Good to see MB also running a joint project with the University below, this one on neuromorphic vision / cameras.
Not dug deep too try find any connection yet but you trust we in the mix in the background with the other players they mentioned in the recent presso.
Is in German so translated version pasted below.
Durch die Zusammenarbeit im Projekt EVSC (Event Vision Stream Compression) unterstützt die Hochschule Karlsruhe (HKA) Mercedes-Benz bei der Weiterentwicklung autonomer Fahrtechnologien. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Optimierung komplexer Kameratechnologien im Bereich des Neuromorphic Computing.
www.industr.com
Further develop autonomous driving with Neuromorphic Computing
Neuromorphic computing mimics the human brain, making AI calculations of intelligent systems more energy efficient and faster. For example, safety systems could detect traffic signs, lanes and objects much better and react more quickly even in poor visibility – without affecting the vehicle's range.
11.12.2024
Through collaboration in the EVSC (Event Vision Stream Compression) project, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) supports Mercedes-Benz in the further development of autonomous driving technologies. The focus is on optimizing complex camera technologies in the area of neuromorphic computing.
In addition to the rest of the sensors, intelligent camera systems are considered a core technology in autonomous driving. Current cameras create an image at fixed intervals. They continuously provide the autonomous driving system with snapshots of the environment. However, there is a disadvantage in how it works: the driving system does not receive any information from the camera system during the time that passes between taking two images. A typical frame rate of current cameras is 30 frames per second. So at a driving speed of 100 km/h we are already moving a meter before the autonomous system receives new visual information. In addition, today's camera data processing systems require a lot of energy because 30 frames per second have to be completely processed.
New approach with Neuromorphic Computing
Mercedes-Benz has now launched a comprehensive international research project. The automobile giant would like to advance the technical possibilities for intelligent mobility, including through Computing. This approach mimics the human brain, making AI calculations of intelligent systems more energy efficient and faster. For example, safety systems could detect traffic signs, lanes and objects much better and react more quickly even in poor visibility – without affecting the vehicle's range.
Neuromorphic computing has the potential to reduce the energy required for data processing in autonomous driving by 90 percent compared to today's systems.
An essential component of neuromorphic computing are neuromorphic cameras.
The so-called event cameras are the focus of the HKA's EVSC project. This camera technology represents a paradigm shift: Unlike conventional cameras, event cameras dynamically perceive changes in your field of vision instead of taking an image at fixed intervals. This is accompanied by a dramatic improvement in temporal resolution Event cameras can provide the autonomous driving system with new information within a few microseconds, while conventional image sensors are „blind“ in the meantime.
Applied to the example from above, an event camera reduces the response distance to around 3 cm at a speed of 100 km/h. A significant improvement of factor 30 to current systems. „The greatest difficulty in implementing this revolutionary technology“, says Prof. Dr. Jan Bauer, Professor of Image Processing & Neural Networks at the Faculty of Electrical and Information Technology at HKA, „is the integration into the overall system, which is often associated with complex cabling and high power consumption of the cameras. In our project, we are also looking at how we can improve the ability of event cameras to be integrated into the car. Our main goal is to use compression to limit the peak bit rate in data transmission, reducing the cost and net power consumption of transmitting the event camera data.“
With the project cooperation, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences is consistently taking a further step in helping to shape the future of autonomous driving, because Prof. Dr. Bauer is sure that the use of event cameras will significantly expand the ability of autonomous vehicles to capture the environment more quickly and accurately. „And with the EVSC project we can significantly improve the ability of this new camera technology to be integrated into the vehicle“, said the HKA researcher.