How to solve the internal anxiety of LiDAR?

Introduction: In 2021, LiDAR, which was once considered unattainable, has appeared on many newly launched models. With the continuous maturity of technology and the continuous decline in costs, it seems that it has become inevitable for new domestic cars to be equipped with LiDAR. Even SAIC  Zhiji L7  (  parameters  |  inquiry  ), although it will not be equipped with LiDAR in the first batch of delivered models, has reserved an interface for customers to upgrade to LiDAR configuration later. The increasing number of LiDARs has subtly made the Chinese people think that the more LiDARs, the better, but is this really the case? In 2022, whether it is a new force car company or an independent brand, whether the anxiety of LiDAR can be alleviated may become another highlight.

Compared with foreign automakers, domestic automakers do have obvious advantages in the field of driving assistance/autonomous driving. In particular, automakers such as Weilai and Xiaopeng have long had point-to-point navigation functions on highways, which can bring consumers a completely different driving experience than before. On the other hand, among foreign automakers, neither Volkswagen nor Toyota has been able to implement the navigation function in China. Even General Motors, which owns Cruise, has relatively limited SuperCruise deployed in China. Building its own leading advantage in the field of autonomous driving has become an important means for new forces/independent brands to surpass traditional multinational auto giants.

The unstoppable internal competition of LiDAR

Starting with the Xiaopeng P5 equipped with two solid-state laser radars, the NIO ET7/ET5, the WM M7, and the first model of the Great Wall Motors' high-end electric car brand Salon Zhixing, which was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show, equipped with four laser radars. When a new electric car model of a domestic independent brand is launched, whether it is equipped with laser radars and how many laser radars are deployed have become important indicators for people to evaluate the level of autonomous driving of this model. As for Huawei AITO's first model, the M5, because it does not have a laser radar, even the manufacturer itself does not use autonomous driving/driving assistance as a selling point for its external publicity.

Previously, many models, including Tesla, that were not equipped with LiDAR had experienced many traffic accidents due to failure to identify stationary obstacles in front. Therefore, domestic consumers regard LiDAR as the key to solving important problems of autonomous driving/driving assistance. So it is no exaggeration to say that the competition among domestic brands in the new generation of smart electric vehicles is no longer limited to the three-electric system and smart cockpit. LiDAR has become one of the important indicators for Chinese people to judge the level of autonomous driving/driving assistance of this model. The unstoppable involution of the number of LiDARs is the best annotation for the anxiety that they will fall behind in this new round of competition.

LiDAR is not a panacea

Compared with the pure visual surrounding situational awareness solution, LiDAR can undoubtedly better make up for the shortcomings of the pure visual technology solution in identifying static obstacles in front. LiDAR was not used before, mainly because the mechanical rotating LiDAR represented by Velodyne at that time was expensive and difficult to meet the requirements of automotive grade. With the continuous maturity of solid-state LiDAR technology and the continuous reduction in cost, LiDAR has become a solution for many domestic independent brands' autonomous driving systems.

In fact, from the consensus reached by all parties, before V2X is fully rolled out, high-level autonomous driving will be difficult to cover all vehicle use scenarios in the short term. Highways with relatively simple working conditions and ports, mines, and parks that can drive at low speeds are likely to be the first areas to launch driverless vehicles. In addition, Robotaxi, which is currently in full swing in China and the United States, will also be another important use scenario for autonomous driving. So for ordinary consumers, even if lidar is installed, most of the current vehicles still require consumers to maintain a high degree of concentration during driving and be ready to take over the vehicle at any time. In fact, strictly speaking, the driving assistance/autonomous driving currently on the market can only improve the safety performance of the vehicle, but there is still a long way to go before fully autonomous driving.

The role of software in determining the functions of autonomous driving/driving assistance is definitely no less than that of hardware. This is why Tesla's electric cars are not equipped with lidar, but are far ahead in sales of models equipped with lidar, including the Xiaopeng P5. In addition, several electric cars such as BYD Han also do not have lidar, and their sales have also left the Xiaopeng P5 far behind. Even the P7, which is also under Xiaopeng, although it does not have lidar, has surpassed the P5 in sales by a lot, and is currently the undisputed sales leader of Xiaopeng Motors. Therefore, lidar is not the only factor that determines the sales of car companies. The comprehensive capabilities of the vehicle configuration, the level of the three-electric system, the cost-effectiveness, and even the business model behind each brand are the most important factors that determine whether this model can sell well. Autonomous driving capabilities or lidar are at best just one of the factors.

There is no need to worry about LiDAR

Behind the involution of LiDAR, the major OEMs hope to make up for the hardware gap in the shortest time possible, so that their new high-end sub-brands will not be directly attacked by competitors. At present, the domestic smart electric vehicle market is very competitive. Among them are not only new car manufacturers such as Wei, Xiaoli and Li Auto that we are familiar with, but almost every mainstream independent brand has launched a high-end electric vehicle sub-brand. In the relatively limited electric vehicle market, so many new brands have poured in at once, especially when the models and technologies of all parties are relatively homogeneous. If you want to stand out, you must not let yourself have obvious shortcomings and deficiencies. Following this logic, it has become the general background for various domestic brands to launch LiDAR.

Starting with Tesla AutoPilot, major car companies around the world have been developing autonomous driving for a long time. As OTA technology becomes increasingly popular, it should be a more reasonable technical route to determine an autonomous driving hardware technology solution for current models, and to help consumers unlock more usage scenarios through continuous upgrades and optimizations in the later stage, and to keep approaching L4 level autonomous driving. Therefore, whether there is a lidar or not, it is not only necessary to look at the deployment of competitors, but also to be closely integrated with one's own hardware technology route. It cannot be equipped for the sake of carrying a lidar. This will not only increase the cost of the entire vehicle, but once a related traffic accident occurs in the later stage, it will also make consumers no longer trust the brand's autonomous driving technology. After all, even if lidar is used, traffic accidents still occur. This perception is really too bad.

Reviews

LiDAR is a superficial phenomenon. Behind the involution of LiDAR is the fact that car companies all hope to seize the domestic smart electric vehicle market share. Whether in terms of sales or market value, they have put themselves in a favorable position. But LiDAR is just a hardware. In the future, more and more models will be equipped with LiDAR. Therefore, in addition to considering the installation of LiDAR in vehicles, the OEMs should continue to optimize algorithms and unlock more usage scenarios for high-level autonomous driving, which is the key to ensuring their competitiveness. Therefore, while visible LiDAR is certainly important, the consumer reputation formed by the invisible autonomous driving software platform is the key to determining whether this model can sell well in the future with the configuration of autonomous driving.