Tier 1 supplier Marelli has signed cooperation agreement with China-based Wuhu SensorTech Intelligent Technology (WHST), a high-tech radar specialist company to focus on radar sensors for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving (AD) applications.

As part of the agreement, WHST will provide technology and engineering services related to radar integration, on an exclusive basis aimed at Chinese market. The cooperation will broaden up in scope also to other regions in the world. Specifically, the collaboration will focus on radars using 77GHz and 79GHz applications for 4D radar to be integrated by Marelli into headlamps, rear lamps, smart grilles but also standalone corner and long-range radar and newest cockpit radar technology.

The Tier 1 company says the radar sensors are key technologies for enabling ADAS functions and to develop AD systems. In particular, also according to IHS Markit data, radars market will gain growing relevance in the next 10 years, with increasing volumes in automotive market. Especially, this kind of radars will be a crucial factor to enable Level 2 and Level 3 of autonomous driving in vehicles.

In this field, WHST is a Chinese company with more than 350 employees, focused on providing radar solutions for the automotive industry but also for traffic, security and other industrial applications.

Sylvain Dubois, CEO, Marelli’s Automotive Lighting division said: “We are extremely glad to begin this close collaboration with WHST, as a supplier for strategic sensors like radars, on the key Chinese market and then also on a broader scale. This agreement lies in the path of the ongoing evolution of the automotive lighting sector: with the ‘eyes’ of the cars increasingly changing over the years, as Marelli Automotive Lighting we have already started our strategy to integrate into our solutions and offer the best technologies for sensor perception and integration, in order to enable ADAS and the various levels of AD.”

The company says within the ADAS/AD domain it has been a forerunner with the introduction of the Smart Corner, a solution integrating sensors for autonomous driving within vehicle headlamps and tail lamps, which was named a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree. Marelli operates also in the LiDAR field through strategic partnerships.

Dr Yi Qin, CEO, WHST said “Today Marelli Automotive Lighting and WHST are entering an agreement to develop the smart corner project hand in hand. It has been a great privilege to work with Marelli, who is a world leading independent automotive supplier. In contrast, WHST is a very young company who is eager to bring innovations to automotive industry. Through this partnership, we are agreed to lavish resources to joint develop this project that enable us to face the more and more challenging market. Over a period of one year, Marelli and WHST have been working as a team of one, developing an exciting Smart corner project integrating our radar with lighting from Marelli. I hope this is the first step of working towards deeper partnership.”