Israeli automotive tech company Mobileye announced on Wednesday that it had secured orders to ship 46 million of its EyeQ6 Lite assisted-driving chips over the next few years. This surge in demand comes as automakers strive to enhance vehicle safety and ease of driving.
Mobileye is set to sell the EyeQ6 Lite in all major markets worldwide, with cars featuring the technology expected to launch in the middle of this year, according to Nimrod Nehushtan, Mobileye’s Executive Vice President of Business Strategy and Development.
“The 46 million represents the amount of EyeQ6 Lite (business) that we have won to date,” Nehushtan stated in an interview with Reuters. “So it will grow, and it will be rolled out over the course of the next few years.”
While Mobileye did not disclose the names of the customers for the EyeQ6 Lite due to non-disclosure agreements, the company’s client list includes prominent automakers like Volkswagen and Porsche.
In response to the news, Mobileye’s shares rose by 4% in premarket trading.
The EyeQ6 Lite system is positioned as Mobileye’s mass-market offering for vehicles equipped with some assisted driving features, such as automated cruise control and lane-changing. However, it is not designed to power vehicles with higher levels of automation that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road.
Despite the challenges associated with launching fully self-driving vehicles, such as steep investments, high safety risks, and strict regulations, automakers are increasingly incorporating more basic driver-assistance features to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
The EyeQ6 Lite chip is capable of reading text phrases on road signs, such as variable speed limits or city entrance signs indicating lower speed limits. It offers 4.5 times more computing power compared to its predecessor and is manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s 7-nanometer process.
“It can support all five-star ratings globally, but be extremely power-efficient and cost-efficient,” Nehushtan noted. “That’s kind of the mission statement of this chip.”
The sensors on the EyeQ6 Lite include an 8-megapixel camera with a 120-degree lateral field of vision, enabling detection of environmental conditions and objects at greater distances. Mobileye also mentioned that its more advanced assisted-driving chip, the EyeQ6 High, is scheduled to enter volume production “early next year.”
