Samsung, the company that brings us sweet smartphones and great TVs has recently announced they’re getting into the self-driving car business in an effort to search for a growth driver. As a result the company has set up a division to work on self-driving car technologies and will focus on car components, rather than building an entire car. This announcement comes after Hyundai also announced that it was considering manufacturing its own chips and sensors for autonomous driving, so it’s safe to say a rivalry may grow between the two.
Samsung will focus on developing and making in-car entertainment, satellite navigation and normal autonomous driving technologies. However it could take several years before Samsung Electronics sees meaningful earnings contribution from car-related sales. Product cycles in the car industry often last several years and require more rigorous safety standards than consumer electronics.
Another Asian giant is taking a more straightforward approach to autonomous driving; Baidu, the Chinese search titan, is developing self-driving vehicles that will serve as public shuttles, Senior Vice President Wang Jing tells The Wall Street Journal. State news agency Xinhua says Baidu has created China’s first fully self-driving car, and that it achieved speeds of 100 kph in a test. Andrew Ng, a Stanford researcher behind Google’s deep learning project, is now working on Baidu’s autonomous driving initiative.
“We will cooperate with some governments to provide shared vehicles like a shuttle service; it could be a car or van, but for public use,”
– Senior Vice President of Baidu, Wang Jing says.
The cars are modified BMW 3 Series vehicles being tested on expressways to the north of Beijing; they use laser radars, sensors, and cameras in combination with Baidu’s mapping and deep-learning software. The company has no stated plan to bring these cars to private consumers, but expects the first public vehicles to be in use within three years.
Source: The Verge
