Nio, a Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), and Tencent, a global leader in information systems, have agreed to collaborate in a range of aspects, including autonomous driving and high-definition mapping.
The development of algorithms for automated vehicles will involve the processing of massive volumes of real-time data.
Nio will use the cloud computing infrastructure provided by Tencent for storing data and training for autonomous driving.
Alliance
Tencent is a giant in the gaming, social media, and cloud computing industries and has recently struck a collaboration deal with Nio, one of Tesla's competitors in China.
Both companies want to leverage Beijing's emphasis on the new energy cars.
According to CNBC's report, the alliance might make the said goal possible for Tencent to achieve while simultaneously providing Nio with the technological support of one of China's largest companies.
Nio, one of the many new companies in the field of EVs, is now working hard to set itself apart from its competitors, and Tencent is already a key investment in the firm.
William Li, Nio's founder, predicted the rise of intelligent EVs and the rise of self-driving cars as the future of the automotive industry in December 2020.
Nio has released a plethora of new models recently, but the intelligent driving system is still the NIO Pilot from the previous generation and cannot be considered fully autonomous.
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New Project
Following the opening of a computer facility in August by e-commerce company Alibaba and Nio rival Xpeng, this news is no surprise.
Nio and Tencent announced their intention to team up on Monday, Nov. 28, for the development of high-precision mapping systems for drivers.
To be specific, the firms will work collaboratively to construct an integrated hybrid cloud infrastructure.
Based on a report, this infrastructure will support data storage at an EB level and the access efficiency of 1 million queries-per-second (QPS) with trillions of files.
As a result, the research and development (R&D) efficiency of automated driving will be significantly improved.
With Tencent's intelligent driving maps and other capabilities, Nio will explore a scenario-based intelligent service network based on location services and internet ecology. This will build a new kind of mapping experience with seamless integration of standard and high-precision navigation.
Some industry experts have voiced concerns that Nio's autonomous driving technology software, particularly in the area of high-precision maps, needs immediate improvement.
Together with Tencent, it can make up for its deficiencies in this area.
Hurdles
As Tencent's main video games industry continues to encounter headwinds from rigorous local regulation, the company's cooperation with Nio provides a chance to expand into other business sectors.
Meanwhile, Nio is dealing with its own conflicts, such as widening losses and increased pressure on margins due to higher material prices and problems with the supply chain.
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Written by Tech Times writer Trisha Kae Andrada