Hesai Technology, Outsight, and Embotech AG have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing autonomous vehicle technology used in BMW’s production facilities.
The partnership brings together three industry leaders to provide lidar technology and perception software for BMW’s automated Vehicle Marshalling (AVM) technology, known internally as Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW).
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Embotech serves as the system provider for BMW’s newly implemented automated driving in-plant operations, which were recently rolled out globally.
For this AVM solution, Outsight will contribute its lidar software platform to track the movement of vehicles and surrounding obstacles within BMW’s production facilities.
And Hesai will supply its highly accurate and reliable lidar sensors, which act as the “eyes” of the AVM system, ensuring the precision and safety of the technology.
The AVM system has already been deployed at BMW’s Dingolfing plant, initially implemented for the BMW 5 Series and 7 Series. The technology is also in use at the Leipzig plant for the MINI Countryman and other BMW models.
The AVM technology allows new vehicles to be driven autonomously over a route exceeding one kilometre, from the assembly halls through a “short test course” to the finishing area. Once the vehicles leave the production line, the system controls their movement through the quality assurance test drive, reducing the need to transport human workers back to the production line.
The collaboration has been ongoing for several years, with the companies jointly advancing lidar and perception technology for autonomous driving.
The integrated technology is now supporting vehicle marshalling operations in BMW facilities, marking the first phase of a global rollout to multiple plants across Europe and North America.
Dr. Alexander Domahidi, CTO and Founder of Embotech, said: “The combination of Outsight’s sophisticated lidar software platform and Hesai’s reliable lidar sensors perfectly complements Embotech’s autonomous driving expertise.”
Adding, Dr. David Li, CEO and Co-founder of Hesai Technology, said: “This state-of-the-art technology demonstrates the high level of precision and safety offered by our lidar and Outsight’s perception software for Embotech’s autonomous driving solutions. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and bringing this technology to more factories around the world.”
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