Toyota T-Pilot will be standard equipment on all series, and the emergency braking distance is ridiculously accurate.

When it comes to intelligent driving, it seems that most people think of Tesla and new forces such as Wei Xiaoli.

Established automobile giants such as Toyota and Volkswagen seem to be far behind the times in this intelligent transformation.

But is this really the case?

In Changshu, Jiangsu Province, in a wetland that has not completely thawed, a group of wild ducks feel the slightest hint of spring in the lake.

A huge circular test track is located in it. This is Toyota's R&D base in China, where the development and adaptation of Toyota's "most advanced key technologies" are carried out.

On the side of the test track, a Toyota bZ4X, a LiDAR L9 with one lidar and a Xpeng P5 with two lidars   (  parameters  |  inquiry  ) were lined up side by side.

This time, Toyota will directly challenge the hot new power.

Experience: Far better than Ideal L9 and Xpeng P5

At the circular test track, we experienced functions such as the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control System (DRCC) and the Intelligent Lane Tracking System (LTA) on the Toyota bZ4X.

In terms of lane keeping, the lane recognition is very accurate and can keep the vehicle in the center of the lane.

Faced with a sudden merging vehicle, Toyota's T-Pilot feels more like an experienced driver. When braking suddenly, it is very gentle, and neither the driver nor the rear passengers feel too abrupt.

When the vehicle in front accelerates, Toyota T-Pilot can also accelerate to keep up with it in time to avoid the space being too large and being blocked by other vehicles.

Although the two benchmark models of new forces can recognize and perceive the car very well and provide timely emergency braking action, they do not seem to consider the comfort of the passengers on the car, especially the control of the braking force, which seems a bit reckless and urgent. .

Even when following lanes, dragons appear in the lanes.

When entering a curve, Toyota T-Pilot can maintain the vehicle speed at 70km/h and accurately negotiate the curve, but new models need to slow down to 50km/h to automatically negotiate the curve.

In the intelligent parking process, the intelligent parking system (Advanced Park) in T-pilot allows the bZ4X to complete reverse parking in the shortest time and in one fell swoop. The parking position is quite accurate every time and the car is kept in the center. However, although newer models can also park into the berth, they often veer to the left or right.

The parking assist braking system (PKSB) equipped on Toyota bZ4X can prevent the vehicle from being restricted by the rear blind area, thereby better protecting pedestrians. If a pedestrian suddenly appears behind the vehicle, especially a child with a low height, a total of 8 vehicles can pass through the front and rear of the vehicle. A sensor detects obstacles, sensitively identifies emergencies, and makes automatic emergency braking to reduce collision damage. However, the two competing products in the same field, the Lideal L9 and the Xpeng P5, failed to achieve this.

What is even more surprising is that the performance of Toyota's pre-collision safety system in dangerous road conditions such as "pedestrian crossing the road" and "ghost probe" is so accurate that it is outrageous.

During the three times we tested, the bZ4X accurately stopped at a distance of 50cm from the obstacle, and its accuracy was amazing.

The ideal L9 and Xiaopeng P5 competing in the same field were a bit disappointing. They could not handle the braking distance well every time, resulting in each hitting an obstacle once.

If you encounter a similar scenario in actual road conditions, it will sometimes work well and sometimes not, which is really not reassuring.

Throughout the entire experience, Toyota T-pilot's precision, precision and emergency handling of dangerous situations were amazing.

The evolution of Toyota T-pilot

In fact, as a global automobile giant, Toyota is not lagging behind in terms of autonomous driving.

However, unlike most new car-making forces that regard autonomous driving as a symbol of their own technical strength, Toyota's goal in the direction of autonomous driving is safety first and reducing casualties.

Toyota T-pilot was first launched as TSS: Toyota Safety Sense. As early as 2016, Toyota installed the TSS driver assistance system on mass-produced vehicles.

Towards the ultimate goal of "mass production of happiness" and "zero casualties in traffic accidents", Toyota implements comprehensive safety measures integrating people, vehicles and the traffic environment to develop safer cars and achieve a safer traffic environment. Earnestly promote various aspects of autonomous driving.

In order to achieve the goal of "zero traffic accident casualties", Toyota has been committed to the "pursuit of safety" and the development of safety technology.

By analyzing actual traffic accidents, we can apply it to the development of functions.

Based on the investigation and analysis of accidents and the filing of countermeasures, the system is continuously optimized.

“On the basis of understanding the content of the accident, we constantly ask ourselves, what should we do, what functions should be developed, what effects can the developed functions achieve, and whether there are any areas that can be optimized, etc. Functional development. "The R&D director of Toyota T-pilot told us, "For the pursuit of safety, development is not something that can be completed in one go, but a continuous process of evolution."

From the investigation and analysis of accidents to simulation, to development and evaluation, through continuous cycle optimization, Toyota believes that it will get closer and closer to the goal of "zero casualties in traffic accidents."

When many car companies mention the research and development of autonomous driving, one word has become popular recently - big data and big models. This means that enough data and various accidental accident scenarios must be mastered to continuously train and upgrade autonomous driving capabilities.

As a giant car company with annual sales of 10 million vehicles in various regions around the world, it has unique advantages in building a database for traffic accident investigations.

Starting in 2016, Toyota's various driving assistance functions will continue to evolve until 2022.

TSS has continued to evolve since its launch in 2016.

In 2016, the first generation of smart mobility safety packages, including five systems represented by automatic braking PCS, came out.

In 2018, with the improvement of sensor recognition capabilities, the second-generation system was further strengthened, and the pre-collision safety system was added to respond to pedestrians, bicycles and other accidents at night. In addition, a lane keeping assist system has been installed.

On this basis, in 2021, PCS will strengthen its response to traffic accident patterns at intersections. Functions such as active steering wheel avoidance for vehicles and pedestrians turning left and right, as well as emergency steering, and predictive active driving assistance systems have been added.

Since the introduction of Toyota's smart safety, a total of approximately 5.87 million vehicles in China and a total of approximately 34.64 million vehicles worldwide have been equipped with smart safety packages.

Large company perspective

In the era of great changes without intelligence or cars, intelligent assisted driving has become a necessary function.

As a relatively conservative major automobile company, Toyota also hopes to establish its own unique label in terms of intelligence.

Through a comparative test drive in Changshu, we found that Toyota T-pilot is not inferior to new models in terms of function points and detail processing.

But Toyota's goal is somewhat different. The goal of all functions is not for intelligence, but for safety.

For example, some brands currently frequently experience accidents caused by accidentally pressing the accelerator pedal. Toyota launched the related parking assist braking function in 2012.

The ultrasonic radars installed on the front and rear of the vehicle can be used to detect surrounding obstacles, and the millimeter-wave radars on the sides and rear can detect oncoming cars on the left and right. Regardless of whether the obstacles are present, when the driver mistakenly presses the accelerator hard while parking, the system will inhibit acceleration. , and the brakes will intervene to avoid collision accidents.

Currently, about 86% of Toyota models are equipped with parking assist braking function.

At the same time, Toyota's goal is to mass-produce happiness and zero casualties. It is not only functional and easy to use, but also popular.

Toyota China introduced that Toyota T-pilot will be standard equipment in all new models to be launched.