Who’s VisLab

A high-tech company based in Parma, VisLab is focused on all aspects of ADAS and autonomous driving—from the fundamentals of environmental perception all the way to product and deployment—including machine learning, deep neural networks (DNNs), stereovision, robotics, sensor fusion, planning, system calibration, and more. Founded in the late ‘90s as a research laboratory at the University of Parma, VisLab quickly established itself as a pioneer in vehicle autonomy before spinning off from the University in 2009. Since then, VisLab has continued its pioneering research under founder Alberto Broggi, establishing several internationally recognized milestones in self-driving along the way.

VisLab is part of

In 2015, VisLab was acquired by Ambarella, a publicly traded semiconductor company based in Silicon Valley (Nasdaq:AMBA) headquartered in Santa Clara (California, USA) and with offices in Detroit (Michigan, USA), Munich (Germany), Hong Kong, Hsinchu (Taiwan), SeongNam City (South Korea), Shanghai (China), Shenzhen (China), and Yokohama (Japan). Specializing in the development of advanced computer vision hardware processors, Ambarella relies on VisLab for core research and development across all the markets with a particular focus on automotive. Like Ambarella, VisLab offers a Silicon-Valley-like work environment—energetic, open, informal, and collaborative—but still remains an Italian company, based in Parma, Italy.

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VisLab’s core activities

VisLab provides top level research to Ambarella in the most contemporary high-tech fields such as autonomous driving, robotics, and deep learning. VisLab equips and operates a fleet of autonomous vehicles and received the first authorization from the Italian Ministry of Transportation to run autonomous driving tests on open roads. Besides Italy, VisLab owns special permits to run autonomous tests in Nevada and California.

VisLab, headquartered in the University of Parma campus, is tightly connected to the Academia and provides teaching activities to the local/regional University; selected PhD students and graduate students are offered interships to join VisLab’s leading edge research activities.

We’re recruiting

We are looking for INNOVATORS in Machine Learning, Simulation, Autonomy and Control.

We offer a great dynamic, informal, and international working environment with daily connections
with our colleagues in California, Taiwan, and China.

Capabilities

Over the past 20+ years, VisLab has developed a unique set of capabilities in the field of robotics, primarily focused on computer vision for ADAS and autonomous driving. In cooperation with leading companies worldwide, VisLab has pushed the boundaries of environmental perception for a variety of robotic vehicle applications—including mining, earth moving, agricultural, and surveillance—developing several visionary autonomous prototypes in the process.

VisLab Logo

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The VisLab logo represents the eye, which is the symbol of vision. The iris’ square shape represents the ‘artificial’ nature of the vision process that is the main focus of the Lab activity. The colors (yellow and blue) are Parma official colors.

Automotive

VisLab was one of the first laboratories to invest in vision-based technologies for environmental perception, an idea that continues to shape the field of vehicular robotics today. The implementation of vision systems onboard vehicles not only requires familiarity with the latest vision technologies, but also a deep understanding of the key issues of deployment, such as calibration, illumination, noise, temperature, power consumption, as well as cost and installation constraints. Throughout the course of its 20+ year history, VisLab has earned a reputation for developing robotic applications that perform beautifully inside the lab and under real-world conditions, primarily using affordable vision-based hardware.

Robotics

VisLab’s expertise in automotive development has opened the door to developing robust and flexible systems for non-automotive applications as well, such as autonomous robots on a factory floor, as well as custom solutions for automated storage. Like its automotive solutions, VisLab’s robotics platforms are primarily vision based, supplemented by additional technologies such as laser-scanners and radar.

Historical Milestones

2015

Acquisition by Ambarella

2014

DEEVA – The new VisLab autonomous vehicle

On March 31, 2014, DEEVA – the new driverless vehicle prototype designed and realized by VisLab –
was presented to the media. DEEVA is a breakthrough in autonomous driving design since it integrates 20+ cameras and 4 laserscanners, while still looking like a normal vehicle.

2013

PROUD – Public Road Urban Driverless-Car Test

On July 12, 2013, BRAiVE, VisLab’s most advanced autonomous car, drove in downtown Parma,
negotiating two-way narrow rural roads, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, artificial bumps,
pedestrian areas, and tight roundabouts. Everything with absolutely no human intervention for the first time ever!

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2010

The VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge

13.000 km, 3 months… and no one driving! VisLab team set up an extended test of its technology: a trip between Parma, Italy, and Shanghai, China, in autonomous mode that ended at the World Expo;