing services).
In August 2016, Ford boldly planted an autonomous flag into the
foundation of the company's future. By 2021, Ford CEO Mark
Fields declared the company would launch a fleet of commercial, “Level
4” autonomous vehicles for use in ride-hail services. Level 4 contains
location and weather restrictions, so Ford has planned to initially
implement its autonomous vehicles in ridesharing/hailing fleets in
temperate weather regions in areas that have been geo-fenced and
mapped in 3D high-resolution. In December 2016, the company
announced its development of a new generation of hybrid Fusions that
have upgraded processing power, new on-board computing hardware,
and improved LIDAR sensors that deliver a better field of view.
Ford’s foray into the autonomous world is aided by its acquisition of
Israel-based machine learning firm SAIPS and also through strategic
investments in 3D mapping startup Civil Maps. Ford and Chinese
search engine company Baidu Inc., which has also invested in Uber,
have independently invested $150 million in Velodyne, a company that
makes the laser sensors that help guide self-driving cars. Ford also
announced in Feb. 2017 its $1B investment in Argo AI, an artificial
intelligence startup, marking the largest investment a traditional auto
manufacturer has made in self-driving tech to date.

This move toward“self-driving
cars as a service” is expected
to become a notable and
growing revenue generatorfor
Ford over the comingyears.
Ford officially plans to be a
“mobility” company, not just a
car manufacturer.15 That
statement started to gain
clarity in September 2016
when CEO Mark Fields
explained,16 “We’re rethinking
our entire business model. It’s
no longer about how many
vehicles we can sell, it’s about
what services we can provide.
We understand that the world
has changed from a mindset
of owning vehicles to one of
owning and sharing them.”
15 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-ford-plans-to-take-
on-uber-and-lyft-175250680.html
16
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/12/ford-
motors-self-driving-car-uber-google

General Motors has made aggressive moves in autonomous and ride-sharing
fronts. In January 2016, the company purchased Sidecar’s assets, an early but
now defunct competitor to Uber and Lyft. Additionally, GM reportedly paid
upward of $1 billion for Cruise Automation, an up-and-coming start-up that
promised to transform any vehicle into one that is fully autonomous. GM then
invested $500 million in Lyft to develop a driverless ride-hailing service. With
GM as manufacturer, Cruise Automation as the autonomous enabler, and Lyft
as the logistics operator, GM is already piloting ride-hailing programs in Austin,
Texas, Phoenix, and, soon, in Washington.
Its first publicly available self-driving car will be the Chevy Bolt, an all-electric,
long-range vehicle currently being tested as part of its Lyft pilot program.
Currently, GM is testing 40 autonomous Bolts at its Technical Center campus in
Warren, Mich., as well as on public roads in San Francisco and Scottsdale,
Ariz. In February 2017, it was revealed that GM planned to deploy thousands
of self-driving Volts with Lyft in 2018—the largest autonomous test by any
automaker prior to the industry’s expected rollout in 2020.16b
GM’s CEO Mary Barra also sees self-driving cars changing our driving (transit)
behaviors similar to that of passengers on trains, ferries and airplanes.
"Whether it's a second office or entertainment, I think there is a lot of new
opportunities when you have that person in the vehicle," Barra told
Business Insider.17
16b http://venturebeat.com/2017/02/17/gm-reportedly-plans-to-build-and-test-thousands-of-self-driving-bolts-in-2018/
17 http://www.businessinsider.com/gms-mary-barra-interview-2016-12?op=1

Looking in-house, GM also developed semi-autonomous Super Cruise technology. GM will introduce Super
Cruise in high-end Cadillac models in 2017, initially offering a Tesla-like autonomous experience that allows
drivers to commute in a semi-hands off capacity. The technology also features facial recognition that alerts
distracted or drowsy drivers through a combination of lights, vibrations, audible warnings, and eventually an
OnStar representative. If the driver remains too hands-off, the vehicle will pull itself over, stop, and flash
hazard lights.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced on December 15, 2016, that the automaker will begin testing
self-driving vehicles on public roads in Michigan. Recently, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a
package of bills that legalizes operation of autonomous vehicles. The goal is to bring the spotlight back to
Michigan as the beacon of automotive innovation. Additionally, Barra also announced that the Orion
Township assembly plant will produce its autonomous test vehicles in early 2017. This is the same plant
where the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt is produced.
“We expect GM will become the first high-volume auto manufacturer to build fully autonomous vehicles in a
mass production assembly plant,” Barra said during a press conference.18
GM is only ramping up its self-driving efforts. The company also detailed plans to hire 700 engineers in
Canada focused on autonomous vehicle software and controls development, safety technology,
infotainment, and connected vehicle technology.
18 http://fortune.com/2016/12/15/gm-self-driving-cars-michigan/

Honda is taking a different approach to its autonomous program
than others we’ve covered. In early 2016, the company debuted
an affordable $20,000 semi-autonomous model of its Civic LX
Sedan.19 Similar to Tesla and Mercedes-Benz models, the Civic
will feature advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) which
offers lane keeping and changing assistance, automatic braking,
and adaptive cruise control.
Honda also took over a Naval base and turned it into the
“GoMentum Station,” which serves as the testing ground for its
autonomous fleet. Whereas BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo/Uber,
GM/Lyft, and the like, have been granted permission to test drive
autonomous vehicles in Silicon Valley, Nevada, and Austin,
Honda has private, self-contained access to 20 miles of everyday
road types, intersections, and infrastructure that emulate the real
world. It also has the ability to change the roads and
environments to simulate driving conditions in other countries.
The company recently demonstrated its modified Acura RLX
“Automated Drive” vehicle in a variety of scenarios including
one with pedestrians crossing the street and a mannequin
situated in the middle of the road. The target date for Honda’s
autonomous vehicle is 2020.
19 http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-20-000-self-driving-vehicle-hits-the-road-1457913797

In December 2016, Honda announced it is in talks with Alphabet’s Waymo to test self-driving
technology, teaming up to supplement its own automation efforts. With Waymo, Honda may
provide vehicles modified to accommodate the startup's software (similar to Fiat Chrysler). It
also said there was potential for "close" cooperation between Honda and Waymo engineers,
reports Reuters.20
20 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-autonomous-honda-idUSKBN14A2DO

Hyundai is ramping up autonomous vehicle development on
multiple fronts, led by the Hyundai-Kia America Technical
Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. Similar to Fiat Chrysler, the
company is partnering with Google as an autonomous platform
to develop a self-driving car and accelerate time to market.
Additionally, Hyundai is moving into an abandoned bomber
factory complex outside Detroit, which is available for use
by automakers and suppliers to work on autonomous and
connected-car technologies. This complements Hyundai’s
course in the California desert that gives it access to high-speed
loops and simulated cityscapes.
Hyundai is also introducing in its G90 flagship sedan
introductory semi-autonomous features such as adaptive
cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, emergency braking,
pedestrian detection, active blind-spot detection, and additional
technologies to “reduce driver fatigue.”

Similar to other driving experience-centric automobile manufacturers such as Maserati, Mazda,
Nissan, Porsche, and the like, Jaguar Land Rover isn’t the most enthusiastic about self-driving cars
taking all the fun away from drivers. Instead, the company is collecting data to understand how
to make self-driving cars more human. For starters, it launched a research fleet of 100 cars to test
drive a 41-mile route in central England.
“Customers are much more likely to accept highly automated and fully autonomous vehicles if
the car reacts in the same way as the driver,” said Dr. Wolfgang Epple, director of research and
technology at Jaguar Land Rover, in a statement. “By understanding and measuring positive
driving behaviors, we can ensure that an autonomous Jaguar or Land Rover of the future will not
simply perform a robotic function.”
The data is also intended to help inform insurance policies. For example, insurance experts will
have the ability to assess liability in particular scenarios based on real-world driving data supplied
by the test fleet.21
21 http://fortune.com/2016/02/02/jaguar-self-driving-cars/

Inside Silicon Valley, many credit Google with pioneering self-
driving vehicles. Outside of Silicon Valley, many cite John Deere
as helping to accelerate the self-driving vehicle revolution.
Technically speaking, John Deere is the largest operator of
autonomous vehicles––albeit, farming vehicles and tractors.
While not as technically advanced as many of the current self-
driving automobiles in development, John Deere has been
marketing autonomous tractors and equipment for more than 15
years. Initially, the company used satellite technology to help
farmers plot courses for tractors to drive automatically.
Because these vehicles operate in fields, the threat to road
safety is under the same scrutiny as automakers. As a result,
the path of least resistance for self-driving technology was
the farm. Currently technologies still require a driver, but fully
autonomous farm vehicles are coming.
John Deere isn’t alone in this space. Case IH is considered
a primary competitor along with lesser known companies.
Autonomous Tractor Corporation (ATC) markets eDrive and
AutoDrive retrofit kits that offer the ability to safely take over
navigation and control. The industry as a whole is prototyping
vehicles that will continue to innovate and plow toward thefuture.

Local Motors based in Phoenix, Ariz., combines open-sourced designs from its 60,000-member online
community and micro-factories around the world for manufacturing of autonomous vehicles. In June
2016, Local Motors unveiled Olli, a self-driving EV shuttle that integrates the advanced cognitive
computing capabilities of IBM Watson. Olli can operate on-demand via mobile app or on a pre-planned
route, and its cognitive software allows it to answer riders’ questions about its capabilities, status, and
why it made a particular decision.22
In late 2016, global design firm Stantec partnered with Local Motors to provide a full suite of services in
the delivery of Olli. It will be targeted for use by transit agencies, cities, states, universities, hospitals and
the private sector.23 Deutsche Bahn has been testing Olli at the Euref Campus, an innovation center for
developing sustainable urban solutions, and is planning a test run in Germany.24
22 http://azbigmedia.com/ab/local-motors-stantec-partner-self-driving-vehicles
23 Ibid.
24 http://www.3ders.org/articles/20170116-local-motors-3d-printed-autonomous-bus-heads-to-germany.html

California-based Lucid Motors, founded in 2007, will finally break
ground in 2017 in Arizona, building a $700 million factory to
produce a new line of electric vehicles. The company was anearly
pioneer in advanced lithium-ion battery technology. Former Tesla
executive Peter Rawlinson, now Lucid’s chief technology officer,
is moving the company toward a high-performance marketwith
a 1,000-horsepower vehicle with an expected range of 400miles
per charge. The prototype is said to follow Tesla’s lead in that it
will include self-driving capabilities.
In a press event in November 2016, Rawlinson revealed that
self-driving is in the car’s DNA, “We’re very mindful of this new
paradigm of shared mobility and autonomy and we’re designing
for that right from the core.” The vehicle is said to feature
ultrasonic sensors, longshore range cameras and radar, and a
full set of LIDARs.
Rawlinson said that in the near-term, there are no plans to
remove the steering wheel out of the car. Instead, Lucid seeks
to blend autonomy with driver enthusiasm, stating, “We’ll have a
clearly autonomous ready system pending legislative freedom
and partnership with a software supplier. I can see us becoming
ready as soon as it’s possible, but it’s probably not going to
happen until 2019, early ’20.”

Like Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda sees a role for the driver in the
future of autonomous vehicles. Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai
explained in January 2016 why the company is not working onan
autonomous program, “It’s not just getting from point A topoint
B. Our mission is to provide the essence of drivingpleasure.”
But later in 2016, Mazda would change course. In Spring 2016,
North American Chief Executive Masahiro Moro explained that
Mazda would take a human-centric approach to autonomous
driving. In an interview with Motoring.com.au, he explained, “I
think autonomous driving is an important technology, but how
we deploy and how we use that technology is different from a
leading company… Autonomous driving technology helps if
anything happens with the driver, he becomes unconscious or
is feeling bad or so on. Then the technology of autonomous
driving will override to pull over or go home. So this is the way
we will use autonomous driving technology — still a human-
centric approach.”
Over the coming years, the company plans on releasing semi-
autonomous technology features to augment safety and comfort,
such as emergency braking, radar-based adaptive cruise control,
lane monitoring, etc.

Mercedes-Benz was an early adopter of disruptive
technologies, signaled by its opening of an R&D center in
Silicon Valley in 1995.25 Officially operating as The Mercedes-
Benz Research & Development North America (MBRDNA),
the facility employs about 150 full-time digital designers,
researchers, and engineers running prototypes. Among
many things, the company is working on apps, infotainment,
autonomous driving, and battery technology.
When it comes to autonomous innovation, the company has
actively experimented with its S500 Intelligent Drive program for
quite some time. It is a fully autonomous experiment on wheels,
legally driving around sanctioned streets in Silicon Valley—
with lead and chase vehicles guiding it, of course. However, its
long-term investment has it ahead of the pack and arguably
made its technology a worthy rival of Tesla’s Autopilot and self-
driving innovation. At CES 2016, Mercedes-Benz debuted the
Intelligent Drive E-Class. The company demonstrated both fully
and semi-autonomous features during a 70-mile stretch in the
Nevada desert.
25 http://www.briansolis.com/2016/07/we-live-in-a/

Mercedes also launched an autonomous bus in July 2016 with “CityPilot,” which the company
claims is, “a milestone on the way to the autonomous city bus, and a revolutionary mobility system
for the future.” CityPilot is a software platform for autonomous driving in urban public transport.
CityPilot, in tests, already recognizes traffic lights, obstacles (especially pedestrians on the road),
and can brake autonomously. It also approaches bus stops automatically and opens and closes its
doors for passengers.

Mitsubishi demonstrated a self-driving car concept in October
2015. The video showed a vehicle navigating a test track
without a driver, maneuvering through tight turns and obstacles
difficult for human drivers. The concept uses satellite data and
high definition 3D mapping to navigate roads. The video also
highlighted the ability to “remote” park itself with the driver
standing outside the car.
The company hopes to introduce a self-driving car in 2020.
Current reports cite that Mitsubishi is adapting technologies
originally developed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for military use
(e.g. millimeter-wave radars, sonars, sensors, and cameras––
some used to guide missiles) to help self-driving cars detect
obstacles and avoid collisions.26
Bloomberg spoke to Katsumi Adachi, Senior Chief Engineer
at Mitsubishi’s automotive division. In the interview,Adachi
explained the company’s unique approach, “All we have to dois
to put together the components that we already have. None of
our competitors have such a wide array ofcapabilities.”
26 http://www.autonews.com/article/20160330/COPY01/303309940/mitsubishi-unit-adapts-military-tech-for-self-driving-cars

NextEV is a Chinese EV startup that announced in October 2016 the opening of its Silicon Valley
headquarters and intent to enter the electronic vehicle market.27 The company is also involved in the
Formula E electric race car platform.28 NextEV is rapidly developing an all-electric $1 million supercar. It
is also actively investing in autonomous technology led by Jamie Carlson, a veteran firmware engineer
and early member of Tesla’s Autopilot team.29 Carlson initially made headlines when he departed Tesla to
join Apple’s Project Titan.30 Carlson joins former Tesla executive Kurt Thywissen, who was the company’s
Senior Engineering Manager of UI & Autopilot Software. Thywissen is now Senior Director of Human-
Machine Interaction at NextEV.
27 https://electrek.co/2016/10/19/chinese-ev-startup-nextev-opens-silicon-valley-headquarters/
28 https://electrek.co/guides/formula-e/
29 https://electrek.co/2016/10/21/nextev-hires-former-top-tesla-and-apple-autonomous-driving-engineer/
30 https://9to5mac.com/2015/08/21/apple-car-hire-tesla/

Nissan is rolling out semi-autonomous features in phases, as part of its “Propilot” system, starting
this year. The first phase will introduce assisted steering and braking on highways. By 2018,
Nissan will introduce a multi-lane navigation function similar to what is available on current Tesla
and certain Mercedes-Benz models.
In 2020, it plans to add the capability for the vehicle to navigate city driving and intersections
without driver intervention. By that time, the Renault-Nissan Alliance plans to launch more than 10
models with advanced autonomous driving functionalities in the United States, Japan, Europe, and
China.

Researchers from Nissan and NASA are concurrently working on autonomous driving systems and
human- machine interface projects over the next five years. The goal is to develop software that
can be used in both cars and planetary rovers.
Nissan is also taking a human-centered approach to autonomous driving by hiring Melissa Cefkin,
principal scientist and design anthropologist at the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley. As a
corporate and design anthropologist who specializes in ethnography, she studies people and
cultures from the viewpoint of the subject. In the case of autonomous vehicles, Cefkin takes a fresh
look at how humans interact with “a deeply and profoundly cultural object,” in this case the car, to
gain insights into how new technologies might interpret or act on those behaviors.
Additionally, Cefkin’s work in analyzing human driving interactions helps the company ensure that
its autonomous fleet is prepared to be a “good citizen” on the road.

Though still in semi-stealth mode, Nuro.ai’s plans involve creating a Level Four autonomous vehicle,
launched between 2018-2020, as well as other transportation-related products. The company was co-
founded by two former top executives of Google’s self-driving car project: Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson.
According to Recode, Nuro.ai’s team also includes engineers with robotics, AI, and self-driving
experience who had a hand in an unusually wide range of products including Nexus cameras, Google
Image search, the Mars Exploration and Curiosity Rovers, Google street view, Google’s self-driving cars,
and a number of surgical tools.31
31 http://www.recode.net/2016/9/15/12921542/google-self-driving-startup-nuro

Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume famously told
a German newspaper that Porsche had
no plans to build a self-driving car. “One
wants to drive a Porsche by oneself,”said
Blume to Westfalen-Blatt. “An iPhone
belongs in your pocket, not on theroad.”
At the Paris Motor Show in September
2016, Porsche unveiled its Tesla-rivalling
Mission E, with plans to hit the marketin
2020. Speaking to AutoExpress, Blume
confirmed that future Porsche models
will indeed offer autonomous features.
However, a fully autonomous vehicle is not
planned. In the interview, he maintained
that the ability for owners to enjoy driving
their car is essential. He also provided
examples where a driver may choose to
read a newspaper while stuck in a trafficjam
or prefer to have the vehicle be able topark
itself remotely.

The Frenchmultinationalmanufacturerof Peugeot,Citroen,and DS announcedthat Level2 driverassistance
systems would be available by 2018 and fully autonomous vehicles by 2021. In the short-term, vehicles will
featurean intelligentsystemthat can assumecontrolfromthe driverif it detectsany lapsein attentiondue
to fatigueor inattentionto reducethe riskof an accident.PSAGroupCEO CarlosTavareswarnedin 2016
that he was unsure that automobile manufacturers could profit from autonomous cars by the early 2020s
“becauseof the hugeamountof technologyyou needto maketheseproductsdrivesafely,”he explained.
In April 2016, PSA Group successfully road-tested two Citroën C4 Picasso autonomous vehicles in
level 3 “eyes off” mode for more than 300 kilometers between Paris andAmsterdam. This was done
without driver interaction but instead supervision, requiring the driver to solely verify that the systems are
functioning properly. Since then, the company has grown to four Citroën C4 Picasso demonstrators on
the road, traveling more than 60km autonomously, and 10 autonomous test vehicles in total.32 PSAGroup
is also working with the System-X and Vedecom research institutes, and the CTAG automotive centre of
Galicia in Spain to ensure safe operations between drivers and self-driving cars.
The PSA Group became the first carmaker in July 2015 to obtain the necessary approvals to test its self-
driving cars on the open road in France.
32 http://media.groupe-psa.com/en/communiqu%C3%A9s-de-presse/innovation-technologie/psa-group-demonstrators

Subaru is working toward fully autonomous
vehicles by introducing significant driver-
assist features along the way. One of
the company’s most advanced features
currently available is its EyeSight system.
EyeSight monitors traffic and driving activity
to assist with a variety of safety and comfort
features, ranging from cruise control to
active braking, to lane monitoring. EyeSight
will act as the core of the company’s semi-
autonomous efforts with its next driver aid
feature focusing on traffic jam assist. The car
will drive itself in start/stop situations up to
40mph initially with the ability to also follow
curves.
By 2020, Subaru said it will introduce a
semi-autonomous driving function for
highway driving. That system will allow
automated lane changing and automated
steering around curves.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk
believes that any car that’s
not autonomous in the near
future is obsolete. In a call
with Wall Street analysts in
2015, he famously asserted,
“Any cars that are being
made that don’t have full
autonomy will have negative
value. It will be like owning a
horse. You’re really owning it
for sentimental reasons.”
Tesla has been among the
more aggressive of the bunch,
and is one of the primary
reasons we are seeing so
many announcements in 2016.
Tesla was the first to unlock its
hidden, innovative, and also
controversial Autopilot feature
that set the worldabuzz.

In Autopilot’s current adaptation, the car can assume control of steering, braking and switching lanes,
but it does so with the full expectation that the driver will be at the ready to take over if necessary.
This doesn’t stop people from pushing the boundaries of what’s responsible though, with some
drivers napping or moving to the back seat to test or show-off the feature. Unfortunately, in July 2016,
the first fatality occurred in a self-driving car, when a Tesla Model S plowed into a semi- truck that
made a turn in front of the vehicle. Autopilot was engaged at the time of impact, and the vehicle did
not “see” the white truck against a bright, white sky in time to stop. Since the accident, Tesla and
Mobileye have severed ties. On Sept. 11, Tesla unveiled a planned upgrade to Autopilot with
enhanced software to utilize the radar system on its vehicles to better see surroundings and road
conditions.
While the vehicle isn’t fully autonomous yet, Tesla has done the most work introducing the world
of self-driving features⎯and, it’s helping drive Tesla demand in the process. Currently considered
“Level 2” autonomous technology, Tesla Autopilot requires drivers to be engaged.
The company stunned the automotive industry yet again on October 19 when it announced that
all Model S, X, and 3 vehicles will ship standard with all necessary hardware and software for
an eventually fully autonomous mode. While the capability will be turned off for now, Tesla will
introduce features over time as it, and government regulations, deem them safe.
In July 2016, Elon Musk also revealed plans to explore Tesla Semi development to bring electric
trucks to market. In his “Master Plan, Part Deux,” Musk wrote, “We believe the Tesla Semi will
deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety, and making
it really fun to operate.” It’s widely speculated that its heavy-duty trucks will feature specialized
versions of its Autopilot technology used in its current line-up of vehicles.

Toyota announced the creation of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) in January 2016, a $1 billion investment
in AI to develop autonomous driving capabilities. The company is taking a human approach, literally, to
machine development. Toyota is studying human drivers to teach cars how to drive themselves. In an
interview with BusinessInsider, head of data at TRI Jim Adler shared his perspective on a human approach to
self-driving: “Humans are very good drivers. If you look at the fatality rate, it’s like one death in 100 million
miles driven. That’s humbling. We need to learn from drivers. If you look at how machines are trained, they’re
not trained by rules. They’re trained by example.”33
At CES 2017, Toyota unveiled its “Concept-i,” a futuristic vehicle with its main feature a built-in AI assistant
called Yui. While the car offers some early autonomous features, its AI focus aims to assist the driver instead
of taking over completely, reports AutoEvolution.34
Additionally, Toyota has pledged $1 billion to a university-led program dedicated to studying artificial
intelligence, robotics, and reducing driver fatalities. The company has invested in three research partnerships
to date, including the University of Michigan,35 Stanford in Palo Alto,36 and MIT in Cambridge.37
Toyota, like other manufacturers, is diversifying its investments. The company, which has also invested in
Uber, along with the Japan Federation of Hire-Taxi Associations, announced a group to collaborate on the
development of future taxicab technologies.
33 http://www.techrepublic.com/article/toyota-teaches-cars-to-drive-by-studying-human-drivers/
34 http://www.autoevolution.com/news/toyota-calls-the-industry-s-bluff-on-autonomous-driving-at-ces-114375.html
35 http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/news/stories/2016/august/accelerate-artificial-intelligence-research
36 https://www.technologyreview.com/s/541046/toyota-investing-50m-with-stanford-mit-for-autonomous-car-research/
37 http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2015/11/06/387751.htm

Volvo announced in 2016 that it joined forces with Autoliv Inc.,
a supplier of vehicle safety systems. The joint venture, which
was finalized in January 2017, is dubbed Zenuity and will build
new software for autonomous drive systems and ADAS.38
Volvo plans to sell a self-driving vehicle to consumers in five
years. The company will sell autonomous vehicles with a steering
wheel, but consumers can pay upward of $10,000 extra for a full
autopilot system where the car will be able to drive itself. Volvo is
testing cars on public roads in Sweden and plans to expand
public tests in London and China in 2018.
Concurrently, Volvo is working with Uber, who together are
contributing a combined $300 million to the project. As part of
the agreement, the companies will co-developautonomous
technology with vehicles going into Uber’s self-driving service
and also becoming part of Volvo’s fleet for consumer ownership.
The duo began piloting self-driving Volvo SUVs for Uber pickups
in Pittsburgh earlier this year.39
38 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autoliv-and-volvo-cars-sign-final-agreement-to-form-joint-venture-
300384515.html
39 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-18/uber-s-first-self-driving-fleet-arrives-in-pittsburgh-this-month-
is06r7on

Volkswagen is admittedly a late-comer to
the autonomous party. In an interview
with the Economic Times, Digital Chief
Johann Jungwirth voiced the company’s
commitment to innovation, “We have a
massive need to now work with thesame
passion for detail and the same focus on
software and services as on hardware
(cars).” Through its Audi brand, the
company is developing a fully self-driving
car rather than introducing incremental
semi-autonomous features (see Audi profile,
earlier in this report). As a result, VW will
“massively expand” its presence in Silicon
Valley according to Jungwirth. Furthermore,
VW is planning acquisitions in the market
for new transportation technologies and
services. Recently, VW invested $300 million
in ride-hailing company Gett, which
competes with Uber and Lyft.

Auro offers an autonomous shuttle marketed to
college campuses (currently only in Santa Clara,
with plans to expand in 2017). As of November
2016, the shuttle runs 100% autonomously. For
the time being, an Auro field engineer rides along,
ready to take control of the slow-moving (7mph)
campus vehicle if necessary. Eventually Auro will
be gradually transition to remote supervision. The
bus offers a large emergency stop button for
passengers to hit in case of need, according to
IEEE Spectrum.40
Auro shuttle software gathers information from
onboard LIDARs, as well as cameras for use in its
deep-learning project aimed at interpreting
pedestrian intent. Similar to the Olli bus, Auro will
eventually offer an app for calling the shuttle on-
demand, as well as expanded routes with stops
closer to student housing. Auro will be operated as
a subscription service sold to college campuses
for a flat rate.41
40 http://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/transportation/self-driving/autonomous-shuttle-
brakes-for-squirrels-skateboarders-and-texting-students
41 Ibid.

Apple invested $1 billion in
Didi in May 2016. In July,
Uber China merged with
Didi Chuxing. Currently,
there is no formal self-
driving initiative that’s been
announced. Though, there
is speculation around recent
partnerships and investments,
as well as the company’s
stated emphasis on artificial
intelligence that indicates
otherwise.
In an interview with
Bloomberg, Didi Chuxing
President Jean Liu shared,
“The next phase for us isreally
to invest more in artificial
intelligence and machine
learning.”

Cambridge-based NuTonomy
is aiming to be the first
company in the world to design
and launch an autonomous taxi
service. NuTonomy launched
its initial trials in Singapore in
August 2016. Much like Uber’s
public Pittsburgh trials, the
company seeks to get
feedback from the cars and
passengers to inform and
expedite a launch as soon as
2018. This plan was fortified
through a strategic partnership
with Grab, an Uber rival. This
approach is similar to what
Uber and Volvo are testing in
Pittsburgh and GM and Lyft in
Phoenix.

MIT spinoff startup Optimus Ride is focused on the on-demand transportation system and EV side of
autonomous technologies. The startup has plans to leverage the latest advances in complex sensor
fusion, mapping, computer vision, and machine learning to develop its systems. It raised $5.25M in seed
funding in October 2016, and has already begun testing early versions of its platform at Perkins School
for the Blind and, as of December 2016,42 on the streets of Boston.
The Optimus Ride team collectively shares experience in self-driving technologies, electric vehicles,
mobility-on-demand, and other transportation systems. The team also includes industrial and
entrepreneurial experience spanning manufacturing robots, medical robots, shared vehicle fleet
management, and urban design.
42 https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/11/self-driving-tech-startup-optimus-ride-raises-5-25m-seed-round/

Alongside Google, Uber is among the more
aggressive of the bunch accelerating the arrival
and implementation of autonomous vehicles in
commercial applications. In 2015 and 2016, Uber
courted many carmakers to accelerate its
autonomous efforts including Ford, GM, Toyota,
and Volvo.43 In early 2016, Uber announced a
$300 million partnership with Volvo to develop fully
autonomous vehicles by 2021.44 Uber’s
partnership with Volvo aimed to co-develop an
autonomous vehicle based on the Volvo XC90
sport-utility vehicle. In May 2016, Toyota also
announced a strategic investment in Uber to
collaborate on the company’s research efforts.45
Among its many simultaneous efforts, Uber also
opened an Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in
Pittsburgh to advance self-driving Uber cars. Last
year, the company hired 40 scientists, experts, and
engineers from Carnegie Mellon University to staff
ATC.46
43 http://www.recode.net/2016/5/25/11763210/uber-self-driving-gm-cruise-partnerships
44 http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/08/uber-and-volvo-partner-up-robot-ride-sharing-starts-this-summer/
45 http://www.recode.net/2016/5/24/11762436/toyota-uber-investment
46 http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/innovation/2015/06/why-uber-located-its-advanced-technologies-center.html

Autonomous Ride/Hail: Uber announced in May 2016
that it would launch an effort to collect mapping data and
also test its self-driving capabilities in Pittsburgh, Penn.47
The program was an extension of ATC investment and
was driven by Uber-modified Ford Fusions outfitted with
20 cameras, seven lasers, and a GPS-radar combo.
Shortly thereafter, Uber announced that it would would
put a fleet of 100 self-driving Volvo XC90s, based on its
earlier investments, on the road by the end of the
2016.48 Part of a city-sanctioned pilot program, Ubers
autonomously shuttle passengers (with human
supervision) around town and gather mapping and
environment data in the process.
To public surprise in December 2016, Uber also took to
the streets of San Francisco with a small self-driving fleet
of Volvo XC90s.49 Similar to the pilot in Pittsburgh,
autonomous Ubers in San Francisco operated with a
full-time driver and an engineer in the passenger seat to
monitor and optimize performance. The California
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) quickly threatened
to shutter the operation however, claiming that Uber was
operating without a proper permit. Uber argued that,
because it employed a full-time driver, it was not held to
the same rules.50
47 https://newsroom.uber.com/us-pennsylvania/new-wheels/
48 http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/11383487-74/driving-self-uber
49 http://www.recode.net/2016/12/14/13945008/uber-self-driving-san-francisco-volvo-cars
50 http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/12/uber-tests-self-driving-on-san-francisco-roads-avoids-dmv-autonomy-
definition/

These tests are just that––tests. Uber plans to scale these deployments to
prove its technology and stave off competition from GM/Lyft, Ford, VW,
among many others. In preparation for mass rollout, Uber reportedly
placed an order for 100,000 self-driving Mercedes-Benz to reveal over
time as part of its on-demand fleet.51 According to Silicon Valley legend,
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick attempted to order the entire production of 2020
autonomous Teslas too, but did not do so because Elon Musk did not
return his call.
Maps: After losing a $3 billion bid for Nokia’s maps, Uber announced that
it had already invested $500 million in its own global mapping project. The
goal is to reduce reliance on Google Maps and set the stage for a precise
self-driving vehicle network.
Trucking: Uber also purchased autonomous trucking San Francisco-
based startup Otto for an estimated $680 million. The startup, like GM’s
Cruise or Tesla’s Autopilot, offers a kit to help semi-trucks navigate
highways. As well as expediting the rollout of self-driving intra-city services,
the acquisition will help expand Uber’s reach into new delivery markets. It’s
also a tremendous coup by the company in its race against Google and
Apple to become the leading autonomous software platform. Otto made
headlines in October 2016 when it partnered with Anheuser-Busch and the
state of Colorado to outfit a Budweiser delivery truck to make a “Level 4”
self-driving delivery test-run. According to a press release issued by Otto,
the professional driver was in the sleeper berth monitoring the system for
the entire 120-mile journey down I-25. At the time of publishing, Otto is
seeking further test partners in addition to Anheuser-Busch to accelerate
commercial autonomous transportation.
51 https://electrek.co/2016/03/18/uber-order-
mercedes-100000-autonomous-cars/

Similar to Auro and Olli, Varden offers autonomous EV campus shuttles, driven at 5mph, to students of
Sacramento State University. The Mountain View-based company is made up of former University of
Waterloo engineering students who hope to lease driverless shuttle vehicles to colleges. It is
programmed to follow a given route and it cannot deviate, even a few feet, and leases at $50,000.

AUTO PARTS SUPPLIERS
AND HARDWARE

Bosch is one of the world’s
largest automotive suppliers
and currently has more than
2,000 engineers dedicated
to driver-assistance
systems. Bosch currently
works with Google,
Porsche, and Tesla. It was
recently revealed that
Bosch and Tesla have two
fully autonomous Model S’s
in testing. Additionally, Bosch
partnered with TomTom
to implement accurate
GPS mapping data into its
platform.

ContinentalAG is a German auto parts supplier. The company began working on autonomous driving projects in
2006. In 2012, Continental was the first automotive supplier licensed to test these vehicles in Nevada.
In March 2016, the company acquired a division of Advanced Scientific Concepts Inc. that makes an
imaging sensor used in autonomous vehicles.52 Continental’s early-stage projects explored systems to
collect, analyze and feed data back to self-driving cars to improve the recognition of their environment and
assist them in reacting correctly.53
The company debuted “Cruising Chauffer,” a self-driving test vehicle in Brimley, Mich.54 The Cruising
Chauffeur is based on a Chrysler 300 and outfitted with Continental autonomous systems, which control
all driving-related tasks. The vehicle is driven by a 360-degree long- and short-range radar, cameras,
integrated active-safety technology and a redundant architecture system.
In January 2017, Continental partnered with Nexteer, which supplies steering components to car
manufacturers and is majority owned by China's AVIC Automotive, to advance motion control systems for
automated driving.55 The joint venture will be based in Michigan and will combine Nexteer's advanced
steering and driver assistance technologies with Continental's automated driving and advanced braking
technologies.
52 http://www.wsj.com/articles/continental-buys-sensor-technology-for-self-driving-cars-1457042039
53 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-03/continental-ag-working-on-self-driving-partnerships-to-rival-bmw
54 http://wardsauto.com/technology/continental-shows-its-latest-self-driver
55 http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-01/11/content_27929663.htm

One of the most expensive parts of an
autonomous vehicle is its LIDAR sensor,
which can cost upwards of $75,000 today.56
That’s the price tag reported for the Velodyne
HDL-64E LIDAR sensor. Velodyne has been
developing solid-state LIDAR technology that
can perform at scale. Its latest product, the
Velodyne LIDAR Puck, has brought LIDAR
costs down to $8,000 and is estimated to
carry a mass-production price tag of $50.57
This new technology aims to move LIDAR
away from the spinning domes on top of
autonomous test cars today to the exterior of
vehicles for retail car buyers using small, out-
of-sight chips.
Currently, Velodyne is working on 19
autonomous vehicle projects with 10 high-
tech companies and nine automakers. In
August 2016, the company received $150
million from Baidu and Ford.
56 http://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/01/googles-waymo-invests-in-lidar-technology-cuts-costs-by-90-percent/
57 https://tiresandparts.net/news/parts/velodyne-unveils-low-cost-lidar/

German automotive supplier ZF acquired electronics and safety specialist TRW. The company develops
autonomous safety and technology systems––including cameras, sensors, radar, and software to deliver
adaptive cruise control, emergency braking systems, and more.
At CES 2017, ZF announced a partnership with with Nvidia to develop what they call the world’s first
“artificial-intelligence self-driving car computer.”58 The ZF ProAI technology system powered by Nvidia is
aimed at several industries ranging from mining, farming and logistics to shipping, rail, and more.
According to executives for both companies, ZR ProAI enables vehicles to “see, think, and act” to better
understand their environment through the use of real-time deep learning that processes sensor and
camera data.
The company aims to have their autonomous highway systems available in vehicles by 2018.59
58 http://wardsauto.com/technology/zf-nvidia-claim-first-ai-car-computer
59 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2016/10/24/zf-tfw-autonomous-tech/92699944/

Chinese search giant Baidu has been working on autonomous vehicles since 2013. One of the
company’s key partners is BMW, as noted earlier in our report. In December 2015, a modified 3-Series
BMW autonomously drove an 18.6-mile route around Beijing. Powered by the “Baidu Brain,” a system
that brings together high-precision mapping, positioning, sensing, and big data processing.
In June, Baidu introduced its official plans for the mass production of driverless vehicles by 2021. Similar
to Mercedes, the company also announced that it will develop autonomous bus and tourist shuttle
services with set routes with the full support of the Chinese government.
Baidu and vehicle manufacturer BAIC Motor Corp announced the formation of a strategic partnership at
CES 2017 to produce and promote autonomous vehicle technology in China. Baidu's autonomous driving
research and development arm, Baidu Intelligent Vehicle, will work with BAIC on two key projects: the
launch of a BAIC-built vehicle equipped with Baidu's telematics solutions, and trialing a Level 3
autonomous vehicle on limited roads by the end of 2017.60
60 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160105005572/en/IAV-Microsoft-Collaborate-Showcase-Traffic-Safety-Technology

United Kingdom-based automotive parts
supplier Delphi built aplatform of software
and sensors to convert any vehicle into
one that’s autonomous. In April 2016, the
company outfitted an Audi SQ5 with its
technology and test drove it 3,000 miles
across the United States, where it reportedly
operated autonomously for 99% of the drive.
At CES 2016, Delphi displayed a new
autonomous human-machine interface that
focuses on providing comfort and control to
drivers in the stepping-stone stage before
automation isready.
Delphi has also partnered with Quanergy, a
startup that’s developing solid-state LiDARat
a cost of only $1,000 per car.

Microsoft is a relative newcomer to the autonomous caravan,
which, to be fair, is not unlikemany automobilemanufacturers.
However, Microsoft is beginningto explore the roads less driven.
For example, in a partnership with Volvo, Microsoft is contributing
to autonomous R&D and also hoping to implement its
augmented reality HoloLens technologyinto the automobile
experience. More specifically, the companies intend to, “develop
autonomous cars, the use of data to create ‘meaningful
services,’ machine learning, and how to modernize the car
buying process.”
Microsoft is also reportedly contributingcloud computing capabilities
to Here, the mapping business formerly owned by Nokia and
recently acquiredby a consortiumof German automakers. It also
has partnered with the IAV, an engineering services firm and
pioneer of highly automated driving, with intentions to use Windows
10 Continuum to stream Windows 10 directly to the car’s
dashboard.61
In September2016, Microsoftannouncedthat it will help the
Renault-Nissan alliance develop next-generation connected services
for its self- drivingprogramthroughAzure cloud services. In January
2017, it was announced that Renault-Nissan will be the first
customer for Microsoft's Connected Vehicle Platform.62
61 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-06/microsoft-drives-new-car-software-push-with-renault-nissan-deal
62 http://www.autonews.com/article/20161219/OEM02/161219883/josh-hartung%3A-pushing-automakers-suppliers-to-save-
cost-and-let

Portland, Ore.-based Polysync offers an operating system platform that helps simplify and accelerate the
development, testing, and implementation of autonomous driving technologies. The software platform
provides the “back end” of self-driving systems that automakers and suppliers can build upon,
customizing for their own needs, conditions, and specific threats or consumer demands. Polysync’s value
proposition is to save companies significant resources and time from building the code from scratch.63
Polysync’s founder Josh Hartung previously was the CTO at radar and LIDAR sensor distributor
AutonomousStuff. Polysync was previously known as Harbrick Technologies. According to Hartung in
Automotive News, “We want to be the iOS or Android of automotive. We’re giving companies a base
layer of autonomous driving software.”
63 http://www.networkworld.com/article/3081468/mobile-wireless/qualcomms-connected-car-reference-platform-to-connect-smart-cars-to-everything.html

Qualcomm is a global semiconductor and
telecommunications equipment company that
designs and markets chip-based solutions for
wireless telecommunications products and services.
In June 2016, Qualcomm debuted its Connected Car
Reference Platform intended for automakers and
technology partners to develop next-generation
connected cars.64
Qualcomm, similar to that of Intel, is also developing
semiconductors that help vehicles communicate in
everyday driving scenarios via V2X (vehicle to
everything).65 The company sees the path to enabling
real-time V2X at scale is via 5G cellular networks.66
Until 5G becomes pervasive, the company is
investing in LTE Direct device-to-device
communications to enable direct communication
between vehicles and each other, pedestrians, and
road infrastructure. Additionally, Qualcomm is
investing in LET Broadcast technology for vehicular
communications to alert drivers to an upcoming
accident, guide them to an open parking space, offer
alternative routes, and more.
64 http://industrialiot5g.com/20160609/5g/qualcomm-autonomous-driving-5g-tag17
65 https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2016/06/07/path-5g-paving-road-tomorrows-autonomous-
vehicles
66 http://www.businessinsider.com/google-waymo-self-driving-car-logo-2016-12?op=1

Qualcomm’s investment in 5G technology will further scale autonomous capabilities. The company
detailed three such scenarios in a blog post published in July 2016:
• Cooperative-collision avoidance: Actions by a self-driving vehicle to avoid collisions may create
hazardous driving conditions for other vehicles. Cooperative-collision avoidance allows all involved
vehicles to coordinate their actions to avoid collisions in a cooperative manner.
• High-density platooning: Self-driving vehicles will communicate with each other to create a closely
spaced multiple vehicle chain on a highway. High-density platooning will further reduce the current
distance between vehicles down to one meter, resulting in better traffic efficiency, fuel savings, and
safer roads.
• See through: When small vehicles are behind larger vehicles (e.g., trucks), the smaller vehicles
cannot "see" an obstacle such as a pedestrian crossing the road ahead. In such scenarios, a truck’s
camera can detect the situation and share the image of the pedestrian with the vehicle behind it. This
would then trigger a real-time alert to the vehicle or driver.

Audi, BMW and Daimler banded together with Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm
in September 2016 to form the 5G Automotive Association. The group will “develop, testand
promote communications solutions, support standardization and accelerate commercial availability
and global market penetration,” the founders said in astatement.
One of the primary goals for the group is to accelerate the deployment of 5G technology and
infrastructure to support a more capable wireless network to support autonomousdriving.

Apple is currently working on Project Titan,
which speculation and topline research
indicates may be an operating system for
autonomous vehicles. The Wall Street Journal
stated that there were at least “several
hundred” Apple employees working on the
project. Apple recently hired Dan Dodge,who
previously founded QNX, anoperating system
company BlackBerry acquired in2010.
In early 2016, Apple also opened a research
and development center in the Ottawa suburb
Kanata, across the street from the QNX
headquarters. There have significant rumors
thatApple has previously worked on, or still is,
an electric and/or autonomousvehicle.
Apple offered a clue into its autonomous
plans inNovember 2016 when the company
submitted a letter to the U.S. National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA). The company’s Director ofProduct
Integrity Steve Kenner wrote in the letter:

“Apple uses machine learning to make its products and services smarter, more intuitive, and more
personal. The company is investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is
excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation.”
The letter appears to focus on allowing “new entrants” to have the “same opportunity” to data sharing
and public road testing as “established manufacturers,” “without pursuing exemptions.” Doing so would
give Apple, as well as startups, an accelerated path to market that promotes fairness among newcomers
and incumbents.As Kenner describes in the letter:
“Apple agrees that companies should share de-identified scenario and dynamics data from crashes
and near-misses. Data should be sufficient to reconstruct the event, including time-series of vehicle
kinematics and characteristics of the roadway and objects. By sharing data, the industry will build a more
comprehensive dataset than any one company could create alone. This will allow everyone in the industry
to design systems to better detect and respond to the broadest set of nominal and edge-case scenarios.”
Whatever it is, the project isn’t expected to hit the market until at least 2021.

George Hotz is the founder of Comma.ai and is well known for
being the first hacker to unlock the original Apple iPhone. The
startup developed an autonomous software-based driving kit
marketed as the Comma One Open Pilot. Originally intended
to be sold as an aftermarket add-on for certain Honda and
Acura models, it was subsequently blocked by U.S. authorities
for not submitting the technology to official review.
The software is powered by “Neo,” a custom-made box of
electronics mounted in pace of the rear view mirror. A OnePlus
3 Android smartphone mounted inside provides camera inputs
and processing power. The system connects to existing camera
and radar-based driver assist Lane Keeping and Adaptive
Cruise Control systems in the Honda Civic Touring and Acura
ILX models.
Comma.ai is offering the kit to the public with code and
hardware plans for developers to build upon.

Google's autonomous vehicle program has
been one of the most ambitious and public to
date. Operating as Google X, this advanced
fleet has been driving around Silicon Valley for
several years. Google's work on this front is
unrivaled, as it boasts 21 modified Lexus SUVs
and 33 unorthodox pod-like small cars that can
fully drive themselves. X vehicles have self-
driven more than 3 million miles on the streets
of Mountain View, Calif., Austin, Texas, Kirkland,
Wash., and Metro Phoenix. Of those miles,
10,000 rides have safely carried Googlers and
guests without the capacity for a human being
to take the wheel.
In September 2016, Google hired ex-Hyundai
and TrueCar exec John Krafcik to lead the
program. It also hired Kevin Vosen as its first
general attorney and Tim Papandreou, former
head of San Francisco’s Office of Innovation at
the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency.
These hires signaled the development of a
formalized infrastructure that seemed to prepare
it for commercialization under the new Alphabet
structure.

Just three months later in December, Google surprised the industry
by spinning out its self-driving car unit as a separate company called
Waymo, which stands for “Way forward in Mobility.” John Krafcik
serves as the company’s CEO and Dmitri Dolgov is head of self-
driving tech.67 At a press conference in Silicon Valley, Krafcik
announced that, according to Google, the company noted that it had
already completed the first fully driverless ride on public roads in
Austin in 2015 with a car that had no steering wheel or pedals in
everyday traffic.68 Krafcik said at the press event that he could see
Google using its self-driving tech for "the ride-sharing business,
trucking, logistics, even personally used vehicles and licensing with
automakers." Additionally, Krafcik clarified that the company is
focused on technology and not automobiles, “We are a self-driving
technology company. We’ve been really clear that we’re not a car
company … we’re not in the business of making better cars. We’re
in the business of making better drivers.”
The Information reported in December 2016 that the partnership
between Waymo and Fiat Chrysler would introduce a ridesharing
service based on a collaboratively developed autonomous version
of the Chrysler Pacific minivan by the end of 2017.69 For Waymo,
this partnership presents the opportunity to scale its technology with
the help of automotive expertise to help it meet federal regulations
and mass produce in market-ready, consumer-oriented vehicles.
Waymo is also in talks with Honda to explore similar partnership
opportunities among technologies, resources, and engineers.
67 https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/googles-self-driving-
car-unit-spins-out-as-waymo/
68 https://www.theinformation.com/google-scaled-back-self-
driving-car-ambitions
69 https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/30/zoox-raises-200-
million-at-1-billion-valuation-for-its-self-driving-cars/

Hitachi launched a new division to develop autonomous driving systems. The work brings together
efforts led by other Hitachi business units. To date, it has developedAI and obstacle-detection cameras,
radars, sensors and actuators, a human machine interface, electronic control unit, a high-precision
mapping system, and other infrastructure devices. These components help autonomous vehicles to
safely navigate roads, predict pedestrian movements, avoid objects stationary and in motion, and
optimize speed and slowing maneuvers. The company is seeking to provide technology solutions to
automakers that are not designing autonomous solutions inhouse.
In an interview with Nikkei, Atsushi Kawabata, chief technology officer of Hitachi Automotive Systems,
he detailed the advantages of an integrated systems approach, “We are the only company in the world
that brings together all the technologies necessary for automated driving.” In December 2016, Hitachi
Automotive announced that its ADAS Electronic Control Unit is being used on the new Serena that
Nissan launched in August2016.

Zoox is a secretive Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup that is building autonomous technology to compete
against Google, GM’s Cruise Automation, and Tesla.70 The company is reportedly re-imagining the car
from the ground up to offer passengers a dedicated mobile experience without the design constraints of
traditional driver-centered cockpits.71
In October 2016, at the White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburg, co-founder Tim Kentley-Klay
described Zoox’s effots this way, “At Zoox what we’re creating...is not a self-driving car any more than the
automobile is a horseless carriage. We’re not building a robo-taxi service, we’re actually creating an
advanced mobility service.” He went on, “… you can really think of it as Disneyland on the streets of
perhaps San Francisco and that means a vehicle which is smart enough to understand its environment
but it’s also importantly smart enough to understand you, where you need to be, what you want to do in
the vehicle, and how you want to move around the city.”72
70 http://www.wsj.com/articles/startup-zooxs-valuation-soars-to-1-55-billion-1478514602
71 https://www.therobotreport.com/news/zoox-raises-50-million-for-their-stealthy-silicon-valley-venture
72 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autoliv-at-2017-ces--extra-pair-of-eyes-support-real-life-safety-for-the-increased-road-traffic-300385297.html

MACHINE
LEARNING/AI/DEEP
LEARNING

Argo AI is a Pittsburgh-based startup tackling artificial intelligence technologies for self-driving cars.
It was founded by Uber and Google veteran engineers. In Feb. 2017, Ford announced a $1B
investment in the relatively unknown startup, marking the largest investment in self-driving
technology by a vehicle manufacturer to date. According to Engadget, Argo AI will operate as an
independent subsidiary and will focus on developing a software platform for Ford's self-driving car.
Peter Rander, Argo AI COO; Ken Washington, Ford vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering; Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO;
Bryan Salesky, Argo AI CEO; Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, Product Development, and chief technical officer; and Laura Merling, Ford
Smart Mobility LLC vice president of autonomous vehicle solutions.

Based in Stockholm, Sweden Autoliv, Inc., is an automotive machine vision supplier that provides
monocular, stereo and night vision systems for automated driving capability.73
At CES 2017, the company previewed LIV, a Learning Intelligent Vehicle that connects all the different
technologies via an AI-based ECU (engine control unit) that communicates and acts on all available data.
The system facilitates collaboration and shared control between driver and vehicle to attain trust and
facilitate required safety in autonomous driving.
73 http://fortune.com/2016/08/30/self-driving-drive-ai/

DeepScale is a San Francisco-based startup that has core technology in training data for machine
learning algorithms, rapid deep neural network (DNN) training, and efficient DNN deployment in
embedded/IoT (Internet of Things) applications. The company is applying this expertise todevelop
perception and learning systems for autonomousvehicles.

Drive.ai was founded in April 2015 by former graduatestudents
working in Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Lab.74 The
Mountain View, Calif.-based startup is focused on developing
deep learning AI software and using it as the brainsdriving
real-time actions of autonomous vehicles. More so, Drive.ai is
designing its software to have a personality that cancommunicate
with people in a human-likeway.
Company president and co-founder Carol Reiley explained their
approach to Fortune, “People’s first interaction with a self-driving
car will not be in the car, but as bystander either as a pedestrian,
bicyclist, motorcyclist, or another driver. To gain trust of the
public, these cars have to communicate with the outside world,
and be able to emote what its intentionsare.”
Some of the ways the company is experimenting with
communication protocol include sensors, software, audio
equipment, and a roof-mounted LED sign to send messages,
emojis, and, emit varying sounds to communicate intent. The
company is also pairing its intelligent software with hardwarekits
to retrofit business vehicle fleets.
74 http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/9/13902704/california-dmv-permit-nvidia-autonomous-car-testing

Something needs to power all this
incredible, processing-intensive
autonomous information. At CES 2016,
Nvidia introduced the Nvidia Drive PX2,
a computer vision system, which has
been dubbed a, “super computer for
autonomous cars.” The hardware is
part of a bigger initiative that Nvidia
calls DriveNet. The entire system is not
only a processing plant, but also a
deep learning AI network, which helps
cars learn how to identify objects better
and faster.
In 2016, Nvidia partnered with Baidu to
build a platform for semi- and fully
autonomous cars.75 Currently Nvidia
can be seen openly testing its vehicles
around the Bay Area in California.
75 http://wardsauto.com/technology/wheego-retooled-ev-autonomous-tech-
supplier

Atlanta-based Wheego Technologies, originally
Wheego Electric Cars, started out as a developer
of small electric vehicles (EV) designed for
consumer use. Now the company has pivoted to
become an R&D company focused on machine
learning and artificial intelligence for electric,
autonomous vehicles.
As of 2016, Wheego aims to fill a void in Asia by
supplying Chinese automakers with EV and
autonomous driving technology.76 Foxconn
Technology Group, an early investor that has
since divested its interest in the company, initially
partnered with Wheego to develop an electric
delivery van for the Chinese market as a means
to collect big data. That project was never
completed, but the investment in machine-
learning, autonomous driving and data collection
serve as the foundation for its new offering.
76 http://wardsauto.com/technology/wheego-retooled-ev-autonomous-tech-
supplier

Intel is one of the early founders of Silicon Valley
and has, over the years, effectively expanded its
innovative chipsets beyond traditional PC and
enterprise platforms to mobile to post- PC
devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). To date,
Intel has partnered with Mobileye and Delphi to
enable autonomous technology solutions with its
Core i7processors,77 as well as acquired
Movidius and its “vision processing unit” platform
to help self-driving cars “see.”78
In November 2016, as part of its IoT
organization, Intel introduced the Automated
Driving Group (ADG), a new business unit
dedicated to working with technology partners
and carmakers to power autonomous
technology. 79 The new group is will be led by
Doug Davis, Intel’s current head of the IoT
division. He postponed his announcement to do
so.
77 http://www.movidius.com/news/ceo-post-september-2016
78 http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2016/11/29/intel-elevates-its-autonomous-cars-efforts-
into-a-new-business-unit/#5dd5d7cf1ed4
79 https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/15/intel-announces-250-million-for-autonomous-driving-tech/

In an official company statement, Intel positioned ADG as a long-term vertical growth investment
in driving an automobile’s ability to communicate with everything in day-to-day driving
environments (V2X), “Automated driving is long term growth opportunity for Intel. We believe
there is an incredible opportunity to reinvent the driving experience and it will take a global
ecosystem for this vision to come to fruition. The new ADG organization will provide the
necessary focus and support for our long-term investments needed for our strategic automated
driving endeavors.”
At the Los Angeles Auto show in November 2016, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced that Intel
Capital, an Intel subsidiary focused on early round investments in strategic startups and relevant
technologies, would be investing $250 million in autonomous driving over the next two years.80
Investments will focus on connectivity, context awareness, deep learning and security.
80 https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/24/chronocam-secures-15m-to-power-its-biological-eye-computer-vision-system/

Acquired by BlackBerry in 2010, QNX develops navigation and connected device systems and
middleware for self-driving cars. The intelligent operating system is currently used by Volkswagen and
Ford, among others. The company derives its revenue by licensing its software to automakers and
infrastructure and platform partners.
Thomas Bloor, business development manager for BlackBerry QNX software systems, explains QNX this
way, “Today, a lot of the systems put into the car are built and sourced in isolation from each other. So, a
lot of systems end up fighting each other in the car.” Bloor also explained that security is critical to
develop hack-resistant autonomous vehicles. In a November edition of Canada’s Globe and Mail, Bloor
shared the importance of securing the connectivity between self-driving cars, their occupants, and
networks, “We are bringing a lot of the security assets that secure the BlackBerry phones into the
automotive space. Moving forward towards this vision of the autonomous connected vehicle, you can’t
really build a safe system if you can’t make it secure. Obviously, safety and security are very strongly
intertwined.”

ANSYS Inc. specializes in engineering simulation
used in the automotive industry. With engineering
simulation, thousands of design scenarios can be
virtually tested on computers in the same time,
effort, and expense needed for conducting a single
road test. ADAS involves a complicated control-
loop that must function flawlessly over the millions
of scenarios that autonomous vehicles encounter
and that human drivers take for granted.
Simulating ADAS involves drive-scenario
modeling, sensor physics modeling, sensor data
fusion, human–machine interfaces and more.

Online education startup Udacity introduced a self-driving car engineering nanodegree. This makes the
list because, as part of the program, the education company will build its own self-driving car. Rather than
bringing it to market, Udacity will open-source the technology to help other companies advance self-
driving capabilities.

Chronocam specializes in computer technology “vision” optimized for autonomous vehicles. Its systems
store nearly 20 times less data than a standard camera system, working by analyzing captured images
on a pixel-by-pixel basis and taking note of changes in static data. The Paris-based company recently
received $15M in Series B funding, following a previously raised $850,000 seed round. Chronocam plans
to package its computer vision technology into a full end-to-end system, which it hopes to ship in 2017.81
81 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/12/25/business/tech/denso-nec-tie-developing-self-driving-technology/#.WGapObYrK3U

Japanese supplier of mostly powertrain parts and air conditioning to companies like Toyota, Denso Corp.
has recently partnered with NEC Corp. to develop self-driving auto technology that uses artificial
intelligence married with Denso’s camera and sensor technologies.82 In January 2016, Denso introduced
a dedicated ADAS unit.83
Denso partnered with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. on a new vision sensor that can better detect
pedestrians at night. It also formed a strategic partnership with Toshiba Corp to develop deep neural
network-intellectual property that uses algorithms modeled after human brainwaves to recognize the
driving environment around the vehicle.84
82 http://www.autonews.com/article/20161219/OEM10/312199907/denso-teams-up-on-self-driving
83 Ibid.
84 https://backchannel.com/the-future-of-driving-is-now-a-gold-rush-4c3a2ecd422c#.uoa7vujcd

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (North
America) is focused on driverless car technologies, with
a group of 63 researchers in Cambridge, Mass., near
MIT. The company’s president and CEO Richard
Waters revealed that, among its autonomous efforts,
computer vision is a priority. In an interview with
Xconomy in June 2016, Waters shared, “We’re working
on [getting to] where a car can actually see well enough
to drive without a map.”
Michael Jones, a computer-vision research scientist at
MERL, expressed a more humble prediction about
when autonomous vehicles will actually drive
themselves. He believes that we are a decade away. “I
think we can get 95 percent of the way there, but the
last 5 percent is really difficult,” Jones told Xconomy.
“You almost have to solve all of A.I. to have a car that
drives with no driver.”
These efforts are in addition to Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
sharing its missile guidance technology components
with Mitsubishi’s automotive group, as detailed earlier in
our report.

Israel-based Mobileye is a leading supplier of collision avoidance car sensor systems, supplying many of
the ADAS systems offered by major automakers today.
Among its many partnerships, the company teamed-up with Delphi to develop a Central Sensing
Localization and Planning (CSLP) self-driving system to offer near-complete autonomous driving by
2019. The companies plan to offer an off-the-shelf CSLP system that can plug-and-play into a variety of
vehicle types.
Shortly after the very public “he said, she said” breakup with Tesla as a result of the fatal semi-truck and
Tesla crash driving in auto-pilot mode, the company has already solidified partnerships with BMW and is
close to finalizing an agreement with VW. Furthermore, the company is negotiating with roughly 10
carmakers to join its Road Experience Management (REM) mapping product (see mapping section).

Nauto is a hardware company and platform that collects real-world
driving and accident data from manually driven cars. The goal is to
partner with automakers to provide safety data to assist in the co-
development of self-driving cars. Currently, the company partners
with commercial fleets and now automakers to install its devices to
rearview mirrors. The hardware features cameras that focus on the
driver and also the road ahead, combined with other sensors such
as accelerometers, to capture information about driver behavior and
potential accidents.
The goal is for Nauto software to be built into cars at the point of
manufacturing. As a shared platform, automakers can share data
that would take years to gather independently to guide autonomous
cars (and their passengers) much more safely.
In October 2016, automakers BMW and Toyota, along with
insurance provider Allianz Ventures, announced that they were
investing in and partnering with the company.
Nauto co-founder Stefan Heck told Recode in an interview about
the investment, “It was a year-long journey [to convince the car
makers to share their data]. This is a real philosophy change. [It’s
going] from a proprietary ‘we do it in secret’ approach to much more
of what you’d see in other spaces and other industries that have
more open standards.”

Israel-based Oryx Vision raised $17 million in Series A funding in October 2016 to advance development
a long-range, hi-res optical radar for autonomous vehicles based on depth-sensing technology. The
company’s “coherent optical radar” system uses a terahertz infrared laser and advanced microscopic
antennas to scan the roadway further ahead and in more detail than LIDAR.85 The technology is said to
operate without the danger of being blinded by sunlight or fog. Oryx's depth-sensing solution seeks to be
the first offered at a mass market price point.86
85 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oryx-vision-raises-17-million-to-create-the-ultimate-depth-sensing-solution-for-autonomous-vehicles-300347338.html
86 http://www.just-auto.com/news/valeo-showcases-autonomous-cruise4u-at-paris_id172466.aspx

With so many stories about autonomous innovation in
2015 and 2016, it’s impressive that Pittsburgh-based
Seegrid was founded in 2003. The company focuses
on an important niche: developing sensors and
software to guide industrial vehicles around
manufacturing and distribution facilities. Now the
company believes it can scale the technology for
everyday driving.
Seegrid’s system is driven by stereo cameras the
mimic human eyesight and provides a depth of field
by combining image and ranging data from a single
sensor. Additionally, the company’s “Evidence Grid”
software captures and translates data uniquely, which
the company markets as a competitive differentiator.
The company has built a successful prototype based
on a Nissan Leaf and is packaging its sensor kit and
looking to partner with automakers in 2017.

French automotive supplier
Valeo introduced its Cruise4U
technology at the Paris Motor
Show in the Fall of 2016.87 The
system consists of a camera,
radar, and laser scanners along
with intelligent software to
govern a vehicle’s operation in
autonomous mode. Cruise4U
forms a ‘cocoon’ that detects
obstacles from 10cm to over
200m and responds in real-time
to adjust driving, steering,
accelerating, and braking
behavior accordingly.
The company successfully
made 20 passes along
Paris’ 35km-long Peripherique
in autonomous mode for 99%
of the time.88
87 http://www.tyrepress.com/2016/11/valeos-autonomous-
vehicle-clocks-up-a-world-first/
88 http://www.builtincolorado.com/2016/09/28/canvas-
technology-stealth-autonomous-transport-robotics

Boulder, Colo.-based CANVAS Technology is building a system for end-to-end autonomous delivery of
goods within warehouses, factories, and e-grocers. CANVAS is only revealing a portion of its plans for
autonomous technologies at this time as it works to position itself in the market and run additional pilots.
Since its founding, the company has grown to a team of 20, with employees joining the team with
previous experience with autonomous technology from Google, Toyota and Kiva Systems (now Amazon
Robotics).89
89 https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/12/fiveai/

Perrone Robotics, Inc. is a robotics
software company that has
developed a complete full-stack and
real-time capable robotics software
platform––dubbed “MAX” ––for
autonomous vehicles and general-
purpose robotics. It received funding
from Intel Capital in October 2016.
MAX allows manufacturers to
rapidly develop partially and fully
autonomous vehicle and robotics
applications, and enables
continuous improvements in
systems capabilities, including the
seamless addition of new sensors,
controls, maneuvers, and behaviors.
Metrics gathered from past projects
using MAX have demonstrated
100x and greater productivity
enhancements in developing fully
autonomous vehicles.

Even with the most advanced radars, lasers, sensors
and cameras, autonomous driving wouldn’t be
possible without a detailed mapping counterpart.
The modern roadway is a complex system of different
road types, lane markers, curbs and medians, traffic
lights and signs, and more. Lacking details about the
size and precise location of all of these roadway
components, autonomous cars would literally be
driving blind. Maps provide autonomous vehicles with
necessary information upfront so the onboard
computing systems can focus on detecting and
reacting to other vehicles, obstacles, pedestrians,
cyclists, and so on.

The Race to 2021: The State of Autonomous Vehicles and a "Who's Who" of Industry Drivers

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The Race to 2021: The State of Autonomous Vehicles and a "Who's Who" of Industry Drivers