PR86046

CANBERRA, Oct. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Seeing Machines, the advanced computer vision technology company that designs

AI-powered operator monitoring systems to improve transport safety, has

announced it is formally expanding its leading automotive driver monitoring

system (DMS) into an overall vehicle interior/Occupant Monitoring System (OMS).

The expanded offering will be available for automotive production programs

starting as early as 2023.

Seeing Machines estimates that its entry into OMS opens an incremental market

opportunity, worth up to a total of A$1.5 billion through to 2030, with an

estimated revenue opportunity for the Company exceeding A$350 million.

This expansion is consistent with Seeing Machines's "safety first" focus and

leverages important breakthroughs in achieving uncompromised head, eye, and

face tracking for driver monitoring with a Wide Field of View (WFOV) camera

system. It will extend the Company's highly effective attention, distraction,

impairment, identification, and other human state measures from the vehicle

driver to vehicle passenger(s) concurrently.

The introduction of a WFOV interior OMS will continue to support even the most

challenging Euro NCAP DMS and semi-automated driving requirements which are

traditionally achieved today with a narrow view (driver exclusive) camera

system, while at the same time extending safety, comfort, and convenience

feature to passengers. OMS capabilities range from enabling more reliable and

cost-effective passive safety systems to fully AI enabled interiors able to

anticipate and care for the needs of both the driver and passenger(s).

Further, the approach, enabled by Seeing Machines's Occula® Neural Processing

Unit (NPU) technology, allows a DMS to be expanded into an WFOV Interior camera

system offering an array of additional high value interior and occupant sensing

features with little increase in camera, illumination, or embedded processing

cost. This can be achieved with readily available and proven automotive image

sensors and other components, greatly enhancing the value of the Company's

existing product offering which remains consistent with the previously

announced "three pillars" delivery options. This includes:

1. A market-leading Xilinx FPGA based FOVIO Chip incorporating Occula® NPU

acceleration for the lowest cost, fastest time to market, standalone DMS/OMS

system processing solution, targeting smart camera integration into a range of

suitable locations including instrument panels and rear-view mirrors

2. Accelerated and non-accelerated Software Libraries (e-DME) which support a

wide array of processing platforms, and integration sites including

Infotainment Systems and ADAS domain modules, including the previously

announced Qualcomm SnapDragon solution.

3. Occula® NPU ASIC licensing to automotive system on Chip (SOC) suppliers

desiring to embed a uniquely optimized acceleration solution for achieving

uncompromised human and object detection and tracking performance for

camera-based DMS and interior/occupant monitoring systems at the lowest

possible cost of processing.

Demonstrations of Seeing Machines combined Driver and Interior/Occupant

monitoring technology are presently available consistent with potential 2023

model introductions.

Nick DiFiore, SVP and GM Automotive commented: "I'm proud of the methodical

approach our researchers have taken toward the interior and occupant monitoring

problem, avoiding the 'feature wars' in favour of system safety through

continued uncompromised Driver Monitoring availability and performance while

maintaining a low embedded processing cost enabled by our Occula™ NPU

technology; a combination that eludes more academic oriented - brute force -

deep learned network approaches.  

"We expect our automotive Tier 1 and OEM customers to be excited by the reality

of a non-compromised DMS ready for any Euro NCAP eventuality, with the promise

of extending safety and convenience features to vehicle passengers without

inflating the overall system cost. This is a very important step in our company

vision, to truly enable automobiles to see, understand, secure, and assist its

occupants."

Media enquiries: Seeing Machines – Sophie Nicoll,

sophie.nicoll@seeingmachines.com, +61-419-149-683

About Seeing Machines (LSE: SEE), a global company founded in 2000 and

headquartered in Australia, is an industry leader in vision-based monitoring

technology that enable machines to see, understand and assist people. Seeing

Machines' technology portfolio of AI algorithms, embedded processing and

optics, power products that need to deliver reliable real-time understanding of

vehicle operators. The technology spans the critical measurement of where a

driver is looking, through to classification of their cognitive state as it

applies to accident risk. Reliable "driver state" measurement is the end-goal

of Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) technology. Seeing Machines develops DMS

technology to drive safety for Automotive, Commercial Fleet, Off-road and

Aviation. The company has offices in Australia, USA, Europe and Asia, and

supplies technology solutions and services to industry leaders in each market

vertical.

www.seeingmachines.com

SOURCE: Seeing Machines Limited