Japanese carmaker Honda in its efforts to develop self-driving or autonomous vehicle technology, has announced that it has signed a five year joint research and development contract with China-based information technology company the SenseTime Group.

Honda states that’s its R&D division will work along side the Hong Kong-based SenseTime that has strengths in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, combining movement object recognition technology with its AI algorithms for scene understanding, risk prediction and action planning.

The two companies will develop highly-sophisticated automated driving technology which will enable complex automated driving in urban areas. The joint research will also further expand its activities in the area of robotics.

According to the announcement made by Honda, its research partner SenseTime is highly regarded on a global basis for its image recognition technologies, especially recognition of moving objects, powered by deep learning technology, and is one of the most advanced AI technology company.

The joint research will focus on developing –

AI algorithms to be applied for automated driving systems.

Scene understanding: Estimating the driving environment and the behaviors and intentions of pedestrians and vehicles.

Risk prediction: Predicting the future position of pedestrians and vehicles based on the results of estimating the driving environment and the intentions of pedestrians and vehicles.

Action planning: Deciding on the actions taken by the vehicle such as stopping, starting and avoiding, and then generating driving trajectory based on the results of risk prediction.

Large-scale computing technologies necessary to learn AI algorithms.

Technologies to package AI programs with on-board controllers.

Honda's R&D division will utilise SenseTime's expertise in area of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies of combining movement object recognition technology with its own AI algorithms for scene understanding, risk prediction and action planning.