Renesas
Customer Success Story
For many drivers, parking is a headache—whether squeezing into a spot at the market or navigating tight garages in city centers. Recent studies[1] have found that nearly half of drivers in the UK and the US are so afraid of parallel parking that it has been dubbed ‘parallel parking phobia.’
iMotion aims to alleviate the stress of parking by providing an automated assistance feature that can complete assisted parking in 30 seconds, even in crowded or poorly marked environments. Walt Song, who founded iMotion Automotive Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. in 2016, states that the mission of this innovative company is to make smart mobility more accessible, adhering to the philosophy of ‘making everything simple’ for drivers and automakers. What is their goal? To apply features that were previously only available in luxury cars to more affordable mid-range and entry-level models.
Zhixing Technology went public on the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index in 2023. Headquartered in Suzhou, with a research and development center in Germany and a manufacturing plant in Malaysia, it has multiple commercial deployments across Asia and Europe, becoming a leading full-stack solution provider for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Follow Replay Share Like <!– –> Watch MoreRenesas
0/0
00:00/02:24Progress Bar, 0 percentPlay00:00/02:2402:24Full Screen Playback Speed 0.5x 0.75x 1.0x 1.5x 2.0x HD Smooth
Continue Watching
Customer Success Story: iMotion Utilizes Renesas R-Car Technology to Easily Solve Parking Challenges
Reprint, Customer Success Story: iMotion Utilizes Renesas R-Car Technology to Easily Solve Parking ChallengesRenesasAdded to Top StoriesEnter comment Video Details
Massive Assisted Parking Capability
In addition to alleviating driver anxiety, the Automated Parking Assistance (APA) system can also reduce minor collisions and curb strikes, accommodating more vehicles in fixed parking spaces. However, for automakers focused on low-cost vehicles, APA, like many other ADAS features, is technically complex and costly. Zhixing Technology’s integrated technology overcomes both of these obstacles.
The APA system can guide drivers along a pre-learned route for up to 3 kilometers to reach their destination. It utilizes cameras and radar sensors for real-time environmental perception detection, guiding the vehicle to the target parking space. This technology is applicable to both electric and gasoline vehicles, as well as various models including passenger cars, commercial trucks, and SUVs.
What sets iMotion apart is its fully integrated design. Many ADAS companies focus solely on software or hardware, while iMotion provides a vertically integrated stack—from algorithm development to middleware and embedded hardware—Mr. Song states that this optimizes design resources, performance, and costs.
Its core technology is the smartly integrated iMotion iDC500 domain controller. It integrates the camera-based perception APA system and urban training commuter driver functions, equipped with autonomous mapping technology that navigates by ‘remembering’ specific driving routes and local environmental data.
The surround perception is achieved through onboard cameras and iMotion’s Bird’s Eye View (BEV) technology, which presents a top-down view of the driving environment, constructing a 3D map of the world outside the vehicle. The mapping benefits from an AI neural network architecture called the Transformer model, which combines camera images to create a 3D image of the surrounding environment.
Mr. Song pointed out that competing models with similar capabilities have larger parameter sizes and require expensive AI processors, with AI computing power of at least 100 TOPS. iMotion engineers optimized their algorithms to run on Renesas’s more economical 34 TOPS R-Car V4H chipset while maintaining excellent performance. This engineering efficiency feat enables automakers to offer features like assisted parking and high-precision map-based highway navigation, meeting consumer expectations and regulatory safety requirements in Asia and Europe.
Building a Cost-Conscious ADAS Technology Platform
To successfully embed high-end ADAS features into cost-effective hardware, the iMotion team overcame the challenge of integrating advanced perception, planning, and control functions (each with strict performance and safety requirements) into a compact computing platform.
One of the challenges was deploying the large parameter Transformer and Occupancy Grid (OCC) models—a spatial representation commonly used in mobile robotics—onto the Renesas R-Car V4H architecture. iMotion employed various techniques to achieve this:
Lightweight AI model architecture breaks down complex Transformer models into smaller, more manageable components for easier processing.
Zero-copy memory scheduling reduces redundant data copying operations when passing data between different memory locations, thereby lowering CPU load.
Hardware-optimized operator rewriting achieves high precision and centimeter-level grid resolution by converting computational operations into more efficient versions suitable for GPUs and dedicated AI accelerators.
Another challenge was ensuring system stability and safety across different markets and various vehicle platforms (from sedans and SUVs to commercial trucks). The modular and scalable design of the iMotion platform ensures global compatibility and robustness through extensive simulations, bench tests, and road tests.
Partnering with Renesas: Achieving Outstanding Performance through Practical Design
iMotion’s strategic partnership with Renesas began in 2020. Mr. Song states that the R-Car V4H stands out for its balance between computing performance, power consumption, and scalability. The R-Car V4H system-on-chip (SoC) is manufactured using a 7nm CMOS process and features an integrated Arm Cortex-R52 core, eliminating the need for an external MCU. This not only enhances on-chip efficiency but also reduces power consumption, size, and bill of materials (BOM). The device also integrates a CNN-IP AI accelerator, multiple DSPs, and a vision processing engine optimized for the iMotion software stack.
The R-Car V4H SoC is designed for ADAS and autonomous driving tasks, providing up to 34 TOPS of deep learning performance. It can quickly recognize images from cameras, radar, and LiDAR, supporting advanced features such as surround perception and realistic 3D visualization for automated parking. The R-Car V4H is highly integrated, equipped with cost-effective electronic control units (ECUs), compliant with NCAP 2025 standards, and supports Level 2 and above autonomous driving. The dual-chip configuration ensures seamless performance upgrades and fail-safe operations required for Level 3 systems.
Mr. Song stated that the collaborative nature of the Renesas engineering support team is as important as the excellence of its hardware design. He said, ‘We have worked closely with Renesas for two years, and their application teams in China and overseas have helped us solve critical bandwidth and integration challenges. This high level of collaboration has been crucial for the launch of the iDC500 and meeting customer expectations.’
Follow Replay Share Like <!– –> Watch MoreRenesas
0/0
00:00/01:11Progress Bar, 0 percentPlay00:00/01:1101:11Full Screen Playback Speed 0.5x 0.75x 1.0x 1.5x 2.0x HD Smooth
Continue Watching
Customer Success Story: iMotion Utilizes Renesas R-Car Technology to Easily Solve Parking Challenges
Reprint, Customer Success Story: iMotion Utilizes Renesas R-Car Technology to Easily Solve Parking ChallengesRenesasAdded to Top StoriesEnter comment Video Details
What is the Future Development of iMotion?
In less than a decade, iMotion has become one of the most influential players in the global ADAS market. With deep expertise in software and hardware integration, a commitment to engineering innovation, and a collaborative ecosystem led by partners like Renesas, its vision of ‘smart mobility for everyone’ has become a commercial reality.
By commercializing other complementary technologies such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure and collision warnings, and driver fatigue detection, iMotion is continuously improving its technology stack. The company plans to embed its new driving assistance algorithms into mass-produced vehicles within the year to achieve full-cycle navigation from highway entry to door-to-door (D2D) navigation in urban areas.
Mr. Song stated that iMotion is expanding in Europe and entering the Japanese and ASEAN markets, leveraging Renesas’s global influence and local service network to make vehicles safer, smarter, and more intuitive. This will make autonomous vehicles an extension of our homes and offices possible. He said, ‘In the future, autonomous driving will turn the cabin into your second living space, where you can not only drive but also read, relax, or connect with the outside world. Our mission is to make such a future safe and economical as soon as possible.’
Renesas Products
Utilizing first-class deep learning technology on low-power SoCs suitable for autonomous driving Level 2+/Level 3. You can scan the QR code below or copy the link to your browser to view more information about the R-Car-V4H product.
https://www.renesas.cn/products/r-car-v4h
Note:
[1] Reference – T. Covington, “Zebra”, “[Survey] Nearly Half of Americans Suffer from ‘Parallel Phobia’.” (March 2024)
Reference – J. Sanchez, “Driven Car Guide”, “Study: Parallel Parking is the Greatest Driving Fear for Drivers.” (October 2023)
(You can scan the QR code below or copy the link to your browser to view related information in the text)
-
iMotion
https://www.imotion.ai/
-
iMotion iDC500 Domain Controller
https://www.imotion.ai/idc.html
END
Renesas Electronics (TSE: 6723)
Technology makes life easier, dedicated to creating a safer, smarter, and sustainable future. As a global supplier of microcontrollers, Renesas Electronics integrates expertise in embedded processing, analog, power, and connectivity to provide complete semiconductor solutions. The successful product portfolio accelerates the market launch of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications, empowering billions of connected smart devices to improve people’s work and lifestyles. For more information, please visit renesas.com
