WITH its history of car making since 1898, Renault is about to make another quantum leap in terms of technology by giving its products human-inspired eyesight.

The French automotive leader is to bring in bio-inspired vision technology to extend capabilities of advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO and chairman of Renault announced during a speech at the Web Summit in Lisbon - Europe's leading technology show - that the group has entered a strategic development agreement with Chronocam SA, a developer of biologically-inspired vision sensors and computer vision solutions for automotive applications.

Renault is now moving ahead to develop Chronocam's innovative approach to sensing and processing visual inputs to Renault's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving developments.

Chronocam's proprietary approach to computer vision follows on from its expertise in neuromorphic vision sensing, which mimics the human eye, and processing, which mimics the human brain.

Because of the efficiencies it brings through its data capture techniques, the technology can expand conventional vision methods.

It all translates into benefits such as faster detection of people and obstacles and lower overall cost of implementation.

The two companies will work together to apply Chronocam's technology to areas such as collision avoidance, driver assistance, pedestrian protection, blind spot detection and other critical functions to improve safety and efficiency in the operation of both manned and autonomous vehicles.

It is Renault's ambition to become one of the first brands to offer "eyes-off/hands-off" technology on mainstream vehicles at affordable prices.