The following is a translation of an article that appeared in the Japanese language Eizo Shimbun for subscribers. It has been reprinted with permission by the Eizo Shimbun and translated to English.
Download the original Japanese version in PDF format here.

CES 2025 Report (3)

• Expectations and reality of autonomous driving technology
• Competing against driving control using high-definition maps (HD Maps)
• Companies that utilize visual information emerge
• Israel’s Imagry develops technology

The consumer technology expo and conference CES 2025 (hereinafter referred to as “CES” / sponsored by the US CTA) became an “automotive show” between the late 2000s and 2010s. At one time, most of the major passenger car manufacturers gathered at it. Especially until the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies expected that autonomous driving would soon be put into practical use, and they were busy promoting “near-future technology”. Now in the mid-2020s, passenger car manufacturers have almost disappeared from the exhibition floor, as it will take time to realize autonomous driving. However, preparations for autonomous driving are progressing. We interviewed an Israeli company that is taking on the challenge.

★Autonomous Driving is Still Hard

Autonomous driving first appeared at CES during a keynote speech by Google in 2006. In the Grand Challenge 2005, a competition held by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a vehicle was introduced that covered a distance of more than 200 kilometers on its own (i.e., without a driver), impressing the world that autonomous driving is possible.

However, the DARPA competition was held in an area with no other traffic, which is quite different from urban traffic. Nevertheless, the world was surprised and excited by the autonomous vehicles that appeared at CES.

Until then, the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) had been an exhibition hall for goods such as car audio systems and accessories, but since then became filled with passenger car manufacturers from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Korea.

In 2017, Nissan’s then-chairman Carlos Ghosn sent out the impossible message of “zero fatalities with autonomous driving,” but by that time it was already considered impossible to realize this in the near future. When the West Hall of the LVCC was completed and automobile-related companies gathered in it, there were almost no autonomous car manufacturers to be seen there.

Currently, autonomous driving is typically based on “high-definition maps (HD maps)” to orient and control the vehicle. Maps are updated regularly and sent to vehicles via high-speed data transmission methods, such as 5G and terrestrial digital broadcasting. HERE (Netherlands) has a large market share in this type of map, and is also exhibiting at CES.

Meanwhile, visual information is still required even when using HD maps, and some companies claim that routes can be calculated using vision alone. These companies are Imagry and Mobileye, both of Israel.

Imagry CEO Eran Ofir and CTO Dr. Ilan Shaviv, who exhibited in the West Hall this time, spoke about the current situation at the venue, and Marketing Director Ruth Bridger, who visited Japan for Automotive World 2025 (January 22-24, Tokyo Big Sight), spoke about the current situation in Tokyo.

★Promoting a mapless society

–What are the characteristics of your company?

Ofir: “It’s autonomous driving without using maps. Even if you rely on HD maps, the roads often don’t match the maps. You come across construction sites while driving. Signs are temporarily changed. People who use maps say they use vision to guide them when necessary. But if that’s the case, then why not just decide the route visually from the beginning? Our company is developing technology based on that idea.”

–Does it have a track record?

Ofir: “We can’t disclose the name, but we’ve partnered with a global automaker. We’re also conducting Proof of Concept (PoCs) in various locations.”

–An autonomous driving AI must require high processing power. Can it be handled with current hardware?

Dr. Shaviv: “We segment each process. Some companies think that they should create a huge model that can handle all inputs and make it compatible with hardware with extremely high processing power. However, if you take this approach, you have to start all over again when you “relearn” new edge cases. This takes a lot of time and effort. We segment the elements necessary for autonomous driving, learn from each one, integrate the results, and calculate the course and speed.”

★ Focus on public transportation

We spoke to Mrs. Bridger in Tokyo about the current state of autonomous driving.

–In which field do you want to apply autonomous driving?

Bridger: “Our technology can be applied to passenger cars, buses, and the last mile. We are currently focusing on passenger cars and buses in order to provide comprehensive support to our users. However, the technology is the same for these three fields. As the company grows in size, we will be able to cover all areas.”

–But consistency with the system is essential to realize autonomous driving, right?

“That’s right. At the request of the Israeli government, we built a regulatory framework for autonomous driving together with another well-known domestic company in this field. After the framework was completed in May 2022, the Israeli government called for public pilot projects, and we won several of them.”

–What is the operation status?

“One is a 4.1-kilometer run connecting 18 stops within the Sheba Medical Center, the largest medical facility in the Middle East. Traffic within the center is quite congested. It runs under such conditions. The other is a bus run on public roads in an ordinary city. It runs a distance of 8 kilometers.”

–What about safety measures?

“In Israel, it is necessary to pass the European NCAP (New Car Assessment Program), and our system proved compatible. It was a difficult process, as we had to pass all 90 different scenarios. We also have to prove that the entire operation is resistant to cyber attacks. We will pass this as well. In addition, to operate without a driver, we need a track record of operating 100,000 kilometers.”

–It will take quite a long time.

“In our experience, it takes 24 months, or two years, from initial launch until the vehicle is autonomous.”

–Is camera input enough?

“During CES, the company announced a partnership with ADASKY (Israel), a company that has infrared night vision technology. This technology is effective in ensuring visibility at night, when visibility is poor with visible light alone, particularly in places where there are no streetlights. It will be possible to detect pedestrians and obstacles from a greater distance.”

–What about expanding into Japan?

“I have heard that the Japanese government wants to realize self-driving buses in 50 locations by the end of 2025 and 100 locations by the end of 2027. Self-driving requires careful preparation. Our company has experience with buses and would like to participate in Japanese projects. We think that partnering with a local bus manufacturer is the best option. We have already calculated the computer capabilities that should be installed.”

“The project implementers want to see for themselves that our system works. We are currently arranging several European projects to be used as demonstration sites. We have been certified as a supplier of self-driving transportation systems by Transdev (Canada), the largest public transportation operator in the world.”