03-20-2017, 12:13 AM
But Xiao isn't worried about getting run over by the giants, saying that his small team of academics possesses the kind of expertise in computer vision that big corporations just can't match. Exhibit A: after only six months on the job, Xiao says he's already developed a prototype vehicle that can do the same things as the cars made by his deep-pocketed rivals, at a fraction of the cost. AutoX gave a first peek at its creation on Friday, with a debut video showing its prototype system in action. The car itself isn't anything special in terms of style (it's basically just a regular 2017 Lincoln MKZ that's been rigged with AutoX technology), but it deftly navigates residential streets near San Jose, seeming to handle driving situations such as cloudy days and night-time, historically a challenge for self-driving cars, with ease.
AutoX CEO Jianxiong Xiao interview - Business Insider
As noted in the video, AutoX's system doesn't rely on the LIDAR laser arrays or other expensive sensors that most self-driving cars, including Waymo's and Uber's, require to function. Instead, AutoX uses advanced artificial intelligence to "see" through cameras mounted on the car and steer the car accordingly. Better yet, Xiao tells Business Insider that the cameras that power this AutoX prototype were purchased at Best Buy for $50 a pop. "It could not be cheaper than that," he says. From Xiao's standpoint, that's a crucial point: While future iterations of AutoX technology will support ultrasonic sensors and LIDAR and all that stuff for the sake of enhancing driver safety, the startup is currently focused on building the cheapest and most accessible system for self-driving cars that it possibly can.