BMW, Intel and Mobileye will put 40 autonomously driving cars on the road in the second half of 2017. The cars use Intel’s Go platform, of which two versions are appearing. One has an Intel Atom, the other a Xeon processor.
In addition to testing the 40 autonomous vehicles, BMW will equip 7 Series vehicles with Intel and Mobileye technology for testing in the US and Europe. Intel supplies its Go platform for the autonomous driving vehicles. The company combines either an Atom or a Xeon with an Arria fpga, to process the data from sensors around the car. Intel is also deploying its data center technology for the deep learning training and simulations that can help with autonomous driving. In time, Intel wants to be able to use its 5G modem for, among other things, vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
Mobileye contributes to the platform that BMW will use with its EyeQ processor. This processor processes the images from the 360-degree sensors and takes care of the localization. According to Intel, BMW and Mobileye, it is a scalable and open platform that other car manufacturers can also use. In July, Intel, BMW and Mobileye already announced that they would be working together. Then they announced their intention that the system should be mass-produced by 2021.