Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua told "Reuters" that he expects self-driving taxis to be on the roads by 2021.
Intel Corp's Jerusalem-based autonomous driving unit Mobileye has signed a deal to provide a European carmaker with its self-driving technologies for eight million cars, "Reuters" reports. The name of the car manufacturer and financial details were not disclosed.
Mobileye SVP advanced development and strategy Erez Dagan told "Reuters" that the contract for the advanced driver assisted systems will begin in 2021, when Intel's EyeQ5 chip, which is designed for fully autonomous driving, is launched as an upgrade to the EyeQ4 that will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Intel acquired the Israeli company last year for $15.3 billion.
Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua told "Reuters," "By the end of 2019, we expect over 100,000 Level 3 cars with Mobileye installed."
In Level 3, "Reuters" added, the car is self-driving but the driver has about 10 seconds to take over if the system is unable to continue.
Mobileye told "Reuters that it is also testing a more advanced Level 4 technology in Ford Fusion hybrids with 12 small cameras installed and four of the soon-to-be-released EyeQ4 chips in the trunk. In a test witnessed by "Reuters" reporters, these cars are able to drive on Jerusalem highways in midday traffic with no driver interference.
Mobileye says that while its Level 4 systems will start production in 2021, many of its technologies are relevant to creating systems that may soon be purchased by consumers. Shashua said that based on commitments from automakers, self-driving taxis - called robo-taxis - should start hitting roads around 2021.
"When designing our system we are looking at all what can be used today, in a year, in two years and then the robo-taxi," Shashua said.