South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics (LG) offered a preview of its latest vehicle in-cabin sensing technologies developed in partnership with US AI semiconductor design firm Ambarella Inc, ahead of the full market launch at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025) in Las Vegas.

Ambarella’s CV25 AI system-on-chip (SoC) has been integrated into LG’s Driver Monitoring System (DMS), which the company claims helps improve vehicle safety. LG confirmed its DMS is already in production at a global vehicle manufacturer.

Ambarella’s CV25 AI SoC is described as offering industry-leading AI performance per watt, enabling LG’s DMS to perform real-time analysis of high-resolution video from in-vehicle cameras. In addition to accurate object recognition, the CV25 “supports smooth high-definition video processing and achieves high energy efficiency, making it ideal for integration with various in-vehicle sensors.”

The CV25 is manufactured using 10-nanometer process technology and facilitates “high-quality, detailed imaging in low-light and over a high dynamic range, ensuring stable monitoring regardless of environment, weather or time of day”.

LG further stated: “Leveraging LG’s VisionWare, a key part of the company’s AlphaWare portfolio of mobility software, this new DMS can accurately detect subtle eye and head movements of the driver. The system employs AI to determine whether a driver is distracted or drowsy based on these movements. Equipped with the CV25, the DMS can recognize these cues irrespective of the driver’s race, gender or age, and provides precise detection and analysis even if the driver is wearing sunglasses, a hat or other accessories.”

LG said its DMS solution is designed to fit seamlessly into a variety of software and hardware configurations, offering automotive OEMs considerable flexibility when developing new vehicle models. This flexibility extends to other Ambarella-based LG in-cabin solutions, including its Interior Monitoring System and its Driver and Interior Monitoring System.

LG confirmed it is committed to expanding its partnership with Ambarella, as part of its efforts to continuously increase the performance of a broad range of in-cabin solutions. The two companies have agreed to continue to work together to deliver solutions that enable OEMs to meet the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and General Safety Regulation (GSR) standards.

LG also pointed out that it is an active partner in Ambarella’s innovation ecosystem, “bringing its considerable experience and expertise to this network of industry leaders in AI-based perception, fusion and planning for automotive systems.”

Eun Seokhyun, president of LG Vehicle Solution Company, confirmed: “Our collaboration with Ambarella represents a major step forward in the use of AI-driven technology to advance vehicle safety. By combining LG’s in-cabin monitoring expertise with Ambarella’s cutting-edge AI chipset, we’re setting a new standard for in-cabin solutions and actively enhancing road safety.”

Ambarella’s president and CEO, Fermi Wang, said in a statement: “The combination of LG’s highly accurate and reliable in-cabin solutions with the industry-leading AI performance per watt of our CVflow SoCs is enabling automotive OEMs to achieve the highest vehicle safety levels. Our CV25 SoC combines high performance for processing LG’s AI perception stack, along with great efficiency for low power consumption and reduced thermal management, resulting in compact, flexible form factors for vehicle interiors.”