ZF looks to accelerate AI competence, collaborates with Israeli tech firms

As part of its next-generation mobility solutions to achieve Vision Zero, zero accidents and zero emissions, ZF Group has announced its strategic collaboration with Israeli technology companies Cognata and OptimalPlus. These partnerships with technology enterprises are aimed at bolstering ZF’s competence in the area of plant operations management, and the enhanced efficiency of ADAS validation operations.

For ZF, which continually enhances its systems in the areas of digital connectivity and automation to allow vehicles to see, think and act, the collaborations with Israeli tech start-ups Cognata and OptimalPlus underpin its innovation management process which entails working collaboratively with the technology ecosystem, in addition to its own in-house R&D.

Commenting on the collaborations, Dr Dirk Walliser, ZF senior vice-president (Corporate R&D) said: “We believe Israel is one of the hotbeds for tech innovations. At ZF, we seek to work jointly with this ecosystem to develop technologically advanced solutions that will shape future mobility and create value-added affiliations and market catalysts.“

ZF’s collaboration with Cognata is in the area of ADAS raw data management and transformation. This collaboration will enhance our capabilities in ADAS data management for validation. ZF will be collaborating with OptimalPlus to improve plant performance and jointly bring specialised software products in the future.
ZF has been tapping into Israel’s tech ecosystem for many years. The biggest success story is the collaboration between ZF and Mobileye, An Intel Company. This has led to a world-leading combination for the supply of forward-facing intelligent cameras and underlying software in the Advanced Driver Assistance space.

The companies have worked together to develop both single lens cameras and the Tri-cam, the industry’s only three lens intelligent camera. These are recognised as industry standard for advanced computer vision and Mobileye is a leader in vision processing technology incorporating highly developed algorithms. ZF and Mobileye are also jointly developing advanced Level2+ automated driving systems for light vehicles.