What’s at stake?
Elon Musk once famously called lidars a “fool’s errand,” a claim that has yet to be entirely disproven. Despite their high-precision performance advantages, lidars remain too costly to become an indispensable sensing modality in ADAS. Against the odds, a startup called PreAct sees a volume opportunity for “dirt-cheap” near-field lidars, not the long- or medium-range lidars most other players are pursuing.
By Rebecca Day
What’s at stake?
The nascent “hearables” sector will require small, low-power devices along with expanded edge computing capacity. Bosch is betting emerging MEMS technology will help fit the bill.
Our guest on this episode is Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a Beijing-based “innovation and management” consulting firm.
Read More »Podcast: China’s EV/AV Sectors on a Roll
What’s at stake?
The momentum behind RISC-V is well-known. But the market penetration of the RISC-V cores is harder to pin down. Reportedly, there’s a RISC-V core in every earbud. But will the core ever grow up to be a full-fledged smartphone processor, on par with an Arm-based apps processor?
So, how many RISC-V cores did the semiconductor industry ship in 2021?
That’s a basic question to ask about RISC-V’s commercial success.
Read More »RISC-V Beyond Embedded: How Many Cores Will It Take?
By George Leopold
General Motors and IBM-owned Red Hat announced this week they are collaborating on an in-vehicle operating system that would provide safety certification for GM’s Ultifi software platform while facilitating over-the-air software updates for connected vehicles.
Read More »GM, Red Hat Join Forces on Auto OS
By Junko Yoshida
What’s at stake?
China achieved dominance in EVs by sewing up the battery supply chain. Will Chinese carmakers also command the global AV market, or will they be beholden to SoC platforms developed by Western semiconductor suppliers?
By Fred Ohwahwa
What’s at stake?
In a quiet corner in Ibadan South-West, Nigeria, a technological revolution is brewing as researchers explore new ways to use AI and robotics to improve the nation’s agricultural, logistics and health sectors.
By Fred Ohwahwa
Situated in the quiet, leafy terrain of Iyaganku in the government reserve area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, is RAIN, short for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria. There, largely unnoticed, a quiet revolution is unfolding thanks to the enterprise of a native son seeking to bring technology, jobs and hope to his homeland.
Read More »Nigeria Targets Robotics to Boost Hardware Skills
By Bolaji Ojo
[Editor’s note: This is the latest in our series examining China’s ascendant electric vehicle sector. We examine key players, their strategies and how China has come to dominate EV manufacturing, challenging Tesla and leaving established carmakers in the dust.]
What’s at stake?
Nio Inc. aspires to be the “Tesla of China.” While the American carmaker expects customers to sort out electric-vehicle charging, Nio is more hands-on by offering swappable batteries and batteries as a service. Nio and China hope to corner the EV/AV market via a combination of software and services rather than a mere product—no matter how groundbreaking. Will this expansive strategy succeed?
Nio Inc. makes electric vehicles. Just like Ford, GM and their European and Japanese counterparts. But that may be the Chinese manufacturer’s only similarity with Western competitors. Beyond making premium EVs, Nio is also emblematic of an innovative and increasingly high-quality Chinese automotive industry that carries enormous implications for the global automotive market.
Read More »Nio: The Anti-Detroit Hits the Accelerator
By Egil Juliussen, PhD
[Editor’s note: This is the third in a series examining China’s ascendant electric vehicle sector. We examine key players, their strategies and how China has come to dominate EV manufacturing, challenging Tesla and leaving established carmakers in the dust.]
What’s at stake?
China is a leader in developing autonomous-vehicle (AV) technologies, with robotaxis as the top AV use case. China is also strong in autonomous trucks, delivery vehicles, buses and vans. Seven leading Chinese companies that provide robotaxi software platforms are poised to begin driverless tests.
[Editor’s note: This is the second in a series examining China’s ascendant electric vehicle sector. We examine key players, their strategies and how China has come to dominate EV manufacturing, challenging Tesla and leaving established carmakers in the dust.]
What’s at stake?
China played the long game to develop its domestic EV market and build a national automotive industry in the process. China has already locked up the supply chain for current-generation EV batteries and is changing EV usage patterns and consumer applications on its home turf. How will China’s EV accomplishments affect the still-developing EV market beyond its borders?
