Cipia’s DMS enters SAIC’s internet car

Above: Cipia’s DMS software integrated into Roewe RX5 MAX car model running on TI TDA4VM SoC

Cipia, formerly Eyesight Technologies, announced that the Chinese automotive company SAIC Motor is to integrate its driver and interior monitoring system in the Roewe RX5 MAX car model. The purchase order was made through the systems supplier Tier 1 Technomous, Cipia’s partner in the Chinese automotive market.

The RX5 series was launched at 2016 as a joint venture of SAIC and the e-commerce giant AliBaba. Together, they branded the RX5 as “the first internet car in the world”. Cars in this series are equipped with AliBaba’s operating system and top data processing capabilities, designed to improve the performance of navigation, information, entertainment and maintenance applications. The MAX model, considered the premium model in the series, was launched at 2018.

According to research from Continental China and non-profit organization HCVC, 74% of people who survived road traffic accidents attributed the main cause to distracted driving. With the growing number of distractions in cars coupled with an overreliance on semi-autonomous driving features, there is a clear need for technology to mitigate the dangers of distracted driving.

The computer vision and AI technology powering Cipia’s Driver Sense, monitors and analyzes the driver’s behavior by detecting visual attributes such as eyelids, pupils, gaze direction, etc., and translating them to the physiological state of the driver (drowsiness, distraction, talking on the phone, etc.), enabling life-saving warnings and actions.

The Chinese automotive market has been in a steady growth state for the past two decades. In 2020, 25M vehicles were manufactured in China – more than the US and EU combined, and in recent years Chinese automakers started acquiring international auto brands and targeting western markets with international brands. SAIC Motor has been the top-selling automotive manufacturer in China for 15 consecutive years, reaching a sales volume of 5.6 million vehicles across its brands in 2020.