In context
In early 2023, autonomous trucking was advancing toward commercialization, with companies like Kodiak Robotics focusing on safe and reliable self-driving systems. The partnership with Ambarella highlighted the growing importance of specialized AI processors for perception in autonomous vehicles.
What was reported
Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, announced a partnership with Ambarella, an edge AI semiconductor company, to integrate Ambarella's CV2AQ AI perception system-on-chip (SoC) into its self-driving trucks for all camera data processing. The collaboration was publicly kicked off at Ambarella's demo event during CES 2023 in Las Vegas, where Kodiak exhibited one of its self-driving trucks.
The CV2AQ SoC includes Ambarella's proprietary CVflow AI engine, providing industry-leading AI performance per watt and advanced imaging capabilities. Kodiak's CEO Don Burnette emphasized that Ambarella's track record in advanced processors and focus on ADAS and autonomous technologies aligned with Kodiak's roadmap, while its proven supply chain added confidence in availability.
Kodiak is also exploring integration of Ambarella's new CV3-AD AI domain controller SoC family as a complete embedded compute solution for its next generation of autonomous trucks. The CV3-AD family offers single-chip processing for multi-sensor perception, including high-resolution camera, radar, and lidar, as well as deep fusion for multiple sensor modalities and path planning.
Why it mattered
This partnership underscored the trend of autonomous vehicle developers leveraging specialized AI processors to enhance perception capabilities and move toward higher levels of autonomy, potentially accelerating the commercialization of self-driving trucks in the logistics industry.
"Our focus on building the world's safest and most reliable self-driving trucks requires us to seek out the best partners."
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2023-01-09 · “Kodiak Robotics equips autonomous trucks with Ambarella AI system-on-chip”