DJI Automotive, the drone manufacture’s smart vehicle arm has now branched off into its own company, ZYT, or more formally Shenzhen Zhuoyu Technology Co., Ltd. More interestingly, German car maker is listed as being a customer alongside four other automakers.
DJI Automotive now ZYT
DJI Automotive has branched out into its own company, ZYT to fully focus on developing autonomous and safety tech for cars and other automobiles. Boasting over 1,000 R&D employees it clear to see DJI’s of obstacle avoidance tech first used in its drones has become a key piece of tech it can expand outside of the drone world.
The company’s main platform is known as the Chenghan Platform (rough English translation) and consists of two models. A seven sensor or a 10 sensor variant, both featuring an array of visual cameras and laser radar.
The platform has support for the following features:
- Active object tracking and braking
- Parking assistance
- Driving assistance
- High-speed navigation
- City navigation
- Road preview
- Smart headlights
- Panoramic DVR
- Automatic wipers
- Fog recognition
- Anti-theft detection
Volkswagen working with ZYT
While it might seem like a surprise that a German car maker is working with Chinese and DJI affiliated company it actually makes a lot of sense.
In January, BYD and FAW Group shared news that they want to invest in what was then called DJI Automotive, now ZYT. It also happens to be that FAW Group are a manufacturing partner of Volkswagen and Toyota in China.
Other companies with car models featuring ZYT’s tech include SAIC, Cherry, Dongfeng, and FAW. However, at the moment only SAIC and Cherry have listed models, while the rest including Volkswagen are all marked as coming soon.
So, while we might not see any Volkswagen cars outside of China receive ZYT’s tech for now, there is always the possibility Volkswagen and Toyota could start using it once it’s been approved in the relevant countries.
That is, if ZYT can even get approval and doesn’t face the same doom and gloom DJI is currently facing in the U.S.
