Modern, automated driver assistance systems require a large number of sensors in order to precisely analyse the vehicle’s environment and derive safe driving manoeuvres

To further advance the development of these ADAS and AD solutions, technology group ZF has developed its cloud-based and AI-enabled validation service ZF Annotate, which was unveiled at the ZF Global Technology Day in June.
Precise and reliable data is essential for the development of advanced assistance systems in vehicles.
Cameras, radar, lidar, or ultrasonic sensors continuously supply information from which the vehicle creates a three-dimensional image of its environment.
The systems must recognise a wide variety of objects in real time, including vehicles, people, lanes, and traffic signs, for example.
This sensor data must be processed digitally correctly so that the vehicle always receives the “absolute truth” – known in the industry as “ground truth” – to calculate and implement a driving function based on it.
Comparing the collected sensor information with a reliable and high-precision reference sensor set increases accuracy, and this is where ZF says ZF Annotate comes in.
AI for more speed and increased safety
Based on the customer’s own vehicle data and additional ZF sensor data recordings – the reference measurement – the cloud-based service solution provides the “ground truth.”
ZF Annotate acts as a redundant setup that is independent of the sensor set to be checked and is confronted with the same information while driving on the road.

The recorded data is then uploaded to the cloud and analysed. Thanks to artificial intelligence, ZF says all relevant objects are accurately marked, classified, attributed and assigned unique ID numbers and moving objects are tracked.
This object information forms part of the complete description of the environment model, the ground truth. After this “annotation” the software provides a highly precise comparative measurement.
ZF says this makes ZF Annotate a state-of-the-art, AI-supported validation solution for testing and training modern ADAS/AD systems from Level 2+ to Level 5.
“ZF Annotate combines the advantages of a robust and independent reference sensor set with a scalable cloud service that uses intelligent 2D and 3D tracking algorithms,” ZF Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr Holger Klein, said.
Previous comparable systems mainly relied on 2D annotation for the validation of reference data and thus map the environment in distance and horizontal angle. The 3D-capable ZF Annotate adds height information to the data.
“This makes our solution a unique, intelligent ‘cloud factory’ in the industry, which optimises a previously labour-intensive, costly service in several respects,” Dr Klein said.
ZF says this system is up to 10 times faster and 80 percent cheaper
ZF says the precise and reliable data from ZF Annotate’s reference measurements can therefore significantly accelerate the development and fine-tuning of complex ADAS and AD systems.

Until now, the validation of such systems involved a great deal of work and was correspondingly time-consuming and costly, as the reference data was traditionally annotated manually by humans.
“Thanks to artificial intelligence, we can speed up the validation process by up to 10 times and thus reduce an annotation from 12 to two months. This saves our customers time and money,” Dr Klein said.
“With ZF Annotate, we are able to generate a ‘ground truth’ in the shortest possible time,” ZF Head of Research and Development in the Driver Assistance Systems and Electronics Division, Klaus Hofmockel, said.
“With the ability to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, our cloud-based service completes the validation of reference data in a remarkably short time compared to the market, without any loss of quality.”
Develop once, roll-out everywhere: flexibility in every respect
Depending on customer requirements, the reference sensors are either used on the test vehicle itself or in “Pursuit” mode, which is a sensor set mounted on a separate reference data vehicle.
Pursuit mode can be used without major adjustments to the vehicle being tested – for example, when evaluating parking scenarios in public spaces.
This flexibility in application makes ZF Annotate independent of specific sensor manufacturers. The otherwise cost-intensive modification of customers’ high-tech test vehicles is also no longer necessary, says ZF.
Customers can therefore also include the service in development projects that have already been started.

In this way, ZF says ZF Annotate “supports the validation process in the most effective way and thus the goals of every developer on the way to a flawless product.”
Furthermore, the reference data recorded is not just limited to a front view.
Depending on customer requirements, the reference sensor set can provide a comprehensive 360-degree view, providing a detailed and precise representation of the vehicle’s surroundings.
ZF says it is known for developing new technologies for various application areas, and states ZF Annotate can be used across all vehicle classes in both the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors.
“Reliability and efficiency are significant when it comes to validating reference data in the development of increasingly popular advanced driver assistance systems,” Dr Klein said.
“ZF Annotate offers both in a scalable system. With our solution, ZF is delivering another building block on the road to the software-defined vehicle.”

For further information on ZF in Oceania, and its products and services, visit www.zf.com/au