NXP BlueBox Gives Autonomous Vehicles 360-Degree Awareness

NXP claims its BlueBox platform will accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles by combining many leading sensor technologies for the first time.

This aggregation improves the connectivity and intelligence of autonomous vehicles and vehicle-to-vehicle technology (V2X) by allowing the car to create a clear view of the world around it.

The company confirmed at its NXP FTF event in Austin that BlueBox will start to appear in new vehicles later this year and that four of the world’s “five largest” auto manufacturers are signed up for 2020 launches.

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Aware

NXP says that BlueBox represents a major step forward from existing V2X technology by fusing together multiple streams of data generated from sensors all around a vehicle, including RADAR, LIDAR and camera systems.

These are blended together by the platform to create a fully 360-degree model of the world around the vehicle, allowing itself to better place itself within its surroundings and hopefully then be more aware to threats.

NXP says that the technology is also able to support advanced embedded intelligence and machine learning capabilities required for vehicles to create complex situational assessments.

This means that the vehicles will be able to better detect objects, improve mapping, and make quicker decisions than ever before.

The system is also open-source, meaning that car manufacturers are able to tweak the software to introduce specialised functions that can boost certain efficiency or safety features on their vehicles.

“With this industry-first platform, NXP is leveraging its worldwide automotive silicon leadership to dramatically advance the state of autonomous vehicles,” said Kurt Sievers, general manager of NXP’s automotive business. “Our systems-level expertise… position(s) NXP as the definitive silicon provider capable of single-handedly speeding the readiness and availability of the self-driving cars of tomorrow.”

A recent KPMG report predicted that connected and autonomous cars will create 320,000 UK jobs and save thousands of lives over the next few years, alongside delivering “huge benefits to society and the economy”.

This includes delivering a £51 billion boost to the UK economy and a massive reduction in serious road traffic accidents, which could fall by more than 25,000 a year by 2030.

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