JingChi CFO Presents the Recent Progress in Autonomous Driving at ZGC 2017

author: Eric Walz   

SANTA CLARA, Calif., — Qin Lu CFO, of JingChi, was one of the distinguished speakers at the 2017 ZGC-Silicon Valley Global Innovation & Future Technology Summit held today in Santa Clara, California. He shared some important updates on the company's progress in autonomous driving.

Before joining JingChi, Lu was the former CFO of Velodyne LiDAR, global leader in LiDAR development and manufacturing, used by nearly all autonomous driving companies.

JingChi is working on self-driving technology from its Silicon Valley R&D facility, which the company opened in April of this year. The company also has an office in Beijing. Lu said the company has made great strides in a relatively short period of time.

JingChi was granted a DMV permit by the state of California to test autonomous vehicles on public roads this past summer, just several months after forming. JingChi plans to put 50 self-driving cars on the streets of Anging City, China, by the end of this year, and to launch an Uber-like ride-hailing service there in 2018.

Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Automotive Industry

According to Lu, most autonomous vehicle firms are developing technology that is suitable for what he calls a level 4 roadster. However, JingChi plans on introducing a level 5 self-driving car, skipping over levels 4 and below.

There are five levels of automation in self-driving cars. Level 1 is the most minimal, with a typical feature being cruise control that has been around for years. Level 5 is the most advanced, with the vehicle being fully autonomous, requiring no human intervention. Level 4 is a notch below — a highly automated level where the car can operate in certain situations without driver intervention or attention, such as in specially fenced off areas or in traffic.

To power level 4 and 5 autonomous driving, JingChi is relying on AI. In September, NVIDIA GPU Ventures joined a group of investors led by Chinese venture capitalist firm, Qiming Venture, in investing $52 million in JingChi. JingChi is leveraging the artificial intelligence of NVIDIA's DRIVE PX (AI) hardware to power its autonomous driving systems.

Three Megatrends in the Automotive Industry

During his presentation, Lu identified three megatrends in the automotive industry which happened in the past decade, including electric propulsion, LiDAR, and high-definition mapping.

In 2008, the first EVs came into the automotive market after 100 years of internal combustion engines. Engine and transmission technology is difficult to engineer and produce. Now that automakers and tech companies do not have to make these complex mechanical components, electric propulsion technology can improve and rapidly evolve. As a result, other manufacturers are making EVs.

Mechanical systems have been replaced by electrical systems, software and LiDAR. LiDAR allows autonomous vehicles to safely navigate the environment, while avoiding pedestrians and other vehicles. Instead of attempting to improve internal combustion engines, resources can now be used to improve software.

Third, is high-definition mapping. The need for highly detailed maps for autonomous driving has increased. As a result, many new companies are working to improve maps. With these three key technologies, self-driving car development can advance at a faster pace than at any other time in history. Waymo, with is vast resources, has utilized all three, and in less than ten years, has been able to remove the safety driver from its self-driving cars.

Globally, the U.S. and China are ahead in the self-driving race. Germany and Japan, despite being famous for their automotive engineering, are behind. "The key difference is AI,". "China and the U.S. are leading in AI." said Tony Han, co-founder of JingChi and former Chief Scientist of Baidu's Autonomous Driving Unit earlier this year.

JingChi is targeting the first quarter of next year to test-drive autonomous pilot vehicles in Chinese cities.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.