German automotive mega-supplier ZF has acquired a 6% stake in South Korean software company StradVision, a pioneer in artificial-intelligence-based vision-processing technology for autonomous vehicles and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). It reinforces ZF’s belief that high-performance software that better recognizes the vehicle environment will play a central role in safer autonomous vehicles that need to reliably detect and identify other road users, road markings, and traffic signs—especially in harsh weather conditions or poor lighting.

“The partnership with StradVision considerably extends our autonomous driving perception and sensor fusion capabilities,” said Marc Bolitho, Head of Engineering of the Electronics and ADAS division at ZF Group. “Together with our sensors, middleware platform, and high-performance computing solutions, this vision perception software expertise from StradVision can provide a key component of our environmental sensor fusion for shuttles, commercial, and light vehicles that can be optimized for centralized electrical architectures.”

Autonomous driving (AD) and vehicle software are strategic technology fields for ZF. Its AD system solutions for the automotive and mobility sectors include high-performance computers such as the ZF ProAI; automotive software supporting ADAS and AD functions; sensors like camera, radar, and LiDAR; and smart actuators.

“Together with the global mobility specialist ZF, we will strive to speed up the market for autonomous driving with leading perception solutions,” said Junhwan Kim, CEO at StradVision.

Established in 2014 in South Korea, StradVision has focused on accelerating the advancement of AD and ADAS technology. Its SVNet artificial-intelligence-based vision-perception software allows vehicles to accurately detect and identify objects—such as other vehicles, lanes, pedestrians, animals, free space, traffic signs, and lights—in harsh weather conditions or poor lighting based on deep-learning-based perception algorithms. The software is said to achieve higher efficiency in memory usage and energy consumption, and it can be customized and optimized to any system-on-a-chip. It also works with other sensors such as LiDAR and RADAR to achieve surround vision.

In February, StradVision announced that it has obtained the ISO 26262 certification for automotive functional safety from third-party testing, inspection, and certification company TÜV Rheinland. It confirms that customers face minimal risks from electric or electronic system malfunction in vehicles using its SVNet software.

“The automotive industry is transforming into a new business that provides new mobility, transportation, and various experiences in the car-as-a-service, and software is the most powerful driver of this change,” said Kim.

As the performance of semiconductors and the adoption of diverse sensors in vehicles continues to increase, the importance of safety standards for software, and their level of sophistication has also risen.

“Stradvision has successfully built its management system that delivers camera perception software meeting the functional safety requirements for automakers and automotive tier-1 suppliers,” said Frank Juettner, CEO of TÜV Rheinland Korea.

In January, StradVision announced that it had established a North American Headquarters in Michigan, allowing it to better develop new market opportunities in the U.S. In making the announcement, CEO Kim announced that COO Sunny Lee would be relocating to Michigan from South Korea to lead the U.S. office, and had been appointed CEO of StradVision Technology USA, established in 2018 as the company’s hub for technology development.

“The U.S. market is one of the most important markets for our future business,” said Sunny Lee. “We have long been closely cooperating with many partners in the automotive parts and semiconductors industry based on our strong IP portfolio including over 160 U.S. patents.”

StradVision’s solutions are currently used in mass production models for automated driving that supports SAE Levels 2 to 4, with the company claiming deployments in more than 50 vehicle models from 13 OEMs worldwide. Since its first mass-production project in 2019, the company has been selected as a perception software provider for future ADAS technologies such as augmented reality head-up displays and automated valet parking by leading auto manufacturers from Germany and China.