Bosch and Microsoft have partnered to develop generative AI solutions for automated driving functions to overcome some of the technology’s current limitations, such as the inability of systems to anticipate that a child – oblivious to traffic – might charge onto the road in pursuit of a runaway ball.
“Bosch is working on bringing a new dimension of AI applications into the vehicle,” said Dr Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Bosch Board of Management, at this year’s Bosch Connected World (BCW) AIoT industry conference in Berlin, Germany. The expectation is that generative AI will enable vehicles to assess situations and react accordingly, improving safety for road users.
The company said greater road safety is also the wish of 60 per cent of respondents to this year’s Bosch Tech Compass, a worldwide survey on automated technology and AI. Last year, the figure was 41 per cent.
Bosch said that driver assistance systems can detect people, animals, objects, and vehicles, but in the near future generative AI could help determine whether a situation could potentially lead to an accident.
Generative AI uses vast amounts of data to train systems for automated driving, enabling them to draw improved conclusions from this data. For example, it could determine whether an object on the road ahead is a plastic bag or a damaged vehicle part.
The information can be used to communicate directly with the driver – such as displaying a warning – or to initiate appropriate driving manoeuvres, such as braking while switching on the hazard warning lights.
“Generative AI is a boost to innovation. It can transform industry in much the same way as the invention of the computer,” said Dr Tanja Rueckert, member of the Bosch Board of Management and Chief Digital Officer.