The Self-Driving Car for Personal Ownership is Introduced
California inventors claim victory in the race to build the world’s first privately owned autonomous vehicle.
Not only a new name, but until now unknown, San Jose-based Tensor, which calls itself “the leading AI company”, unveiled the Tensor Robocar, which is hailed as a reimagining of what a human car could be.
However, Tensor is not entirely new, and the brand comes from AutoX, a US company he operated a self-driving taxi fleet for a while in China, before disbanding operations there. The company holds a driverless testing permit in California starting in 2020.
Since the company has been off the radar for some time, the announcement of the Tensor Robocar came out of the blue, even though the car itself has impressive credentials, at least on paper.
Boasting a sleek, SUV-coupe design, the Robocar drive-by-wire is said to be purpose-built for autonomy, and powered by the most comprehensive hardware and software suite imaginable, including 100 integrated sensors.
The press release released to announce the Robocar claims “37 cameras, five lidars, 11 radars, 22 microphones, 10 ultrasonic sensors, three IMUs. [inertial measurement units]GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite System]16 collision detectors, eight water detectors, four tire pressure sensors, one smoke icon and triple-channel 5G.”
This complements Tensor’s AI, built on the Tensor Foundation Model and completely data-driven, learning vision, planning and prediction from real-world and simulated datasets. Challenging conditions, such as darkness, rain and fog, as well as unexpected situations or edge events, are also said to be easily handled, the latter with a complex multi-case language model.
In addition to this, the large language model embedded within the agent framework is said to go beyond the basic voice assistant and “make the whole car come alive,” although how that is expressed is not clear, while the fact that Tensor does not use a cloud-based system means that data is stored locally, ensuring privacy. Robocar is also said to be capable of self-maintenance, performing initial checks and software updates, and offering automatic sensor cleaning.
Tensor has some established partners on board, with Nvidia provides an onboard supercomputer for 8,000 TOPS, and the car will be assembled in Vietnam by VinFast, the proud automaker that keeps trying to enter the US market, although some problems. Other partners include Bosch, Continental and Samsung, while dedicated insurance uses Marsh.
Although Robocar is fully autonomous, it comes with Dual Mode, meaning owners can choose to drive or be driven, with the latter enabled by a folding steering wheel and a sliding display.
When and where Robocar can operate autonomously is up in the air, as all sorts of regulatory issues will have to be addressed first. Tensor said the car will be available in “selected global markets in the US, Europe and the United Arab Emirates” from 2026, but the company did not provide details on pricing.
However, Tensor isn’t lacking in confidence, with chief marketing officer Amy Luca saying: “We’re ushering in the era of AI-defined cars. This isn’t a car as we know it. It’s an integrated personal agent that moves you.”
