Asian tech giants Baidu and Samsung join the self-driving car race
It would seem that Asian tech giants are now joining the autonomous vehicle race, with two significant announcements yesterday that reveal China’s own version of Google, Baidu, has successfully tested a self-driving BMW, while Samsung has decided to produce components for use in autonomous vehicles. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a Baidu senior vice president, explained that the search company has built two prototype BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo autonomous cars. Much like Google’s cars, the vehicles use Lidar and other sensors to see their surroundings, using highly detailed prior maps and deep-learning software to make sense of the data and actually control the car’s motion. Apparently these vehicles have now been successfully tested on highways in northern Beijing, “hundreds of times, with several trips each day,” hitting speeds of 60 mph. 
On the same theme, Samsung has announced that it is creating a new division to manufacture kit for cars. According to Reuters, it will focus on “in-car entertainment, satellite navigation and autonomous driving technologies.” As yet there are no further details available, but it’s worth remembering that LG, also based in South Korea, is also working on similar car components.

Get latest updates on

the automobile community Login Now

Earlier this week, the German trio of Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW acquired Nokia’s mapping division HERE to develop location services for the future of self-driven cars while Chinese researchers also unveiled a car, a few days ago, that drives simply on brain signals. And now, it is Samsung’s turn to rival already existing competitors in the smart vehicles market – Apple and Google, under vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, who has long managed Samsung's electronics component business.

The automotive industry represents a potentially large business growth area for companies like Samsung, particularly in a time when new cars are increasingly feature-focussed, and consumers are more accustomed to the idea of smart technology in their vehicle.

Analysts highlight that global electronics makers are engaged in a fierce competition to supply the growing automobile industry that plans to have autonomous (driverless) vehicles loaded with electronic sensors and displays on the market within five years.

It is to common knowledge that Google has been testing self-driven cars for close to a decade with Apple all set to enter the fray soon. In October, LG Electronics said it will be selling key vehicle components to General Motors for its new electric vehicle due to be mass-produced starting in late 2016.

While no timeframe was mentioned when Samsung components might become available to manufacturers, this development has sure called for exciting times ahead in the smart vehicle quarters.