Ambarella, Inc. has announced its partnership with Dongfeng Fengshen (Aeolus), a mid-to-high-end brand of the Dongfeng Motor Group, to build a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) based on Ambarella’s CV25 AI vision SoC and development platform. The first mass-production application of this system is in the Dongfeng Fengshen Yixuan Max, which launched on September 1st, 2021. Europe will begin to require DMS in vehicles manufactured from 2025 onward.
Yixuan Max Technology
Dongfeng Fengshen is the flagship of Dongfeng Passenger Vehicles, and the Yixuan Max employs Dongfeng’s Mach Power, a new engine brand from Dongfeng Motor. Yixuan Max is also the first compact HEV sports vehicle based on DSMA, an independently designed and developed framework.
The Yixuan Max is complete with a high-definition camera and millimeter-wave radar, a front recognition range of up to 210 meters, and 360-degree coverage for multiple on-road scenarios, including driving at higher speeds, changing lanes, and parking.
New Fatigue Alarm System
The Fatigue Alarm System equipped to the Yixuan Max is powered by the Ambarella CV25 AI vision automotive-grade SoC. The Fatigue Alarm System detects the driver’s behavior and physiological state via eye-tracking and object detection. As described by Ambarella, the computer vision system can understand the driver’s cognitive and physical state, among other factors. When the driver is distracted, fatigued, dozing off, smoking, talking on the phone, or participating in any other unsafe behavior, the Fatigue Alarm System will warn the driver accordingly.
“This DMS safety system is the latest example of the practical, intelligent automotive technology solutions that Ambarella and Dongfeng Fengshen have cooperated on to achieve mass production,” said Fermi Wang, CEO of Ambarella. “We plan to continue this partnership to help Dongfeng commercialize additional intelligent systems for its world-class vehicles.”
Dongfeng Fengshen’s AI-based multi-channel smart cabin also adopts Ambarella’s exposure control technology, which can avoid interference from multiple cameras with light sources using the same frequency. This DMS also conforms to the Euro NCAP 2025 standard specification, enabling it to implement visual processing under complex lighting conditions, which plays a crucial role in safe, intelligent driving.
