Mobileye, Delphi To Showcase Driverless-Car Technology At CES - Investor's Business Daily

Advancements in driverless-car technology will be revealed by Mobileye (MBLY) and partner Delphi Automotive (DLPH) at the CES show in Las Vegas next month.

Mobileye, a developer of advanced driver-assistance technology, hooked up with auto supplier Delphi in August after it parted ways with Tesla Motors (TSLA) in July. The pair will jointly develop off-the-shelf autonomous driving technology for automakers.

Earlier, Mobileye joined Intel (INTC) and BMW (BMWYY) in another partnership to develop a fully automated driving system.

Mobileye's core product is chip and software technology that provides image processing and analysis used in cars with camera-based systems for assisted driving, such as automatic braking.

At the CES show in Las Vegas Jan. 5-8, Mobileye and Delphi plan to showcase their autonomous-driving technology with a 6.3-mile drive on highways and surface streets, using prototype vehicles. Mobileye will also reveal the progress it has made with mapping technology, which is the best in the business, Dan Galves, Mobileye's senior vice president of communications, said in a briefing Thursday morning.

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IBD'S TAKE: Despite safety questions, the self-driving-car era is arriving fast, perhaps this decade. Automakers and tech companies are plowing billions of dollars into research and forging alliances in a rush for the inside lane on the automobile's most revolutionary track since the Ford Model T a century ago.

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Mobileye, Intel and BMW aim to deliver a fully automated all-electric vehicle by 2021. Intel will provide a broad set of technologies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. Mobileye is providing chips and software. BMW says this partnership is the foundation for BMW Group's autonomous-driving strategy, as it plans for fleets of fully autonomous vehicles.

Mobileye's CES briefing comes just days after Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) said it separated its self-driving car efforts into a new company, called Waymo, but under the Alphabet umbrella. The new Waymo unit also confirmed that it isn't trying to be a carmaker, but will focus instead on technology that enables autonomy. John Krafcik, the former auto exec who has led Alphabet's driverless-car project for the past several years, will stay as Waymo's CEO.

Apple's rumored car project is also reportedly headed in a similar direction as Waymo, after initially contemplating development of a car and self-driving systems. Apple has publicly acknowledged its interest in autonomous vehicles, telling transportation regulators that its work could revolutionize the "future of transportation."

Apple hasn't confirmed a specific project related to autonomous cars. But in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Nov. 22, Apple said it is "investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation."

Mobileye's split with Tesla was a result of the fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S that was using Autopilot mode, and for "pushing the envelope in terms of safety" with Autopilot, Mobileye Chairman Amnon Shashua said in September.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the split was "inevitable," and suggested Mobileye was holding Tesla back, with Tesla focusing on radar technologies and away from the camera technologies backed by Mobileye.

Mobileye stock rose 0.51% to 35.29 in the stock market today but is trading below its 10-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

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