Nextchip's 'Apache4' Adopted by Japanese Automotive Company for Smart Camera

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] NCN announced on the 6th that its subsidiary Nextchip's Apache4 (APACHE4) has been finally selected as a semiconductor product for smart rear view cameras supporting Autonomous Emergency Brake (AEB) by a top-tier automotive Tier 1 company in Japan.

Apache4, launched by Nextchip last year, is an edge processor product based on computer vision algorithms that supports recognition and detection of people and vehicles, making it suitable for advanced ADAS.

According to company officials, Apache4, created through the fusion of Nextchip's sensing and imaging technologies, solves issues such as detecting children under 80cm, detection in corner cases, and pedestrian detection in low-light conditions, which were difficult to recognize with existing semiconductors. Additionally, as an edge processor, it overcomes the limitations and cost disadvantages of computing power, which are major issues in existing central processing systems.

In Japan, as the increase in accidents involving elderly drivers has become a social issue, the government is expanding the application of driver assistance systems (ADAS) at the national level. This effort aims to mandate the installation of ADAS, especially Autonomous Emergency Brake (AEB). It is expected that mandatory ADAS installation will increase starting with newly released vehicle models as a measure to ensure pedestrian and driver safety. The AEB market is projected to expand globally. The company expects market demand for sensing (detection/recognition) products like Nextchip's Apache4 to increase accordingly.

Kim Kyungsoo, CEO of Nextchip, said, "Due to the mandatory installation of automatic braking systems in Japan, Nextchip's lineup of image-based edge processors is gaining attention in the Japanese market," adding, "Since the prototype board production is proceeding after passing the rigorous detection scenario verification by Japanese companies, we expect to launch a highly complete product." He emphasized, "Although the final selection process by a major Japanese OEM remains, considering the Tier 1's past OEM selection history, we believe mass production is certain."

Meanwhile, Nextchip expects the mass production timing to be in 2023 if finally selected by the OEM.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.