Artificial intelligence

How AI can make driving safer

A ball rolls onto the road. AI should help cars learn that a child might be following.

(Bild: Bosch)

Can artificial intelligence make driving safer? That's exactly what people want from AI. 60 percent of respondents to a representative study in seven countries expect this. However, there is still a long way to go, but it is already happening.

A single "cold" solder joint that does not conduct or does not conduct properly and the control unit can fail. This must not happen because it controls the brakes and steering, prevents the wheels from locking or the car from skidding. Such parts have zero fault tolerance, but many sources of error: There are between 5000 and 8000 solder joints on a circuit board on which the elements of the control unit are connected to each other.

At the Bosch plant in Ansbach, employees have been supported by artificial intelligence (AI) for some time now during quality checks. The AI measures whether the circuit board is correctly soldered. If an irregularity occurs, the image of the faulty solder joint is presented to an employee for visual inspection. An enormous relief for quality control at the plant, where 2,500 people work - and now the AI colleague.

Artificial intelligence helps with quality assurance at the Bosch plant in Ansbach.

(Bild: Bosch)

Artificial intelligence can apparently already do a lot. The Bosch plant in Franconia is just one example. But it can't drive a car yet. AI has not yet passed its driving test. But it is already practising hard: "Bosch is working on opening up a new dimension of AI applications in vehicles," said Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Bosch Board of Management, at Bosch Connected World, the supplier's digitalization trade fair. Bosch and Microsoft are currently exploring ways of working together to use "generative artificial intelligence" in cars. Microsoft is one of the leading companies in this field.

AI has long since found its way into production at Bosch. "AI has great potential for innovation and can make human work even more productive," explains Hartung. As a manufacturing company and factory equipment supplier, Bosch wants to play a leading role in the development and application of industrial AI. Now the next step is to be taken: AI is to make driving safer - and thus demonstrate the meaningful benefits it can bring. Because that is exactly what people want from artificial intelligence.

People expect safety through AI
60 percent of respondents to the "Bosch Tech Compass", a representative study in seven countries, expect AI in cars to improve safety. But also lower fuel consumption and greater range (54 percent) or easier and more relaxed parking. For the representative study, the Gesellschaft für Innovative Marktforschung (GIM) conducted an online survey of over 11,000 people aged 18 and over in Brazil, China, Germany, France, the UK, India and the USA on behalf of Bosch.

The results show how different the perspectives on the new technology are. While 83 percent of people in China and 75 percent in India expect that "AI technology will change the world for the better", this figure is only between 42 and 45 percent in the USA, the UK and Germany. This may also be due to the fact that 73% of respondents in China feel well prepared for the age of AI, compared to only 35% in Germany.

When it comes to what people expect from AI, the most common responses are a more pleasant life, easier work and health. And what could be more pleasant than being guided safely through traffic by artificial intelligence? Partially or fully automated driving is seen as the next big thing in the development of the automobile and individual mobility.

Together with Microsoft, Bosch is working on automated driving using artificial intelligence.

(Bild: Bosch)

Hurdles to be overcome
However, the technical hurdles on the road to the robot car are higher than was assumed a few years ago. AI should now help to overcome these. The following scenario shows how: if a ball rolls onto the road, children could run onto the road in the next moment. Humans know this from experience. However, current driver assistance systems would not attach any importance to the ball.

Together with Microsoft, Bosch is now investigating how generative AI can teach cars to think one step ahead. Because that is precisely the strength of generative AI: it is constantly learning. 61 percent of those surveyed in the "Bosch Tech Compass" also expect AI to reach a level of intelligence on a par with that of humans. This will not be enough in cars: Here, artificial intelligence must prove that it is better than humans and significantly reduce the number of accidents - such as the number of faulty solder joints at the Bosch plant in Ansbach. (cen)