The Open Platform for Autonomy (OPA), a modular and open software platform driven by the newest artificial intelligence models, has been unveiled by self-driving tech startup Plus. Offering the best cost-to-performance ratio possible, OPA supports all levels of autonomy while accommodating individual customer needs.

highly automated PlusDriveTM.

From highly automated PlusDriveTM and driver-out SuperDriveTM to driver-in next-generation safety systems, Plus, with its headquarters in Santa Clara, California, is a global supplier of autonomous driving software solutions. Through partnerships with Bosch, dm-drogerie markt, DSV, IVECO, Luminar, Nikola, and Transurban, Plus is able to offer these capabilities to the market.

automated trucking industry.

The automated trucking industry has clearly shifted in the direction of expanding the use of self-driving vehicles in recent months. Gatik’s Gen3 vehicle designed for “freight only” operations and Aurora’s collaboration with Continental for the large-scale manufacturing of their Level 4 system are examples of this. The announcement of Plus’s OPA fits in with the goals of these and other businesses to expand their automated driving systems and democratize different types of technology in cars of the future.

The underlying flexibility, performance, and scalability built into Plus’s technology make it the partner of choice for leading global OEMs and Tier 1s in autonomous driving, according to Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder of Plus. The Open Platform for Autonomy is revolutionizing the industry because of this. It offers automakers and Tier 1 suppliers the greatest latitude in creating goods tailored to their markets and is a logical step toward gradually advancing their offers into more automated capacities.

Autonomous driving capabilities.

Because it allows for customization of smart car technology across various sensors, processors, vehicle platforms, and powertrains, Plus views OPA as a groundbreaking approach. Three modules make up the OPA: offboard (like software tools for creating HD maps) and vehicle integration (like autonomous vehicle functional modules). OPA is “the brain” that integrates the sensor suite, the computing platform, and the actuation systems that control the vehicle, as Plus describes it. This enables autonomous driving capabilities. According to Plus, OPA “enables customers to retain ultimate control over their autonomy solutions, while enabling quick integration of automated driving capabilities into their vehicles.”

By utilizing Plus’s fundamental Level 4 autonomous driving software as its common base, OPA supports use cases at all autonomy levels. According to Plus, perception technology in the OPA improves (or enables) next-generation safety systems for crash avoidance.

Plus’s Level 4 capability can be thought of as the OPA “DNA.”

Plus’s “L2++” PlusDrive® solution, which saves fuel and makes driving easier, is currently being tested on European public roads and is currently being used in the commercial delivery of freight in the United States. The L4 SuperDriveTM solution from Plus is also being used to assist in the introduction of autonomous trucks in Australia.

According to Plus, OPA will make PlusDrive scalable. The company believes that from a technology and end-user perspective, OEM customers who increase the range of their vehicles to incorporate higher levels of automation will see a smoother and quicker transition between levels. The greatest degree of customization for driving experiences is offered to customers by OPA’s modular design. The software-defined vehicle strategies of customer OEMs will be supported along the way by OPA’s over-the-air software updates, which will allow for ongoing feature expansion and improvement for drivers.

Universal Truck Interface.

Keep in mind that the “customers” in this case are OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, two established players in the automotive sector. This stands in sharp contrast to the early days of autonomous vehicles (AV), when fledgling companies would retrofit trucks owned by truck fleets to demonstrate their technology and secure investment. This was the case with the now-defunct Embark Trucks, which in 2021 announced the creation of a “Universal Truck Interface.”

With the Plus OPA, which is essentially a completely different animal, manufacturers can seamlessly incorporate Plus’s self-driving capability while maintaining flexibility in the overall implementation. Such actions are crucial for the AV industry to make the shift from “first launch” to full scale.