TIER IV has successfully partnered with Axell Corporation to conduct a collaborative research project aimed at creating a new application-specific system-on-chip (SoC) and software platform for autonomous vehicles. The project culminated in a demonstration, showcasing the power and performance advantages of the Autoware Accelerators. These hardware accelerators are custom-designed specifically for the Autoware architecture.

These collaborative research efforts were funded by the Innovative AI Chip and Next-Generation Computing Technology Development project, sponsored by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The new SoC has been specifically optimized to integrate with Autoware, a widely acclaimed open-source software for autonomous driving championed by TIER IV. Designed to execute a diverse range of AD algorithms with exceptional efficiency, the SoC sets the stage for the development of a complete Robo-Taxi system with an estimated power consumption of less than 150W (utilizing the latest state-of-the-art semiconductor process).

Additionally, the system features hardware accelerators that expertly manage high-load sensor data processing, achieving close to a tenfold reduction in power consumption compared to existing environments. To ensure seamless execution of control system processing, a dedicated real-time operating system (RTOS) is seamlessly integrated with many-core processors, effectively mitigating fluctuations in execution time. With its focus on AI edge computing, the SoC aims to provide more efficient and reliable AD functions.