FHI, IBM Eye Improved Data Imaging for Self-Driving Cars

A new partnership between Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and IBM Corp.’s Japanese operations claims to have developed a more sophisticated imaging database of roadside objects to help develop and operate autonomous vehicles.

FHI says the system, which was launched this month, allows engineers to quickly search, identify and analyze images from a central library collected from production and test vehicles equipped with cameras that enable driver assist functions under its EyeSight platform. The carmaker hopes to use the technology to validate and improve the capabilities of next-generation self-driving car systems.

In the future, FHI plans to employ IBM’s Watson Internet of Things for Automotive architecture during the development process. The high-powered system combines artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing to better manage and prioritize large data libraries and enable real-time analytics.

FHI’s EyeSight suite of technologies enable automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot detection and smart headlights. The company is launching the latest generation of the technology with advanced stereo cameras this month on the 2017 Forester SUV.