tim baxter

Samsung President and CEO Tim Baxter speaks at CES in Las Vegas. Source: Samsung

Samsung reveals first autonomous driving, infotainment solutions

SAMSUNG Electronics Co Ltd has unveiled a new automotive camera system featuring collision warning, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control – its first technology for autonomous driving and infotainment solutions.

The company showcased the system at CES, an annual trade show held in Las Vegas, reported Reuters. The new solutions were developed by Samsung Electronics in conjunction with Harman International, a company it bought nearly a year ago.

Samsung plans to begin shipping its new camera system, which is built on machine learning and augmented reality, later this year.

The company, which bought Harman in March last year for US$8 billion – its biggest overseas acquisition ever – also showcased a “digital cockpit” that allows drivers to personalize cars and store their profile on mobile devices and the cloud so it can be used and displayed even in cars they don’t own.

digital cockpit

Samsung and Harman’s “digital cockpit”. Source: Samsung

Harman and Samsung have previously outlined their plan to deliver 5G technology for cars in September, announcing it had set up a strategic business unit for autonomous and advanced driver assistance services, along with a US$300 million fund to invest in automotive start-ups and technology.

Technology for the automotive industry is one of the fastest-growing segments in the tech sphere, as carmakers look to add more autonomous features, paving the way for fully autonomous, self-driving cars.

Competition in the space is hotting-up, specifically in China, which is the world’s largest automotive market, representing 30 percent of the global passenger vehicle market alone.

Samsung’s unveiling follows the announcement of a new autonomous vehicle joint development project by Chinese search giant Baidu, Japan’s Nvidia chipset manufacturers and German automotive concern ZF Friedrichshafen on Sunday.