From July 25th to 26th, ATC, a leading platform in the automotive technology conference field, grandly launched the "2023 ATC Smart Cockpit and Intelligent Interior Technology Week". Centering on numerous industrial hotspots such as intelligent seats, smart cockpits, human-computer interaction, vehicle displays, intelligent car doors, intelligent surfaces and electronic rearview mirrors, the event conducted in-depth discussions on cutting-edge technologies and application practices, attracting great attention from the industry.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Axera, a company specializing in the R&D of artificial intelligence visual perception chips and the development of basic computing power platforms, made an appearance at the "2nd Automotive Electronic Rearview Mirror Technology Summit". Huang Huiwei, Automotive Marketing Director of Axera, delivered a keynote speech entitled Application of Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP in CMS, sharing the market development trend of CMS and Axera's innovative solutions with the participating guests.

Huang Huiwei, Automotive Marketing Director of Axera

In recent years, with the electrification and intelligentization of automobiles, the Camera Monitor System (CMS) has been gradually regarded by the industry as a rearview mirror with real cognitive capabilities. It can solve the problems of traditional optical rearview mirrors such as "limited view, poor visibility, easy interference and high wind resistance", and has the advantages of expanding driving vision, reducing the probability of safety accidents and lowering vehicle wind resistance. Axera stated that China's self-owned brand passenger car enterprises are increasing investment in the intelligent competition, and CMS, as an important intelligent accessory, is also an emerging niche market that is expected to usher in a new outbreak point.

However, the CMS market is also facing numerous challenges such as system safety and reliability, user experience and supply chain cooperation, and is currently still in the stage of optional trial on high-end models. Axera believes that with the verification of system reliability, improvement of user experience, cost reduction and the adjustment of laws and policies driven by energy conservation, the installation rate of CMS will be gradually raised under the joint efforts of all parties in the industrial chain.

Facing the development opportunities and challenges of the CMS market, Axera has brought forward the CMS solution based on the M55H series chips. Its multiple advantages such as high reliability and safety, excellent performance, complete functions, intelligent expansion and ultimate image quality have been widely recognized by industry partners.

In terms of safety, Axera's M55H chip has obtained the AEC-Q100 Grade 2 automotive certification and supports the system to meet the functional safety level requirements of ASIL B, helping customers develop more stable and reliable products. At present, vehicle models equipped with M55H have already started mass production. Meanwhile, the M55H boasts excellent performance: it achieves a fast cold start function through systematic optimization, and can realize an end-to-end image latency of less than 60ms by optimizing the ISP pipeline and display module.

In addition, the M55H chip supports a comprehensive range of CMS functions, including smooth field of view adjustment and layer superposition, and is equipped with a hardware module for screen color calibration. In terms of intelligent expansion, the M55H has abundant computing power to support the expansion of various intelligent algorithms such as dirt detection, BSD and ODW. Notably, Axera Smart Compute NPU toolchain is mature and stable with the advantages of high efficiency and ease of use; generally, customers can get started with the chip in less than an hour after receiving it.

The ultimate image quality enabled by Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP is an important innovative experience brought by Axera's CMS solution to the industry. In fact, Axera has been engaged in the ISP field for many years. Its self-developed core technology of Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP not only conducts refined modeling of sensor characteristics and optimizes the image processing strategy to the extreme, but also fully leverages the data-driven characteristics of AI algorithms to achieve a higher-dimensional improvement of imaging effects.

In terms of hardware, the chip architecture of Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP leads the industry. Features such as the direct connection design of ISP and NPU, and the optimization of DDR bus design ensure fast cold start and display as well as low image latency while meeting the image quality requirements.

Based on the hardware foundation, the algorithm of Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP has evolved to the third generation with mature application experience, and the algorithm can be custom-developed for CMS scenarios.

Furthermore, Axera has a set of mature and user-friendly tuning tools, which facilitate customers to adjust their implementation projects and support the rapid mass production of different vehicle models for customers.

At present, Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP can realize a variety of functions including AI Starlight Full Color, AI HDR Imaging, AI Multi-spectral Fusion, AI Anti-shake, and AI Scene Enhancement such as defogging and purple fringing removal. It comprehensively improves image quality and delivers superior visual effects in various driving scenarios such as dark roads, tunnel exits and bumpy sections.

In accordance with China's new national standard for automotive rearview mirrors GB 15084-2022, vehicles equipped with CMS in China can be legally mass-produced and put on the road starting from July 1st, 2023, which means the era of replacing traditional glass exterior rearview mirrors with automotive electronic rearview mirrors (CMS) has officially kicked off in China. By giving full play to the capabilities of Axera Smart Vision AI-ISP, Axera will also rely on its CMS solution to help customers build more competitive products, create an ultimate driving and riding experience for users, and become a long-term value provider in the automotive industry.