Regarding the far-leading "intelligent driving", you should know these issues

If you frequently use "advanced intelligent driving" functions such as Pilot Smart Driving, then I think today's article will be a good topic to discuss.

Do we understand enough about today’s advanced intelligent driving? Why are we still emphasizing "people and cars driving together"? What details are worth improving in today’s high-end smart driving?

Regarding these relatively broad issues, maybe we can exchange views with each other.

In recent months, our "Tram Lab" has experienced the pilot smart driving functions of brands such as NIO, Ideal, Zhiji, Jikrypton, Xpeng, Geely Galaxy, and Baojun.

From 2022, high-end brands will begin to comprehensively promote pilot smart driving functions (what about NOA, NGP, NZP...). By the second half of this year, models with pilot smart driving functions for less than 200,000, or even below 150,000 will begin to appear on the market.

This makes us realize that the popularity of Linghang smart driving may be faster than we expected.

In this process, in addition to summarizing and comparing the differences in piloting intelligent driving capabilities between different models, we are also paying attention to different readers' understanding and opinions of high-end intelligent driving. Among the many comments about:

1. What exactly is “Linghang Intelligent Driving”?

2. How should we use it correctly?

3. Are there any details that we may overlook during use?

These three specific issues are the focus of discussion most often. Let’s discuss them based on our recent experience.

01

hidden hierarchy

To answer the question of what “Pilot Intelligent Driving” is, we must first clarify the classification of “autonomous driving”.

As we all know, "assisted driving" and "autonomous driving" are closely related, but it is precisely because of the close connection between the two that many brands have put some "careful thoughts" on this.

According to the current mainstream and most well-known ones, the "autonomous driving classification method" proposed by the U.S. Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Society of Automated Engineers (SAE).

From cruise control, adaptive cruise, to pilot driving, these familiar vehicle functions have corresponding classification levels.

“What needs additional explanation is that with the continuous development of the industry and technology, different versions of the classification of autonomous driving levels have emerged.

Here we choose SAE’s classification standards as a reference, mainly considering:

1. This standard has a relatively long dissemination time, the best effect and the largest audience.

2. This standard still has good applicability at this stage for the large framework of autonomous driving level classification. Many new standards (including our country's national standards) are also refined and improved based on the framework of this standard. "

According to this standard, we can actually call the three levels L0, L1, and L2 "assisted driving", and the levels starting from L3 can be called "autonomous driving."

I believe we are not unfamiliar with this level classification, because in the vehicle product promotions in previous years, we often heard such propaganda: "Our new cars are equipped with L2, L2+, L2+++ level assisted driving..." Such propaganda.

But when it comes to the pilot smart driving function, it seems that all car companies have suddenly reached a tacit understanding and basically no longer take the initiative to mention this classification.

This can easily lead some users who understand L2-level assisted driving to draw the following inference:

Linghang Intelligent Driving is an upgraded product with L2-level assisted driving functions - Linghang Intelligent Driving > L2 - Linghang Intelligent Driving = L3 level autonomous driving.

But in fact, the current Linghang smart driving functions require users to always pay attention to the conditions outside the vehicle and the working status of the system during use, and to be ready to actively/passively take over the vehicle.

Therefore, whether it is evaluated according to the national standard, which only requires the system to complete the "detection and response of targets and events", or whether it is evaluated according to the SAE simplified version's standard of whether it can "eyes off", the current Linghang Intelligent Driving cannot. It is classified as L3 "autonomous driving".

For example, some brands call their smart driving products: "L2.9 of Infinite L3."

But this is not a numbers game. According to national and industry standards, levels below L3 are "assisted driving functions."

So the full name of Linghang Intelligent Driving is naturally the "Linghang Assisted Driving" function.

02

Situational awareness in "people-car sharing"

Since "Leader Intelligent Driving" is an "assisted driving function", in theory, we need to concentrate on the entire process of using the Pilot Intelligent Driving and maintain monitoring of the real-time conditions outside the car and the system.

At the same time, current traffic safety regulations also require that drivers must always observe the road conditions and hold the steering wheel while driving, regardless of whether the vehicle they are driving is equipped with an "assisted driving" system.

But is it safe to just sit in the driver's seat and hold the steering wheel to use assisted driving? I personally think it is far from enough.

In the past, when driving models without "assisted driving functions", we should have heard more or less of a concept - "situational awareness".

To explain the concept of "situational awareness" mechanically, it refers to the ability to accurately perceive changes in the environment and predict future developments through understanding and judgment during the information processing process.

Combined with the behavior of driving, expressed in plain language: when driving, we need to have a rough "360° reconstruction" of the external road conditions and traffic conditions in our minds, so as to estimate the subsequent driving conditions of the vehicle. and anticipate possible risks.

The "defensive driving" that everyone often mentions, I think, is a driving method derived from the concept of "situational awareness".

In the past, when "assisted driving functions" have not been widely popularized, due to the lack of corresponding auxiliary functions in vehicle models, drivers can only rely entirely on themselves to achieve safe driving of the vehicle. Therefore, our "situational awareness" of external conditions while driving is very important. will generally be stronger.

But with the popularization of "assisted driving functions", especially the emergence of "pilot assisted driving functions", under suitable working conditions, vehicles can already realize: adaptive driving with other vehicles, changing lanes to overtake, queuing at traffic lights, and going up and down ramps. …..Autonomous driving capabilities covering many scenarios.

This reduces the driver's "driving burden" to a great extent, but it also subtly weakens everyone's "situational awareness" when driving.

Even leaving aside the common illegal behaviors of taking hands off the steering wheel, eating, and playing with mobile phones. Situations such as distraction and daze while driving are also relatively common among users who use "Pilot Assisted Driving".

Now that vehicles with "pilot assist driving function" can independently complete automatic driving in many specific scenarios, do we still need to maintain the same intensity of "situational awareness" when driving as before?

I personally would be positive about this, that is, we still need to maintain sufficient "situational awareness" when using "assisted driving functions", including using "pilot assisted driving functions".

The reasons are as follows:

1. As mentioned above, the "pilot assisted driving function" belongs to assisted driving, not automatic driving.

"Assisted driving systems" only assist us in driving to a certain extent, but do not completely take over driving and free us from the driving task.

Therefore, "people and cars driving together" will be the normal state for us to use this type of function. In this state, maintaining sufficient "situational awareness" still plays an important role in driving safety.

2. With the development of "assisted driving functions", the system will inevitably take over more and more "driving tasks" that originally belonged to humans.

Under such a general premise, our construction of "situational awareness" for driving should also change with the development of technology. "Situational awareness" should not only include the traffic conditions outside the car, but also include "assisted driving" in the car. System's working status.

Even if we don’t need to pay as much attention to vehicle control and driving route selection as before, this part of our attention should not “disappear in a vacuum”, but should be transferred to focus on the working status of the “assisted driving system”.

03

"Status Reminder" for Assisted Driving Functions

Speaking of the working status of the "assisted driving system", in the process of contacting the "pilot assisted driving function" in the past few months, we found that there are some reminders for switching the working status of the assisted driving system, which are not clear and complete enough.

To quote the above content again, even if it is the "pilot assisted driving function", it is still an assisted driving function and requires "human and vehicle co-driving" - the cooperation of human and vehicle systems to complete the driving task.

Under such a general premise, it is very important for the driver to grasp the working status/level of the system when using the assisted driving function.

Although according to the level classification, from ACC, LCC to pilot assistance functions, they all belong to L2 assisted driving, but the driving work "taken over" by the functional systems at each level is significantly different.

For example: ACC can only control acceleration and deceleration, LCC can control acceleration and deceleration and keep the direction in the lane centered. Pilot Assist adds autonomous multi-lane driving capabilities on this basis.