Quality cars: What exactly is the smart cockpit that car companies are passionate about?

As the automobile industry is transforming from the era of traditional fuel vehicles to the era of new energy vehicles, the associated automobile cockpit industry is also moving towards the third technological change - the era of smart cockpits. Major automobile manufacturers have flooded into this market, trying to attract consumers through personalized and differentiated selling points, thereby increasing the sales of their own products. Data shows that the amount of investment and financing in China's smart cockpit field will reach 2.68 billion yuan in 2022, which is higher than the 2.25 billion yuan in the smart driving field. It can be seen that manufacturers have invested a lot in "smart cockpit". So what exactly is the “smart cockpit” that car companies talk about? What functions does it contain? In this issue, let’s talk about the topic of “smart cockpit”.

1. Smart cockpit concept

If you want to understand the smart cockpit, you must first understand its meaning. According to the explanation given by Baidu Encyclopedia: Intelligent cabin (intelligent cabin) aims to integrate a variety of IT and artificial intelligence technologies to create a new in-car integrated digital platform to provide drivers with intelligent experience and promote driving safety. At present, there are many research works at home and abroad, such as installing cameras on the AB pillars and rearview mirrors of vehicles to provide emotion recognition, age detection, legacy detection, seat belt detection, etc.

In fact, smart cockpits are a product that has only become popular in recent years. With the rapid iteration of software and hardware technology levels such as automotive chips, human-computer interaction, and automotive systems, automotive cockpits have begun to fully enter the intelligent stage. Consumers’ understanding of the value of cars has gradually shifted from a travel tool to a “third living space”. At present, the form of smart cockpit mainly includes multi-modal interaction solutions such as voice interaction, machine vision, and tactile monitoring to achieve in-car perception, becoming an "intelligent mobile space" that integrates social interaction, entertainment, family, and work.

According to data released by IHS, the domestic penetration rate of new cars equipped with smart cockpits in 2021 is 53.3%, and is expected to increase to 75.9% in 2025, which is higher than the penetration rate in the global market. By 2030, the global automotive smart cockpit market will reach US$68.1 billion, and the Chinese market will exceed RMB160 billion. It is worth mentioning that the smart cockpit is the second most critical factor for domestic consumers when purchasing a car, after safety configuration. Therefore, smart cockpits will undoubtedly become the "right-hand man" for car companies to win in the future.

2. What parts does the smart cockpit consist of?

At present, the main components of smart cockpits can be divided into the following categories:

1. Smart car-machine system: As the most important human-computer interaction information display window in the smart cockpit, the number and functionality of in-vehicle screens have changed significantly. Car company suppliers no longer stick to traditional screen layouts, including multi-screen, joint-screen and even Integrated screen solutions continue to emerge.

In addition, in order to highlight their own advantages and achieve personalization and differentiation of functions, OEMs and technology solution providers have created their own in-vehicle systems, such as Huawei's Hongmeng system, NIO's Banyan system, and BMW's iDrive system. etc. At the same time, OTA upgrades are also an important part of the smart cockpit. With OTA upgrades, the car-machine system will continue to bring fresh interactive experiences to drivers and passengers. For example, the Hongmeng 4.0 car-machine system just released not long ago has powerful processing capabilities and efficient resource management capabilities. The system uses an advanced distribution structure, so it operates more smoothly. At the same time, its artificial intelligence function is also excellent. It can provide personalized services based on the user's driving habits and preferences. It can automatically adjust the brightness and volume at specific times according to the user's habits, and can more accurately understand the user's intentions.

Of course, if you want to obtain a better operating experience, you cannot do without the support of hardware, and the chip is undoubtedly one of the lowest and most important hardware. The chip determines the data carrying capacity, data processing speed and image rendering capabilities of the cockpit domain controller, thereby determining the intelligent experience in the entire cockpit space. As for the most popular smart cockpit chip, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 is absolutely inseparable.

2. Intelligent interaction system: Another manifestation of the continuous development of artificial intelligence is that the forms of interaction between cars and people will become more diverse, such as intelligent voice interaction, AI digital emotional interaction, AR-HUD head-up display, and rhythmic ambient lights.

Intelligent voice interaction has become a very critical way of human-computer interaction. From the user's perspective, the core value of voice interaction is mainly reflected in releasing the user's hands, making the interaction between humans and machines more efficient and convenient. For example, on the Ideal L7, the intelligent voice system can operate functions such as air conditioning, windows, sunshades, lights, seats, and 360-degree surround views, which can almost "free your hands."

AI digital emotional interaction means that the smart cockpit of a car has the ability to perceive, think, and evolve, creating a more extensible and emotional car form. For example, the side windows of the BMW i Vision Dee model can display the driver’s virtual image. Through various sensors, the vehicle can identify the person's identity and location. When the vehicle detects that the driver is walking towards the cockpit, the door will automatically open to welcome him.

AR-HUD is a combination of AR technology and head-up display. It is a new technology that "seamlessly" integrates real-world information and virtual world information. With the support of AR-HUD technology, users can obtain more data information, such as the vehicle's position, direction, speed, road conditions, etc., which not only improves driving safety, but also greatly enhances the driver's perception and interaction capabilities.

Ambient lights have been used as decorative lights in cars in the past, but with the in-depth development of intelligent networking and smart cockpits, car companies have begun to realize that ambient lights can not only simply provide lighting, but also become smart partners in the cockpit. When music is played in the car, the ambient lights can dance according to the melody, thereby interacting emotionally with the drivers and passengers, enhancing the user's driving experience.

3. Intelligent sensing system: The intelligent sensing system means that the cockpit uses sensing technology to enable the vehicle to have the ability to see and understand people. When sensing data is obtained, such as: in-car vision, voice, touch, smell and other recognition technologies, comprehensive judgment can be made The physiological state and behavioral state of the driver and passengers are then combined with the specific scene to understand the person, so as to perform interactions and improve the experience.

The main warning functions of DMS driver monitoring mainly include: eye closing warning, lowering head warning, yawning warning, phone call warning, smoking warning, looking left and right warning, lens blocking warning, etc.

4. Comfort function: Enhancing the comfort experience of drivers and passengers is an important part of the smart cockpit. Nowadays, all types of new energy vehicles focus on creating more comfortable seats. For example, the Queen's passenger seat on the NIO ES8 adopts a unique "folding" design, which can fold the seat to form a comfortable footrest. At the same time, the Queen's passenger seat is also equipped with a variety of massage functions and seat heating. , making passengers more comfortable during the journey.

In addition, devices such as negative ion purification systems and fragrances can also relax drivers and passengers physically and mentally, thereby enhancing the driving experience.

5. Entertainment function: As technology continues to evolve, in-car entertainment has long been integrated into users' lives, giving users a brand new car experience. For example, car central control games, car rear games, VR games, car KTV, car shopping, etc.

There are also players like  Xpeng P5 ( parameters | inquiry ) that have ever-changing smart spaces, which are equipped with a car theater mode. Drivers and passengers only need to manually remove the headrests of the front seats, select the mode on the screen, and immediately enter the sleeping space. In this mode, the front backrest can automatically fold down to be flush with the rear row, thereby forming a platform, and the sunshade can automatically rise. Then the car owner only needs to hang up the exclusive car curtain, and the giant-screen theater will appear in front of you instantly. The optional 8-speaker sound is comparable to movie theater-level surround immersion.

6. Internet of Everything: The foundation of a smart cockpit with leading functions is to be able to achieve interconnection with the outside world. Especially with the support of 5G technology, cars will be able to achieve effective interconnection between cars, cars and backends, cars and infrastructure, and cars and the cloud, bringing great convenience to people's travels.

Specifically, cars and mobile phones, cars and wearable devices, and cars and smart homes can all be integrated together, allowing our life scenes to be seamlessly switched in different spaces. For example, mobile phones can remotely control car doors, windows, lights, air conditioners, etc., and provide car-related services, including refueling, violation reminders, parking space photos, and car search.