Delphi selected to build Audi's autopilot computer

Automated driving is ante portas - but how will the computers steer the vehicles through the evening rush hour and across the high-speed Autobahn? Audi has introduced the electronic brain of future self-driving cars.

The zFAS German for zentrales Fahrerassistenzsteuergert or central driver assistant controller will be gradually introduced in Audi's model range, starting within the next two years. The contract to manufacture the high-performance computing platform has been awarded to supplier Delphi who was also involved in the development. We can assume that Delphi's current project of sending a self-driving vehicle across the US from San Francisco to New York is inspired by the company's development work for the zFAS all the more so as the vehicle used for this cross-country trip is an Audi.

The zFAS is the vehicle's sensor data hub. Radar, lidar, ultrasound and camera data are processed to create a complete model of the vehicles surroundings in real time. The findings computed are then made available to all driver assistance systems distributed around the vehicle. Its paramount significance for processing the sensor signals makes it the central hub for all functions of piloted driving, Audi says.

Up until now, the driver assistance systems have mostly been managed by physically separated electronic control units. Audi claims to be the first carmaker to implement this function as a central domain architecture, combining all related functions, sensors, and electronics hardware and software architecture in one unit that follows a holistic concept. Safety aspects have been in the focus of the concept, Audi assures without elaborating.

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See a comparison table of selected car multimedia interface suppliers on GlobalSources.com