Idriverplus: Building Smart Autonomous Vehicles with Velodyne Lidar TechnologyMay 21, 2019|In Blog|By Velodyne LiDAR
Interview with Dr.
Zhang Dezhao, CEO of Idriverplus
Founded
in 2015, Idriverplus is the first company in China to launch the
commercialization of driverless technology. Velodyne Lidar has strategically
teamed with Idriverplus to help their efforts for the mass production of
commercial autonomous vehicles, which include passenger cars, street cleaners,
and logistics vehicles.
Led by
CEO Dr. Zhang Dezhao, Idriverplus’ driverless vehicles have accumulated test
mileage exceeding 400,000 kilometers, far surpassing other domestic autonomous car
manufacturers.
To
learn more about Idriverplus and their exciting vision for driverless vehicles,
we asked Dr. Zhang to discuss the company’s innovative autonomous driving
products and how Velodyne technology factors into their product strategy.
Q: Idriverplus is an innovator in autonomous
vehicles. Please share with our readers some background on your company.
A:
Idriverplus is committed to becoming the world’s leading provider of
intelligent vehicle technology solutions. We have been focused on developing
the “brain” of a self-driving car. Our major R&D achievements have been in
unmanned distribution logistics vehicles, unmanned sanitation vehicles,
self-driving passenger cars, and more.
Q: Let’s look at each product
area for Idriverplus. How is your company addressing logistics and
distribution?
A: Our product called WOBIDA applies
self-driving technology to the logistics and distribution industry. We created
an automatic driving system combined with a cloud platform management system
for the intelligence required in the last kilometer of logistics distribution.
WOBIDA provides 360-degree whole-process monitoring and real-time information
interaction as well as an intelligent storage cabinet for transporting goods.
It delivers improved efficiency of logistics distribution and provides users
with a safer and better distribution experience.
Q: Please
discuss your unmanned street cleaning vehicles and where they are being used
now.
A: Our cleaning
vehicle is named Viggo. Idriverplus developed this unmanned system for a purely
electric solution to intelligently sweep roads. During the cleaning process, Viggo
can automatically track and avoid obstacles with stable and reliable
performance and monitor real-time vehicle information.
At present, Viggo has been used
in universities, factories, parks, an amusement park and city streets. It has
been deployed in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hebei, Zhejiang, Henan, Hunan and
other provinces and cities with more than 100 units in operation. Additionally,
Idriverplus has strategic cooperation partnerships in Singapore, Dubai,
Malaysia, and other areas in Asia.
Q: What
has been the response from communities that have seen the unmanned street
cleaning vehicles?
A: According
to residents, Viggo not only improves cleaning efficiency, but also elevates
the appearance of the whole community. We are finding that children are
generally curious about self-driving cars – especially Viggo.
Q: Tell
us about the commercial autonomous car solution you are developing?
A: We currently have two
main development paths we are pursuing. One is an SAE Level 4 vehicle that
provides autonomous driving in closed parks and some public roads. We are also
developing an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solution, mainly for AVP
(automatic parking) and HWP (highway follow-up).
Q: How
do you see Idriverplus AV products benefiting businesses and communities?
A: We
have a vision for the future that autonomous driving is not only a means of
transportation, but also a necessity of life. In logistics and distribution, we
are committed to improving the logistics of the last kilometer. In sanitation,
we are committed to helping cleaners improve their work efficiency. In the area
of passenger cars, we are committed to building the strongest self-driving
brain for safer roadways.
Q: Why
did Idriverplus decide to use Velodyne lidar technology and what value do
Velodyne sensors add to Idriverplus vehicles?
A: Velodyne
Lidar’s products have better performance and stability in practical use, and their
accuracy addresses demanding requirements. Lidar is indispensable for the
development of autonomous driving technology. Technically, lidar’s perception
capabilities are mainly used in laser mapping and positioning a car in its
surrounding environment. Lidar is unlikely to be replaced in the long term. A
more likely direction will be to combine lidar with other sensors, also known
as multi-sensor fusion. As autonomous products are put on public roads, the
platform will be strengthened by having some redundancy capability. In this
case, the sensor solution is fusion, not substitution.
Q: What
is next for Idriverplus in using Velodyne technology?
A: We will use Velodyne’s advanced Velarray solution in our development program to build a solid foundation for mass production of an autonomous vehicle.
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