LeddarTech and TTTech Auto Announce a Leap Forward in Autonomous Driving Safety

December 06, 2023 at 00:07 AM EST

QUEBEC CITY, Canada and VIENNA, Austria, Dec. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LeddarTech^®, an automotive software company that provides patented disruptive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software technology for ADAS and AD and TTTech Auto, a technology leader in automotive safety software, are pleased to announce the completion of a joint demonstrator for a fail-operational architecture based on LeddarTech’s LeddarVision™ software and TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot solution.

TTTech Auto’s innovative Safety Co-Pilot solution tackles the challenges of a safety architecture suitable for autonomous driving on SAE Level 3 and beyond. It is based on a doer channel, which is responsible for the main driving task, and an independent checker channel. In the event of an abnormal situation identified by the checker, the doer channel is seamlessly overridden, and a fallback channel brings the vehicle to a safe stop.

In this collaboration, TTTech Auto leverages its proficiency in safety mechanisms and automotive platforms, complemented by LeddarTech’s advanced fusion and perception capabilities. TTTech Auto contributes operational platforms and frameworks, facilitating the development of decomposed architectures for safety applications. LeddarTech enhances the partnership with its high-performance fusion and perception stack, grounded in low-level fusion. It provides valuable datasets for agile architecture exploration and demonstration of decomposed perception paths. Both companies exemplify an agile approach, employing risk assessment and safety-critical event feasibility assessments to showcase a potential solution. This collaborative effort aims to support car OEMs constructing their SAE Level 2-3 safety solutions.

To demonstrate the viability of this approach and its potential for vehicle safety and cost-efficiency, TTTech Auto and LeddarTech have partnered up to combine LeddarTech’s LeddarVision with TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot, creating a demonstrator focused on the checker channel. Key features include:

LeddarTech’s LeddarVision: A powerful AI-based low-level fusion and perception software stack that leverages raw sensor data from cameras and radars to build an environmental model. Depending on the sensor set and the diversity concept, LeddarVision can be deployed either in the doer or the checker channel.
TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot: A versatile solution for the checker channel equipped with a set of validation modules, each encompassing checks related to critical safety requirements. The demonstrator showcases validation modules addressing probabilistic risks associated with physically unfeasible trajectories and potentially dangerous collisions. A crucial element in ensuring safety is that these checks are performed based on a separate environment model –in this case, LeddarVision, ensuring full independence from the doer channel.

The testing of this demonstrator was conducted on data collected from highways in Germany and Israel. The results demonstrate that LeddarTech’s high-quality environmental model and TTTech Auto’s probabilistic checking implement an efficient and reliable checker channel. This advancement provides a robust safety argument for AD systems operating at SAE Level 3 and beyond.

“We are paving the way to autonomous driving safety with true fail-operational architectures,” stated Stefan Poledna, CTO at TTTech Auto. “TTTech Auto’s groundbreaking architecture, in conjunction with LeddarTech’s LeddarVision, confirms our commitment to SAE Level 3 and 4 autonomous driving.”

Frantz Saintellemy, President, COO and incoming CEO of LeddarTech, added: “Through our partnership with TTTech Auto in the integration of our LeddarVision AI-based software and TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot, our collective aim has been to showcase a high-level fail-operational architecture suitable for safe driving automation. This collaboration demonstrates our belief that by aligning ourselves with other industry leaders in win-win partnerships, we accelerate technology deployment and adoption.”

About TTTech Auto

TTTech Auto provides solutions for future vehicle generations and the shift towards software-defined vehicles. The company specializes in delivering safe software and hardware solutions along with a range of services to support the advancement of automated driving and beyond, applicable in series production programs. With its leading technology solutions, TTTech Auto reduces the required time for system designing, integration and testing of a series production-ready software platform. This ensures safety and electronic robustness for a more automated world.

TTTech Auto was founded in 2018 by TTTech Group and technology leaders Audi, Infineon and Samsung to build a global, safe vehicle software platform for automated and autonomous driving. In 2022, the company raised USD 285 million (EUR 250 million) from Aptiv and Audi in its latest funding round. At TTTech Auto’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria and in more than 10 locations across Europe and Asia, 1 100 employees work with leading car manufacturers on their software-defined vehicle, ADAS and autonomous driving programs. The company has acquired and invested in technology companies in France, Spain, Turkey, China and central and Eastern Europe. www.tttech-auto.com/

About LeddarTech

A global software company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Quebec City with additional R&D centers in Montreal, Toronto and Tel Aviv, Israel, LeddarTech develops and provides comprehensive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software solutions that enable the deployment of ADAS and autonomous driving (AD) applications. LeddarTech’s automotive-grade software applies advanced AI and computer vision algorithms to generate accurate 3D models of the environment to achieve better decision making and safer navigation. This high-performance, scalable, cost-effective technology is available to OEMs and Tier 1-2 suppliers to efficiently implement automotive and off-road vehicle ADAS solutions.

LeddarTech is responsible for several remote-sensing innovations, with over 150 patent applications (80 granted) that enhance ADAS and AD capabilities. Better awareness around the vehicle is critical in making global mobility safer, more efficient, sustainable and affordable: this is what drives LeddarTech to seek to become the most widely adopted sensor fusion and perception software solution.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.LeddarTech.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube.

Contact:
Daniel Aitken, Vice-President, Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc. Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232 daniel.aitken@LeddarTech.com

Investor relations website: investors.LeddarTech.com
Investor relations contact: Kevin Hunt, ICR Inc. kevin.hunt@icrinc.com
Financial media contact: Dan Brennan, ICR Inc. dan.brennan@icrinc.com

Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, VAYADrive, VayaVision and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.