Five AI, the Bosch-owned autonomous vehicle technology provider, has secured funding through the UK government's CAM Pathfinder programme to develop simulation technology aimed at accelerating autonomous vehicle testing.
The project forms part of the UK government's £150m ($204 .6m) Connected and Automated Mobility Pathfinder programme.
Five AI’s technology works by combining Gaussian scene reconstruction with generative AI techniques to create digital representations of real-world driving environments.
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According to the company, Gaussian scene reconstruction converts real-world images into 3D environments that can be rendered in simulation, while diffusion-based AI models will be applied to vary lighting, weather and other scene conditions.
The technology is intended to support development of driver assistance systems at level 2++ and level 3 automation and will be integrated with other tools within Bosch Mobility to build a wider simulation platform.
The platform is intended to support training and validation of level 4 autonomous vehicle systems, the company added.
Bosch Mobility UK head Dave Buffey said: “This testing software will be an important cutting-edge innovation that will be developed by Five AI’s team.
“Our strategy is to work closely with Five to solve the complex challenges that our car manufacturer partners are tackling as they incorporate the latest autonomous driving tech into their vehicles.”
Five AI has developed simulation software for automotive manufacturers since 2015 and was acquired by Germany’s Bosch in 2022.
Last month, Bosch and Volkswagen’s software unit Cariad concluded their joint autonomous driving partnership following completion of an AI-based Level 2 driver-assistance software stack.
The two companies formed the Automated Driving Alliance in 2022 to create driver-assistance and autonomous-driving software for Volkswagen brands.
Their work focused on level 2 systems, which require drivers to remain attentive and watch the road, while the most advanced versions can permit hands-free driving in some traffic conditions.
