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PIX Moving and TIER IV are proud to announce the release of PIXKIT 3.0, the latest iteration of their autonomous driving development kit, equipped with TIER IV’s Automotive high-definition range (HDR) Cameras, making a significant advancement in autonomous vehicle technology.
PIXKIT 3.0 Autonomous Driving Development Kit
Based in Japan, TIER IV is a pioneering company in open-source autonomous driving technology, dedicated to reimagining intelligent vehicle technologies. PIX Moving is committed to developing and manufacturing urban mobility vehicles to drive the next-generation smart mobility ecosystem. This collaborative efforts aim to provide a fundamental development platform for developers, engineers and startups looking to build smart vehicles, validate autonomous driving algorithms and conduct research and development (R&D) into autonomous vehicles, further driving the ecosystem of autonomous driving technology.
About PIXKIT 3.0
PIXKIT 3.0 is a one-stop, low-cost, high-performance development kit designed to support the latest in autonomous driving open-source software, including Autoware* Core and Autoware Universe, based on the (ROS) 2 (robot operating system). The kit has three essential elements: pure electric drive-by-wire chassis platform, sensor mounting brackets and a suite of sensors. It represents a full-stack development platform, offering open interfaces, a rich set of development tools and extensive operational tutorials. PIXKIT 3.0 aims to lower the entry barrier to autonomous driving development, enabling rapid development, testing, and deployment of autonomous vehicles.The development kit provides a solid foundation for innovators to unleash their creativity and accelerate the development of intelligent vehicles.
PIXKIT 3.0 Equipped With TIER IV Edge.Auto Camera
The integration of TIER IV’s Automotive HDR Cameras enhances the kit’s capabilities, providing HDR imaging and enabling precise perception and enhanced object detection in challenging lighting conditions. By combining PIX Moving’s expertise in autonomous driving development with TIER IV’s cutting-edge camera technology, PIXKIT 3.0 sets a new standard in the field.
PIXKIT 3.0 — Knight Driving Kit includes a cargo-type frame top produced using lightweight metal 3D printing technology, enhancing performance and safety. The Knight Driving Kit supports three modes: remote driving through controller, autonomous driving through algorithms and manual driving by humans. Both manual and autonomous driving integrated in the kit aims to achieve advanced human-machine co-driving and algorithm verification.
PIXKIT 3.0 Knight Kit Running On The Roads
Future Developments
The PIXKIT 3.0 is equipped with TIER IV’s automotive HDR cameras to enhance its general performance in terms of visual perception and sensor fusion. The upcoming PIXKIT series will continue to be iterated and upgraded while armed with TIER IV’s constantly improving cameras. The camera lineup includes the C1 and C2 models, both equipped with HDR imaging technology for capturing scenes with varying levels of brightness.
TIER IV HDR Camera On PIXKIT 3.0 Knight Driving Kit
The current PIXKIT 3.0 has integrated the C1 automotive camera configuration with a resolution of 2.5 MP and a dynamic range of 120 dB. It excels at capturing scenes with noticeable differences in brightness without compromising details in shadows or highlights. With its high sensitivity and low noise level, the C1 model ensures image quality even in low-light environments. It also includes light-emitting diode (LED) flicker mitigation to reduce flickering from light sources such as traffic signals and headlights. The camera is fully compatible with Autoware, and offers a gigabit multimedia serial link (GMSL) 2 interface for long-distance signal transmission and power supply.
TIER IV HDR Camera Series
The partnership between PIX Moving and TIER IV goes beyond PIXKIT 3.0, encompassing remote monitoring and other vision-based applications, providing essential perception capabilities for smart mobility. PIXKIT 3.0 marks the first milestone for the partnership and offers an autonomous driving development solution with the drive-by-wire hardware platform and a basic sensor package including light detection and ranging (LiDAR), camera, computing unit and navigation system etc. This solution enables the basic autonomous driving functions such as path planning, path following, vector map building, obstacle avoidance and traffic light recognition.
Flexibility and Customization
As an engineering platform built by engineers for engineers, PIXKIT 3.0 offers a high level of flexibility and customization:
· Pre-installed, pre-configured sensors for plug-and-play experience· One-stop autonomous driving kit for zero-to-one autonomous driving development · Highly integrated software and hardware· Open mapping and sensor calibration tool chains for lower development thresholds· Step by step instruction documents and open-source software Autoware · ROS/Autoware community ecosystem· Operational Design Domain (ODD) references for autonomous driving deployment in different scenarios· Modular design, optional sensors and adjustable mounting brackets· Sensor brackets of bionic structure generated by AI and manufactured through metal 3D printing
PIXKIT 3.0 Development Kit in Real-life Environment
PIXKIT 3.0 offers a comprehensive hardware platform equipped with advanced sensors and drive-by-wire capabilities to empower developers, engineers and educational institutions to rapidly prototype and deploy autonomous vehicles with ease. The kit’s open controller area network (CAN) interface enables seamless integration with upper control layers, allowing for further software development and algorithm testing.