Panel Discussion: Opportunities and Challenges of Connected Vehicle and Autonomous Driving

BEIJING, May 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 26, 2018, eMapgo Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd. hosted the EMG User Conference 2018 at the China World Summit Wing in Beijing. After EMG management presentations and guest speeches, six VIPs from map provider, auto maker, AI, IT companies and Xiamen University had a panel discussion on the "Opportunities and Challenges of Connected Vehicle and Autonomous Driving."

Panel Members

Jessica Zhang
(Hostess) Jazzyear CEO

Dr. Kevin Wang
EMG Chairman

T. Russell Shields
Ygomi Chairman (founder of NAVTEQ)

Weiguo Liu
Geely Deputy Director of Intelligent Vehicle Development Center

Prof. Cheng Wang
Xiamen University Deputy Dean of School of Information Science and Engineering

Xianglai Kong
Sogou Map CEO

Kevin Tsurutome
DeepMap Vice President of Business Development

What is the relationship between autonomous driving and connected vehicle?

Dr. Kevin Wang believes that data used for autonomous driving should be updated in real time and thus if vehicles are not connected, it is hard to realize autonomous driving.

Mr. Liu thinks that the ultimate purpose of autonomous driving is to get rid of human control. Autonomous driving and connected vehicle have no inclusion relations while connected vehicle is a foundation of highly automated driving.

Prof. Cheng Wang points out that autonomous driving and connected vehicle are two sides of one coin. Autonomous driving is what people pursue while connected vehicles should be a system to support autonomous driving. They are complementary.

Mr. Kong thinks if the autonomous vehicle is not connected, it has no value in the market.

Mr. Tsurutome addresses autonomous vehicles need to share information in real time and this requires networking.

Mr. Shields purposes that connected vehicles and autonomous driving are two different concepts. In some levels of autonomous driving, networking is not necessary and thus the connected vehicle is not a prerequisite for the R&D of autonomous driving. The both can develop simultaneously.

As new players are entering the market, who will become the grid master and have controlling power over the screens in vehicles? And how will the new business model of connected vehicle service evolve?

Dr. Kevin Wang points out that with a wide application of voice interfaces, it will be simpler and more convenient for drivers to utilize their time while they are driving, such as hotel booking, restaurant reservation, ticket purchasing, insurance renewing etc. Thus, when vehicles are connected in the future, in-vehicle personalized services can be provided to customers continuously during the life cycle of vehicles and the profits generated by this new business will be far beyond the profits of car sales.

He also proposes that as most of the major auto makers will not give up their rights of control over vehicle screens to Internet giants. Meanwhile, as a neutral map provider, EMG will be a premier partner with auto makers to provide connected vehicle services.

When asked whether Geely is willing to allow Internet giants to gain control of the monitors in their cars, Mr. Liu expressed his own opinions. He reveals that Geely focuses on increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty by making the users love using the systems and applications provided by Geely. He suggests that auto makers and Internet companies may find a reasonable way to share the profits instead of focus on who to control the screens.

Mr. Kong stresses that user experience is the most important thing. If the system of connected vehicle service is the only selling point, then auto makers will lose their voices in the market. He also reveals that Sogou Map has no conflict of interest with EMG so that they can be good partners to provide high quality map services to auto makers.

Which level of autonomous driving do you choose, level 3 or level 4?

Mr. Shields thinks level 3 autonomous vehicles are controlled by both men and machines. When an accident occurs, it is hard to determine the responsibility. He also reveals that Ygomi has made a significant investment in R&D on level 4 of autonomous driving.

Mr. Liu proposes that Geely will gradually transit from the low-level autonomous driving to highly automated driving. He stresses that the safety of vehicle is the priority but up to now there is no technology to ensure the safety of level 4 autonomous driving vehicles. He points out that to some extent, level 3 is technically more difficult than level 4.

Dr. Kevin Wang agrees with Mr. Liu that the development of autonomous driving is progressive. As a mapping company, EMG will optimize the service to meet the needs of various levels of autonomous driving.

Which technical path do you choose, pure vision or multi-sensor fusion?

Prof. Cheng Wang suggests combining the strengths of various technical approaches. To improve data's reliability, he advises using LiDAR to acquire base data, crowdsourcing to improve the capability of dynamic updates and utilizing pure vision to supplement the map. He stresses that full reliability is a prerequisite to process mass production of autonomous driving vehicles.

Mr. Tsurutome reveals that DeepMap will integrate data from LiDAR, Cameras and other sensors to make an HD map understandable for vehicles.

Mr. Shields is in favor of pure vision. He thinks the cost of LiDAR is too high, which will be an obstacle of mass production. Instead, the path of pure vision is more economical and easier to be commercialized.

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SOURCE eMapgo Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd.