DeepRoute.ai Driver 2.0 solution, designed for mass production under $3,000 USD, will be elevated and enhanced with more energy efficiency and smart autonomous driving.  The findings are the result of collaborative research between DeepRoute.ai and Tsinghua University which began in February 2021, when investigating the energy consumption and perception of autonomous vehicles.  This enhancement constitutes significant importance under the new development philosophy of the country’s work towards achieving its “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” goals.   

Tsinghua research has shown that drivers unnecessarily slow down, pause, or accelerate at traffic junctions due to complex scenarios. These behaviors cause wasteful driving resources, contribute to traffic congestion, and increase potential accidents. Statistics show that 25% of accidents happen at crossroads in China and over 36% at intersections in the US. Under this context, Tsinghua University and DeepRoute.ai work together to improve road safety by optimizing autonomous vehicle capability in perception, planning, and control. Autonomous cars can plan routes and speeds in advance to minimize traffic congestion, instantly perceive surrounding pedestrians and objects to minimize potential accidents, and handle complex crossroads skillfully. After optimization, autonomous vehicles consume 6.9% energy less than human drivers, thus reducing carbon emissions.

DeepRoute.ai Robotaxi is driving at crossroad in the central business district

Keqiang Li, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, dean of Sate Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, and professor at the School of Vehicle and Mobility at Tsinghua University, said, “Automotive industry is the pillar industry of strategic and guiding importance at the national level. It is witnessing the transformation and disruptive technology innovation. We need to actively collaborate and explore with AV companies to conduct research that is based on big data and numerous scenarios.”

“We are honored to work with alma mater Tsinghua University on autonomous driving, which encompasses vehicle, transportation, information, electronics, software, among many other fields. Not only Tsinghua University is outstanding and prestigious in frontier technology research and development, it also shows strong interdisciplinary innovation,” said Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute.ai, “the industry can enjoy pragmatic benefits when our collaborative research is supported by actual scenarios and aimed at solving real-life needs.”

Mass-produced consumer autonomous vehicles integrated with DeepRoute.ai Driver 2.0 will be available on the market in 2024. In the meantime, the collaboration between DeepRoute.ai and Tsinghua University will continuously improve the solution and turn technology research into commercialization and application, achieving road safety as well as more energy-efficient and intelligent autonomous driving.