The City of Sacramento will partner with Deepen AI, Inc. and Foresight AI, Inc. on a project designed to speed the development and safe deployment of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for the benefit of the city. The project will use Deepen AI’s 2D and 3D annotation technology, and Foresight AI’s proprietary, dynamic HD map building solution.

The three-month effort is slated to begin in February 2019, and will focus on building high-definition, 3D maps for three demonstration routes within the city.

Sacramento is committed to bringing our residents more shared, clean ways to get around. This partnership builds on our momentum toward becoming a center of innovation in new transportation technologies.

—Mayor Darrell Steinberg

Recognizing that fusing 2D, 3D, and HD data together into detailed and accurately annotated maps is a critical step to enabling safe and reliable autonomous vehicle systems, the City of Sacramento, through its Office of Innovation & Economic Development, is partnering with Deepen AI and Foresight AI to create seed maps that the City can share with AV manufacturers—e.g., carmakers such as GM and Tesla.

City-created maps of these key routes will help advance the local efforts of other individual technology and robotics companies and will speed the safe and reliable deployment of AV systems within the city.

AV systems rely on precise, accurately labeled map data about the routes they run on as a foundation for safe operation. Such detailed reference maps provide the critical foundation upon which additional real-time live elements (e.g., pedestrians, other vehicles, weather conditions, etc.) are perceived and safely navigated.

Deepen AI’s annotation technology uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, combined with human intelligence, to ensure that every physical element on or around the route is identified and accurately labeled for the AV’s software.

The Deepen team will annotate ground data captured by Foresight AI’s drones, which are deployed with advanced sensing technologies, such as lidar, cameras, survey-grade GPS, and inertial measurement units. Foresight will process the multi-sensor data collected over the designated routes and generate high-definition, highly-accurate, colorized, 3D maps. Foresight AI will also provide a web-based data portal for exploring and visualizing the 3D map data with open access to everyone.

The project will initially focus on three demonstration routes chosen by Sacramento:

• The Downtown Loop, a 1.7 mile loop covering J Street and L Street from 10th Street to 19th Street;

• The Sacramento State AV Shuttle Route, 1.2 miles linking University/65th Street Station to a Folsom Boulevard/65th Street/Elvas Avenue loop; and

• The Franklin-24th Loop, 3.5 miles of Franklin Boulevard, Fruitridge Road, 24th Street, and Sutterville Road.

With this partnership with Deepen and Foresight AI, as well as other initiatives sponsored by the City, Sacramento is positioning itself to be a leader in support of new mobility technologies. The effort has been spearheaded by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, US Rep. Doris Matsui, Sen. Richard Pan and Sacramento Kings co-owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé.