Pony.ai and Horizon Robotics are partnering to develop new high-performance smart driving technology. The two companies will combine Pony.ai’s L2++ smart driving solution with Horizon Robotics’ Journey series auto-grade processors to build a range of solutions for series production vehicles.

Pony.ai has launched a highway Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) solution based on a single-Journey 5 computing platform. This has been based on Pony.ai’s experience with over 12 million autonomous miles driven across a variety of dense and complex urban roads and highways. The prototype vehicle equipped with the Journey 5 processor completed highway NOA road tests in China in 2022 and is expected to be series production-ready by Q2 2023. Another solution, to enable city and urban NOA with a dual-Journey 5 computing platform, is expected to go to market this year.

The Navigate on Autopilot solution operates without reliance on HD maps, with as few as six cameras, one millimetre wave radar and a single Journey 5 processor. By considering the interaction between driving vehicles and their surroundings, the highway NOA function can intelligently navigate in congested situations.

“After years of iterative product development, the autonomous driving industry is approaching the era of mass commercialisation. We are very excited to join hands with such an excellent partner as Horizon Robotics to create a smart driving ecosystem and to bring high-performance, cost-effective localised smart driving product solutions to our customers,” said Dr. James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai.

“With the evolution of smart driving, the automobile supply chain has accelerated the change from a vertical integration model to a decentralised and interconnected network of suppliers. Horizon Robotics is dedicated to collaborating with upstream and downstream partners to promote the industrial transformation. As our strategic partner and a leader in the autonomous driving industry, Pony.ai has made tremendous progress in developing and deploying smart driving solutions based on Journey 5 and its software platform. We look forward to our partnership together, to empower OEMs and bring a safer and more enjoyable smart driving experience to our customers,” said Dr. Kai Yu, founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics.