Alibaba-backed Banma unveils AR-Driving tech, forms On-Line Service Alliance

On July 6, Banma, a Chinese ICV comprehensive solution provider co-built by SAIC Group and Alibaba Group, unveiled the AR-Driving technology and announced the establishment of the On-line Service Alliance (OSA) under the partnership with many automobile service providers.

Spending two years in R&D, the AR-Driving technology is beyond the barrier of automotive hardware by adopting an innovative algorithm integrating virtual and actual reality technologies. Meanwhile, this was also the first time that AR (augmented reality) technology has been applied in production vehicles.

Moreover, Banma has teamed up with many automobile service providers to establish the OSA, which aims to supply the integration of platform, technologies and services covering user's accounts, location, voice, cloud and payment, by virtue of the simultaneous on-line operation of vehicles, drivers and services.

There are over 500,000 new vehicles equipped with Banma's intelligent operational system since July, 2016 in which the Roewe RX5, the world's first mass-produced ICV model co-developed by SAIC Group and Alibaba was unveiled. In December, 2017, Banma joined hands with 6 trusted sign-on providers, including TimaNetworks, China Unicom Smart Connection Technology and LAN-YOU Technology, etc., to form an alliance focusing on the operation of domestic tailored services and China's self-developed automobile operational system. Additionally, Banma signed a strategic agreement with the global-leading appliance manufacturer Bosch in March, 2018 to develop cooperation in automotive multi-media software and hardware as well as smart mobility solutions.