Cognata teams with Audi on autonomous car simulation

Israeli autonomous vehicle testing and verification company Cognata has announced that Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH (AID), a wholly-owned subsidiary of German carmaker AUDI AG, has selected Cognata as its autonomous vehicle simulation partner.

AUDI's AID chose Cognata’s solution, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning and computer vision in a highly realistic simulation environment, in order to safely and quickly simulate and validate autonomous vehicles prior to actual testing on roads. Based in Ness Ziona, Cognata recreates cities from around the world, allowing an expanded range of testing scenarios, including AI-based traffic models simulating real-world traffic conditions. The simulation engine reproduces sensor input by emulating the specific sensors’ interactions with real-world materials.

Cognata was founded in 2016 by CEO Danny Atsmon, a deep-learning expert who formerly served as Harman’s (NYSE:HAR now Samsung) director of ADAS and senior director of machine learning.

Atsmon said, “We are extremely honored to have been selected by AID, a leading player in the autonomous vehicles space. Thorough simulation is a critical and integral part of safely preparing autonomous vehicles for the road, and we look forward to a long-term collaboration with AID. The combination of the groundbreaking work done by AID and the end-to-end simulation offering from Cognata will safely accelerate commercial deployment of AID-enabled autonomous vehicles.”