Going Mapless - The Israeli Company Testing Autonomous Buses on Public Roads - Imagry CEO, Eran Ofir

IsraeI's Imagry was established in 2015 for high-end computer vision applications and has been specialising in the automotive sector since 2018. Its autonomous driving platform combines technology that captures and recognises a real-time video feed with a neural network to make complex driving decisions instantly. In early 2023 the company launched two autonomous bus projects in Israel. 

Eran Ofir, Imagry's CEO, has been talking to Auto Futures.

"Our bio-inspired technology combines a real-time vision-based perception network and imitation-learning artificial intelligence (AI) for a driving decision-making network. It collects and processes peripheral information from cameras installed on the vehicle. This data is sent to a special computer in the vehicle whose purpose is to perform, in real time, the actions that will allow the vehicle to drive autonomously (similar to a skilled human driver)," explains Ofir. 

"It is hardware-agnostic, self-sufficient, location-independent, uses hi-res cameras, and can be installed on passenger cars as well as autonomous buses. Our unique technology enables the rapid deployment of autonomous vehicles on unknown roads. It uses low-cost sensors and eliminates the need for a continuous satellite connection or multiple investments for digital HD mapping of roads and cities," he adds.

Imagry's solution is mapless, so it's not limited to pre-learned geographic areas. OEMs and Tier-1s can take advantage of the technology by integrating it into any chosen model. 

"The result is an L3/L4 autonomous driving solution that is economical, easily deployable, and scalable. The solution could be deployed as a whole, supporting a Software Defined Vehicle architecture, or by using specific modules of the Imagry software."

For the past four years Imagry has been operating vehicles equipped with its autonomous driving software on public roads in the US, Germany, and Israel.

Continental, a Tier-1 supplier, is also integrating part of Imagry's technology in the Continental Autonomous Driving (AD) platform offering for passenger vehicles. 

"The first feature to be introduced by Continental on this platform is autonomous parking, which allows the vehicle to explore a parking lot, detect a suitable parking space, and park the vehicle – all without the driver touching the steering wheel, or getting any help or data from resources external to the vehicle. This feature is made available using Imagry’s autonomous motion planning capabilities," says Ofir.

In a press release, Aniss Ouyeder, Head of Partnerships and Innovation at Continental Business Area Autonomous Mobility, states: "Imagry's technology approach is a great add-on to Continental's software stack solutions for assisted and automated driving. We are impressed by the talented and highly motivated Imagry team and we are looking forward to jointly realize new automated parking features."

Autonomous Bus Pilots

Imagry has been awarded two separate self-driving bus pilots in Israel. The first, launched in February 2023, is taking place at the Sheba Medical Center (the largest medical facility in the Middle East).

"A bus with 32-person capacity is set to drive autonomously along a 4.1 km route in a 200 square acre operational zone visited by more than 50,000 people and 10,000 vehicles daily. The second pilot project awarded to Imagry features the same bus model operating along an 8 km urban route in the city of Nahariya, serving passengers alongside all other types of transportation," says Ofir.

The electric buses are supplied by Otokar, the leading bus manufacturer of Turkey.

"Both projects require a series of test milestones (standard driving, NCAP safety breaking, cyber security, onboarding passengers, etc.) until reaching the ultimate L4 level in which the safety driver is no longer required. Following additional recent wins, more similar autonomous buses projects will be announced this year, for deployment in Israel and Europe by 2024."

Ofir notes that the public is curious about the possibility of driverless vehicles in their lifetime.

"It seems that the younger generation is more receptive to the idea, acknowledging the potential costs savings of not having to own a vehicle if public transportation becomes more efficient," he says.

"The older population is more skeptical but agrees that there are tremendous benefits to be realized as it will be easy to increase the frequency and operational hours of public transportation, making that option more attractive. Many are wary about putting bus drivers out of work, but in fact currently there is a 13% global shortage of professional bus drivers, and that shortage is growing at a rate of 1% annually!"

A Hybrid Future

In the short-term, Imagry says it's planning on deploying fully driverless service within the next twelve months.

"We expect to have our L4 autonomous bus on a public road (regular driving lane as part of a public transportation operator’s service lines) by mid 2024. It should be noted that Israel is currently the only country in the world that made L4 driverless buses on a standard public road, and with passengers, allowed by regulation, whereas in other markets the existing regulation permits only L3 autonomous buses or L4 autonomous buses that are not driving on a public road."

Looking further ahead, we asked Ofir for his views on what urban mobility will look like by 2030.

"Urban mobility in 2030 will be a hybrid of autonomous and human-driven vehicles. We will see autonomous buses -- which will improve the service, safety, and frequency of buses for the public’s benefit -- as well as quite a few autonomous passenger vehicles driving on roads."

"Most of the new passenger vehicles sold by then will be ‘Software Defined Vehicles’ meaning they would have the capability to acquire new autonomous driving capabilities via over-the-air software updates. This will make the urban environment safer and more convenient," he predicts.