AI in Automotive: a New Edge of the Automotive Industry

Driverless cars zooming around the streets may seem a bit like sci-fi, but now we are living in a world where, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), we can see dreams come into reality—a whole new experience for drivers and a new edge for the automotive industry.

Since Elon Musk predicted in 2017 that we will reach autonomous driving within ten years, we are very close to making this a reality in just four years. Take, for instance, the fact that Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Volvo, Bosch, Toyota, Volkswagen, and more large industry players are adopting AI technology to gain a competitive advantage and change the way people think about driving.

According to Deloitte, the global automotive AI market will culminate in a total volume of around $27 billion in 2025. This shows great potential for AI adoption in the field and allows predictions for the future of the automotive industry.

AI uses data and machine learning (ML) algorithms to replicate and even surpass human decision-making abilities. AI-based solutions add value to products, speed up operations, increase efficiency, and reveal data that provide life-changing benefits.

Benefits of AI in Automotive Industry

For the last couple of years, experts in the automotive industry have discussed four major disruptive trends — autonomous driving, car connectivity with data sensors, electrification, and shared mobility, a collective concept called ACES. These trends are expected to fuel growth within the automotive market, and AI is a key technology here. 

AI for the automotive industry can improve user experience, enable faster innovation cycles, and enhance the entire workflow in manufacturing and maintenance. AI-powered solutions can collect and process enormous amounts of vehicle data, provide actionable insights, and increase privacy and data security.

AI powers autonomous driving, allowing the real-time recognition of objects around the vehicle, enhancing maintenance and fleet management. Moreover, AI automotive solutions enable better navigation systems, enhance understanding of voice commands and optimize routine processes leading to optimized business processes. For more information, click here to read our article on how to implement AI into your business.

AI Use Cases in Automotive

As top-tier automotive providers are striving hard to incorporate AI in cars, let’s dive deep into what technology can bring into manufacturing, how it can dramatically enhance the driver’s experience, and how it can reinforce the industry for years to come.

AI in Automotive Manufacturing

Increased market competition in the automotive industry spurs auto manufacturers to invest in better equipment and adopt intelligent AI solutions to enhance the efficiency and quality of their products’ lifecycles. AI in automotive empowers manufacturers with intelligent systems that allow streamlining workflows, identifying defects in-car components, and improving quality control.

In cars and software applications, AI can help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) decrease manufacturing costs and predict car malfunctions while producing safer and more innovative products. Audi, for instance, is testing AI to identify tiny cracks in sheet metal with the help of computer vision — automatically, reliably, and in a matter of seconds.

Here are some use cases in AI automotive that are commonly used now:

• Сomputer vision for malfunction detection
• Enhanced quality control and decreased waste management process
• Predictive maintenance to improve the efficiency of production equipment
• Assistance with the creation of the products at the design stage and discovering algorithms to optimize the use of power units and build more efficient models 

Moreover, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology allow AI-powered robots to participate in automotive construction by collecting and moving equipment. Thus, such technology can positively impact productivity and efficiency up to 20% by working alongside workers. 

Driver’s Experience

Nowadays, AI in cars covers the entire driving experience and helps providers produce more efficient cars. Leaders in automotive manufacturing are eager to create AI-powered systems to facilitate self-driving cars and stay on the competitive edge. These systems combine a broad spectrum of AI-powered technologies, such as computer vision, natural language processing and robotic process automation to develop vehicles that ensure safe driving and can operate without human intervention in the near future. Moreover, with the evolving trend of car connectivity, vehicles can exchange data with a central hub and other vehicles to enable a better understanding of traffic patterns and driver behavior, and to prevent accidents.

Let’s dive into how auto manufacturers are harnessing AI power to deliver a safer, more efficient driving experience while streamlining processes:

Driver Assessment

By analyzing the driver’s history of driving, AI can predict the potential issues following his absent-mindedness and even sense the driver’s current mood based on driving behaviors. Likewise, by utilizing monitoring systems and intelligent cameras, AI can monitor the driver’s vitals to warn him and take control of the vehicle in case of an emergency. 

Driver Assistance 

Incorporating AI driver-assist features is only a few steps before fully automated cars. For instance, artificial intelligence algorithms use sensors to monitor blind spots, assist with steering and pedestrian detection, alert the driver accordingly, and automatically react in case of dangerous situations.

Driver Monitoring

AI software in automotive can tell if the driver is in his vehicle and automatically adjust the seat, mirrors, and even temperature when one of the regular users gets into the driver’s seat.

Head position and eye openness allow the software to detect drowsiness and wake up the driver, while gesture recognition has become a helpful way to manage infotainment while driving. AI software can even analyze the upper body position during an accident and adjust airbags accordingly.

Predictive Maintenance

AI automotive shifts the maintenance process from preventive to predictive—rather than depending on the event or time approaching for maintenance, AI can provide actionable insights for car maintenance in real-time. By analyzing the historical and contextual data, sensors and AI algorithms can offer a real-time alerting system that enables condition-based maintenance requirements for cars.

According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, one of the unique benefits that AI brings to auto providers is the ability to inspect automotive parts and products and get better at identifying deficiencies over time. This leads to more increased vehicle availability, less depreciation, and better efficiency.

The AI system constantly learns to improve its analysis based on feedback,” McKinsey notes. “Using these methods, AI-powered hardware can visually inspect and provide superior QC on various products, such as machined parts, painted car bodies, textured metal surfaces and more.

Tip

NIX Case: vSentry—AI-powered Web Application for Vehicle Monitoring and Preventing Cyber Attacks

SafeRide is a provider of a comprehensive AI solution called vSentry that offers in-vehicle cybersecurity for real-time, multi-layer monitoring of vehicle applications and networks.

NIX’s mission was to develop a web application that will secure the processes of connected apps and harness in-vehicle data, as well as uncover potential anomalies, threats, and insights systematically and to scale.

The developed AI-driven software establishes a baseline for vehicle behavior by training the machine learning model with a clean dataset. Once the baseline is established, the AI engine monitors data coming from vehicles on the road and identifies functional anomalies as potential cyberattacks or malfunctions. In combination with AI, machine learning and deep learning frameworks in vSentry allow for monitoring vehicle applications and networks, as well as discovering the onset of unknown threats and anomalies.

Afterthoughts

The evolution of efficient algorithms, high-performance computing hardware, and data-powered sensors allow businesses to adopt AI in automotive smoothly, deal with business challenges, and enforce digital transformation. To cover the market’s need for an overarching in-vehicle user experience with improved safety, auto providers must shift from traditional methods and concentrate on the value of software and data instead.

From machine learning and natural language processing to computer vision and robotic process automation, we leverage AI automotive technologies to augment your possibilities, help you meet evolving customer needs, and reach your ultimate business goals. 

Feel free to contact us and find out how we can help accelerate your engineering and improve time-to-market.