What is the correct development logic for the new four trends in automobiles (electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing)?

The concept of the "new four modernizations" of automobiles (electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing) has pointed out the direction for the future development of automobiles. Electrification refers to the development model of automobiles towards using power batteries as driving energy; intelligence refers to the installation of millimeter-wave radars, on-board cameras, lidar and other hardware equipment on the car , combined with software systems, and the support of advanced assistance systems to achieve single-vehicle intelligent development under autonomous driving ; networking refers to the use of technologies such as the Internet of Things to interconnect information between vehicles, vehicles and people, and vehicles and transportation facilities (v2x), thereby realizing intelligent networking (vehicle-road collaboration); sharing is a model for the future development of automobiles, which provides travel services and optimizes the traffic environment through sharing and mobile travel modes.

It was also pointed out in an earlier article (related reading: Autonomous driving and the "New Four Modernizations" of automobiles) that the logic of the "New Four Modernizations" of automobiles is exactly the model of autonomous driving development. Through electrification, a vehicle carrier is provided for the development of autonomous driving, making basic preparations for the arrival of autonomous driving. After the full popularization of electric vehicles, the intelligence of single vehicles can be realized by adding hardware equipment such as millimeter-wave radar, on-board cameras, and laser radar to the vehicles, and matching them with software systems.

The emergence of single-vehicle intelligence will give rise to the development of intelligent networking. By equipping smart cars with smart roads, a smart traffic environment will be created, and ultimately autonomous driving will be achieved. The emergence of autonomous driving will change people's travel and consumption habits. Self-driving cars under sharing will be able to meet the travel needs of more people, optimize the traffic environment, and reduce unnecessary waste of traffic resources. In addition, the ownership of self-driving cars under sharing belongs to the companies that provide shared travel. As consumers, we do not need to purchase expensive self-driving cars (in the early stages of autonomous driving, the manufacturing cost of self-driving cars will increase significantly due to the support of hardware and software, which may far exceed the purchasing power of many consumers). Sharing will also become the best solution for the rapid implementation of autonomous driving.

With in-depth thinking about the autonomous driving industry, Zhijia Frontier has given more consideration to the "new four modernizations" of automobiles. Previously, the understanding of the "new four modernizations" of automobiles was based on a single development model, namely, electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing will be realized step by step. Only when one model is fully realized can the next step of development be realized.

At this stage, Zhijia Frontier believes that the "new four modernizations" of automobiles are not a single development model, but a fusion, or even parallel development model. Take the current development of electrification as an example. As the market share of electric vehicles continues to increase, consumers' recognition of electric vehicles is also increasing. It is undeniable that fuel vehicles still occupy a high position in the automobile market, and electric vehicles are not fully popularized. However, many cars have begun to be equipped with advanced driver assistance systems and even voice assistants, which can make the driver's driving process easier and safer. Smart cars are gradually entering our lives. Even though the advanced driver assistance systems on many cars are not mainly based on active safety, and are even more entertainment-oriented, as people's acceptance and dependence on advanced driver assistance systems increase, more advanced driver assistance systems based on active safety will be used.

The wave of automobile intelligent development is sweeping in, and the concept of networking has also been mentioned by many companies. Zhijia Frontier believes that the development models of intelligence and networking should develop in parallel, and networking may even be ahead of intelligence. The development of networking is not only for the intelligence of a single vehicle, but is also very important for the current traffic environment dominated by drivers.

Connectivity is the concept of vehicle-road collaboration or intelligent networking that is well known to everyone. The development of connectivity has further enhanced the requirements for the intelligence of road-side roles such as traffic facilities and equipment, other vehicles, and has also placed high requirements on mobile Internet. Connectivity focuses more on solving problems such as safety, energy conservation, and environmental protection, optimizing the road traffic environment, and improving the road traffic architecture.

Why is the development of connected vehicles parallel to, or even ahead of, intelligent vehicles? In many first-tier cities, and even in some second- and third-tier cities, traffic jams, congestion, and ghosting are common, which leads to many safety accidents. The main reason is that drivers cannot communicate directly with each other or with pedestrians. Drivers and pedestrians are independent individuals. Only after one party responds can the other party make corresponding adjustments based on the other party's response. This will lead to the participants in the road traffic environment not being able to respond in the same way in the same traffic scenario, resulting in a deterioration of the road traffic environment and even accidents.

For example, at a traffic light intersection, after the red light turns green, the vehicles queuing to pass through the intersection will not react until the driver of the rear vehicle sees the front vehicle start to move. Many drivers even need reminders from the driver of the vehicle behind them to react in time due to chatting, distraction, etc. This further prolongs the time it takes to pass through the intersection, causing traffic congestion. If all vehicles at the intersection can start at the same time, the speed at which vehicles pass through the intersection can be greatly increased, optimizing the road traffic environment.

The development of networking can greatly improve such problems. Through networking, the vehicle and traffic equipment can be synchronized, and the countdown of can be displayed in real time on the vehicle's instrument cluster or large display screen. When the red or green light enters the countdown, the driver is reminded by vibration or sound, so that the driver can prepare in advance. This will greatly synchronize the preparation time of participating vehicles and prepare for starting or stopping in advance. At this stage, some buses have achieved partial networking. For example, at a traffic light intersection, the countdown can be displayed synchronously on the rear of the bus, so that the vehicles behind will not be blocked by the bus and cannot see the countdown, which requires more time to prepare.

For example, at many intersections, there are often ghosts poking their heads out, and accidents occur because the driver does not have time to react. The emergence of anti-collision systems has avoided such accidents to a certain extent. However, the premise of such advanced driver assistance systems is that the vehicle needs to detect pedestrians before it can react, and it cannot make advance predictions. If the distance is too close, the vehicle cannot react in time, and accidents cannot be avoided. Networking can synchronize the scheduled paths of pedestrians participating in traffic with surrounding vehicles (within a limited range, such as 20 m to 30 m). When pedestrians are about to appear from a place that the driver cannot foresee, the vehicle can inform the driver through images, sounds or vibrations a few seconds or even tens of seconds in advance, allowing the driver to reduce speed in advance and avoid pedestrians.

The development of intelligence focuses on reducing the driving burden on drivers, while the development of networking focuses on optimizing the road traffic environment and reducing the probability of traffic accidents. Zhijia Frontier believes that the development of networking does not have to wait until intelligence is realized. Compared with letting networking serve smart cars, serving drivers is more important. There is still a long way to go for autonomous driving to be commercialized. The role of the driver is still very important in the short term. The emergence of networking will allow drivers to get more traffic information, so that the traffic environment and driving safety will be further improved. What do you think about the development logic of the "new four modernizations" of automobiles? Welcome to follow Zhijia Frontier and leave a message to communicate.