Smart car door research: The assembly rate continues to increase, and the trend of integration is obvious

Zuosi Auto R&D released the "2023 China Smart Car Door Market Research Report", which analyzes and studies the functional characteristics, market status, OEM layout, supplier layout, and development trends of China's smart car doors.

Smart doors are based on traditional doors by adding door control units, drivers , sensors and other components to achieve intelligent functions such as intelligent unlocking, automatic opening/closing, environment sensing, slope hovering and even interactive combination with other components. With the development of automobile intelligence, the demand for intelligent car doors is constantly increasing.

1. The assembly rate of intelligent door functions has increased rapidly

From the perspective of marketization, the smart door functions that have been implemented on a large scale at this stage mainly include APP controlled doors, DOW door opening warning, hidden electric door handles, frameless doors, electric suction doors, automatic opening and closing doors, etc. .

APP controlled door has the highest assembly rate, with the assembly rate exceeding 30% as of July 2023; DOW door opening warning is second, with the assembly rate exceeding 10%.

Hidden electric door handles and frameless doors have become bonus points for vehicle styling, and the assembly rate is increasing rapidly.

Electric suction doors are mainly installed on mid-to-high-end models above RMB 350,000. Representative models include Ideal L7/L8/L9, Weilai ET5, etc. However, compared with 2022, the price has begun to drop to about 150,000 yuan, and the representative model is the Leapmo C11.

Automatic closing doors are still a luxury feature installed on models with a price tag of over 300,000 yuan, and are installed on less than 10 models, mainly HiPhi Z, Jikrypton 001, Xiaopeng P7, Zhiji L7, etc.

Installation rate of smart door functions for passenger cars in China from 2021 to 2023

Source: Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 China Smart Car Door Market Research Report"

2. Car doors and sensors are integrated to create a smart entry method

From the perspective of the car door opening method, digital keys and PEPS rely on communication modules to unlock the vehicle, which is currently the mainstream car entry method. However, with the maturity of sensors and the development of biometric technology , sensorless unlocking by installing cameras , fingerprint sensors , etc. on door handles, B-pillars, or windows is expected to become the next generation of smart entry methods for cars. At this stage, the biometric door opening methods that have been applied in vehicle models mainly include gesture recognition, face recognition, fingerprint recognition , and finger vein recognition.

Biometric unlocking car model case

Source: Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 China Smart Car Door Market Research Report"

Suppliers are also actively developing biometric door opening methods.

ArcSoft Technology's 3D  ToF gesture interaction solution provides detection depth information, facial recognition and anti-counterfeiting, and provides guarantee for car login or door unlocking.

Cerence has launched Cerence Exterior Vehicle Communication, an exterior voice interaction technology that combines AI and voice to support drivers interacting with the car outside the vehicle. The system accurately recognizes the voiceprint and content through speech, and performs a series of tasks such as unlocking the door, opening the trunk, and turning on the lights.

SenseAuto Cabin-K uses high-precision face recognition, live detection and other recognition technologies, combined with 3D modules and various human-computer interactions to create a complete solution of controller + module + trigger device + software solution to provide touchless face unlocking function. Its security level can meet payment-level requirements, enabling intelligent management of vehicles by cloud or local managers.

3. The trend of integrated door control is obvious

Under the evolving trend of electronic and electrical architecture, body domain controllers are showing two major trends:

The first is to integrate more functions on the basis of the original BCM, which is gradually transitioning from a decentralized function combination to a large controller integrating basic drives, key functions, lights, doors, windows, etc. of all body electronics.

Second, in the cross-domain integration stage, the body domain is expected to be integrated with the cockpit domain, power domain, and chassis domain to achieve a wider range of centralized control and functional linkage.

From the perspective of OEMs, with the help of domain control architecture, car doors can be linked with cameras, radars , ambient lights, etc. to create an intelligent entry and exit experience.

For example, Gaohe's H- SOA super body electronic and electrical architecture is divided into six computing platforms to manage the entire vehicle, namely the entertainment domain computing platform IDCM, the autonomous driving domain computing platform ADCM, the power and chassis domain computing platform VDCM, and the body domain computing platform BDCM. , central gateway CGW, V-Box communication computing platform. Based on the H-SOA architecture, the smart door system created by Gaohe is equipped with 6 electric NT doors, 6 motors, 4 position sensors , 12 ultrasonic sensors , 6 anti-collision and anti-pinch sensors, 1 rain sensor, 1 A body control computing platform supports multiple automatic entry methods and lighting interactions such as face recognition, mobile phone ID, and smart keys, creating an intelligent entry and exit experience in different scenarios.

From the supplier's perspective, Gaohe HiPhi X's door control units are developing towards hardware centralization and software virtualization.

For example, in terms of hardware, Brose has developed a new generation of door system electronic control units that integrate the full range control of the door system from the glass lifter to automatic door opening and closing and collision detection. Users only need to use a simple gesture, and the side door will open and close automatically. Radar sensors scan the surrounding environment in real time to prevent collisions. While driving, the in-car screen displays data from the outside cameras in real time. At the same time, the speaker control function can not only actively reduce noise , but also improve the sound quality of the in-car entertainment system, thereby providing passengers in the car with a comfortable travel experience.

Brose's new generation door system electronic control unit will be mass-produced in 2025. It is connected to the central controller through a high-bandwidth wire harness, which can reduce more than 30 wire harnesses used to connect the door, significantly saving space and cost; and solving the problem of multiple sensors. Issues such as data processing and fusion, as well as low-latency and high-rate transmission of image data.

Brose new generation door system

In terms of software, Brose BRAIN software system is a domain controller-based solution that integrates Brose PWM control, anti-pinch and other entry and exit systems and related control algorithms. The software system adopts SOA-oriented modular development and can be integrated into the electronic architecture of various models and major automobile manufacturers' systems.

The BRAIN software system provides users with an easy-to-use graphical operation interface, namely the scenario editor (Composer). In addition to the more than 70 application scenarios that Brose has defined, OEMs, third parties and even end users can use the software to Use the composer tool in the app to customize the scene and realize the "thousands of people and faces" of the vehicle. At present, the BRAIN software system design has been initially completed and prototypes have been installed and displayed to the public. Related business negotiations are underway with many domestic and foreign OEMs.