I was thinking a bit more about the Brainchip Automotive demo video.
This is what we know about Ford BlueCruise:
-Ford is using an IR (infrared) in-cabin Driver Monitoring System (DMS) in their BlueCruise autonomous driving system for new Fords.
-This DMS uses radar and optical sensors.
-As of April 2021 (see article below), they were expecting the DMS to be rolled out in the 3rd Quarter 2021. It is now 4th quarter and I haven't seen any mention of it being released. However, there has also been a global chip shortage.
This is what we know about the Brainchip demonstration video:
-It used radar, optical sensors (cameras), and a microphone
-It performed person detection, face recognition and voice detection
-Only once the radar identified someone was here did the face recognition application start. This is overkill for a basic demonstration and this particular feature wasn't mentioned by Rob Telson. It would have been a good feature to mention as it would demonstrate lower power consumption.
-It was a great demonstration of what Akida was capable of with low latency and ultra-low power consumption.
Other things we know about the Ford + Brainchip partnership:
-Ford is also Akida to personalise the driver experience.
-Doing things like adjusting car seat, mirrors and radio have been mentioned by Brainchip as tasks Akida could be used for, though I don't think Ford was exclusively mentioned here.
-Ford didn't initially want it's name to be publicly mentioned. During the first ASX release Brainchip only said they signed an EAP with a Tier 1 automotive manufacturer from Detroit. Only after the ASX demanded to know did they release another announcement saying it was Ford. This says Ford didn't want anyone else to know what they were up to.
Things we know about Brainchip customers in general:
-None of the Brainchip customers have wanted their competitors to know what they are up to and Brainchip has had to abide by very secretive NDA's.
-They think Akida is a key differentiator.
-Many of the customers knew they wanted to use Akida but didn't know what to use it for (I think this was from Ken's presentation). It took them a while to come up with ideas and then develop these into usable applications.
I think the Ford BlueCruise DMS system is an Akida embedded system. It has been delayed because of both the Akida chip upgrade and the global chip shortage, but it will probably be out early next year. However, it is multi-purpose:
-It does person detection with radar. Once someone is detected, it turns on the face identification to identify who is here. If it's someone they know, it might say something like "Welcome John Smith". If the person isn't recognised with high enough accuracy it might ask the person to identify who they are. They can then use this to save the new face (or different image of the same person if for example they suddenly have a beard) directly to the car. It might not require the driver to speak every time they get in the car which as someone on here mentioned could get tedious.
-Once the person is recognised it will personalise their experience and change the seat position, mirrors, radio etc.
-It might even use the IR to determine there is in fact a person in the car, and not just a mask or something intended to fool or hack the system.
-It has DMS capabilities. It uses IR eye-tracking for driver drowsiness detection and to make sure they're focussed. It might even use radar to compliment this (there are many journal articles showing radar could be useful for this task). If the driver isn't alert, the system may pull the car to the side of the road and suggest they take a nap or change drivers etc.
-The system won't be released until Akida chips or IP are ready to be integrated into the cars.
In addition to this, we knew Brainchip were going to present at the Automotive Edge Summit. They would have wanted to showcase some simple ways Akida could be used for Automotive applications. They wanted to demo some features (basic ones are fine) to interest new customers while also generating ideas on how Akida could be used. This would in turn hopefully help new potential customers come up with applications before approaching Brainchip and thereby speed up the design process, and hence the speed at which more chips or IP were ordered. Factoring in how secretive Brainchip's NDA's are, they wouldn't have been allowed to show any advanced features. However, what they did show were some basic personalisation use cases in a neat, nice looking car.
I think the Brainchip video was intended to emulate a basic Ford setup, but without giving away too much. All it was doing was recognising the driver.
-It wasn't doing anything to personalise the experience like adjusting mirrors and car seats. Ford doesn't want to give that away.
-It also wasn't showing any infra-red eye tracking system. Ford also doesn't want competitors to see how this is done.
-It wasn't using radar for drowsiness detection. I'm not sure if Ford is doing this but again they don't want to give it away.
The video was kept basic to inspire new customers and get the ball-rolling, while showcasing Akida's versatility with a large range of sensors, plus ultra-low power consumption and latency. It used a car with a nice, clean interior. The BMW was more likely to just been nearby and available and may have even been a Brainchip employee car.
Pure speculation, DYOR.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/04/ford-will-roll-out-bluecruise-hands-free-driving-software-in-q3-2021/JONATHAN M. GITLIN-4/14/2021, 7:23 PM
On Wednesday morning, the Ford Motor Company revealed some fresh information about its forthcoming hands-free highway driving assist. Originally known as Active Drive Assist, this new system has been renamed BlueCruise, and it will roll out in Q3 2021 via an over-the-air update to F-150 trucks and Mustang Mach-E crossovers that shipped with pre-installed hardware.LikeGeneral Motors' highly rated Super Cruise system, BlueCruise only enables hands-free driving on predetermined roads—in this case 110,000 miles (177,027 km) of pre-mapped divided-lane highways.And, like Super Cruise, it uses an eye-tracking infrared camera to make sure that the driver's eyes are on the road ahead while engaged. To prevent mode confusion, Ford says that themain instrument display will change unambiguously so drivers know whether BlueCruise is active.
When the OTA update rolls out, it will be available to F-150s fitted with the $995 Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 pack (standard on Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trims) and Mustang Mach-Es fitted with the $2,600 Comfort and Technology Package (standard on the CA Route 1, Premium, and First Edition trims).
However, the hardware—which includes the infrared driver-monitoring system, as well as some radar and optical sensors—has to be fitted by the factory. It cannot be retrofitted at a later date. Ford says this should number about 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2021. (From next year, the software will be installed by the factory.)
https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/what-is-ford-bluecruise-and-how-does-it-work
To use BlueCruise, the driver activates the technology. If conditions are right, the system will take complete control of the vehicle, allowing the driver to let go of the steering wheel. BlueCruise uses adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane-centering assistance, and speed sign recognition systems to handle all acceleration, braking, and steering tasks within the intended lane of travel.
However, because BlueCruise is aLevel 2 semi-autonomous technology, the driver must remain alert and ready to take full control of the vehicle at any time.
A driver monitoring system continually observes the driver’s eyes and head position to ensure this readiness. If the driver becomes sleepy, or distracted, or attempts to do something else aside from drive, the system will issue a warning and cease operation shortly after that.
(20min delay)