A Chinese car manufacturer will be the first customer to install the control box in a vehicle with autonomous driving features, thanks to a collaborative project between ZF, NVIDIA and Baidu. This open cooperation network – part of ZF’s Vision Zero ecosystem – is proving to be a success factor for the company, both in terms of its strategic long-term goal of an accident and emission-free world and in terms of winning new business.
“We are well on track when it comes to future-oriented technologies,” says Michael Hankel, member of the Board of Management at ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “We’re delighted to have our first volume production order. It means that we are at the forefront of democratizing autonomous driving in a mass mobility market. And, this is a testament to the pace and reliability of our innovation capability.”
Just one year after ZF and NVIDIA unveiled their joint project to develop an AI-capable control box, the supercomputer now meets all automotive standards. The ZF development vehicle being showcased at CES is proof that in combination with a comprehensive sensor set, the ProAI is helping to make modular, scalable autonomous driving features a reality.
Successful teamwork in the Vision Zero ecosystem“Our cooperation network is accelerating our development speed as well as providing outlets for our partners’ innovations,” said Hankel. “We’re very much a front-runner in a highly dynamic market, which is vital today if you want to be viewed as an innovator and win business.”
In recent months, ZF has consistently strengthened its position as a solutions provider. For example, the company has added further enhancements to its Car eWallet payment system which supports the widespread adoption of electromobility by allowing vehicle users to utilize the technology for the charging infrastructure. Car eWallet is also ideal for users of autonomous vehicles when paying for parking fees. The system, which is based on blockchain technology, integrates cloud-based services into the vehicle and is an attractive solution for providers in both financial services and mobility.