BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Zhiji were the first to be approved for the L3 level road test in China, and the explosion of advanced autonomous driving will drive the rapid growth of sensor markets such as LiDAR

Nowadays, L2 level driving assistance has become very mature, and many car companies are focusing on urban and high-speed NOA. However, so far no car company dares to claim that their assisted driving product is L3, but instead claims to be L2+and keeps adding "+" signs after L2. On the one hand, because the current law does not support L3 assisted driving on the road, and on the other hand, if an accident occurs, car companies will find it difficult to escape responsibility. Recently, all of this has made new progress with the issuance of an L3 autonomous driving license plate.

On December 14th, BMW Group announced that vehicles equipped with L3 level autonomous driving functions have officially obtained a high-speed road autonomous driving test license in Shanghai and are allowed to conduct L3 level high-speed road autonomous driving road tests in designated areas.

BMW had already initiated research on the L3 level intelligent driving assistance function as early as 2018, adopting domestic and foreign solutions simultaneously, and seeking local technology partners in China to better achieve localization. The soon to be launched new BMW 5 Series long wheelbase version already has the ability to expand to L3 autonomous driving in terms of technology.

At present, the all-new BMW 5 Series adopts L2+level intelligent driving assistance system and introduces the first BMW automatic lane change assistance function. On high-speed highways, within the speed range of 60km/h-180km/h, the driver attention monitoring system will continuously track the driver's status. When overtaking is required, the system will determine the surrounding traffic conditions and automatically give the driver a lane change reminder. The driver can easily check the traffic situation in the rear view mirror to confirm the automatic lane change. BMW will adhere to the "driver oriented" concept, pursue "intelligent human vehicle co driving", and perfectly integrate driving experience with the system's safety strategy.

On December 16th, Mercedes Benz obtained an L3 autonomous driving test license in Beijing

After landing the L3 level conditional autonomous driving qualification in Germany and the United States, Mercedes Benz officially announced that it has obtained the L3 level autonomous driving test license in Beijing.

On December 16th, with the release of the "Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone Conditional Autonomous Driving Function Vehicle Road Test Management Rules (Trial)" by relevant departments in Beijing, Mercedes Benz became one of the first enterprises to obtain the Beijing Conditional Autonomous Driving (L3 level) Expressway Road Test License.

The Mercedes Benz Drive Pilot can fully take over the driving of the vehicle, allowing the driver to focus on other minor activities (with both hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road). This system is suitable for highways with high traffic density, with a maximum speed of 64 kilometers per hour (which will be increased to a maximum of 130km/h in the future). It is worth mentioning that during the activation of L3 level conditional autonomous driving, if a traffic accident occurs, Mercedes Benz will bear the responsibility for the accident. At present, no car brand dares to make such a promise. It can be seen that Mercedes Benz is very confident in its L3 conditional auto drive system.

The control buttons on the edge of the steering wheel can indicate when the system starts, and the driver can start the auto drive system by pressing these buttons. Drive Pilot can control the speed of the car and maintain a distance from the preceding vehicle, guiding it to drive on the lane while taking evasive maneuvers in case of unexpected traffic situations. The Drive Pilot environmental perception hardware includes 12 ultrasonic radars, 4 multi mode radars, front binocular cameras and rear monocular cameras, four environmental cameras, one remote radar, a 16 line Li DAR with a field of view angle of 120 °, as well as one high-performance GPS antenna and over 30 environmental perception hardware such as wheel rain sensors and microphones. Meanwhile, with high-precision maps, high-precision positioning and navigation can be achieved at the centimeter level. Mercedes Benz has also installed redundant steering and brake actuators, as well as redundant onboard electrical systems to ensure safe switching to the driver. If the driver does not notice the system prompt, the system will automatically brake, light up the hazard warning lights, open the car door, and activate the emergency call system when the car comes to a stop.

On December 18th, Zhiji Shanghai L3 level autonomous driving test license plate

On December 18th, SAIC Motor's subsidiary, Zhiji, also announced that it has obtained the Shanghai L3 level autonomous driving test license. In the future, under the supervision and guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Government, Zhiji Motors will conduct L3 high-speed road autonomous driving road tests in designated areas to accelerate the development and implementation of advanced intelligent driving products and meet the needs of users for advanced intelligent driving vehicles.

Zhiji Automobile is applying for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's L3 announcement admission pilot program and is expected to become one of the first models to enter the L3 level autonomous driving admission pilot program.

On December 12th, Zhiji Automobile's IM AD Expressway NOA officially opened nationwide, covering high-speed road sections in 333 cities across the country (except for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), and covering elevated road sections in 59 cities; The total length of roads suitable for high-speed elevated NOA is 389000 kilometers.

From the official start of public testing in April this year to the nationwide completion of high-speed NOA in December; After seven rounds of public testing, the IM AD high-speed elevated NOA has broken the record for the fastest landing speed of intelligent driving products in the industry in just 8 months.

IM AD city NOA is also steadily advancing. The IM AD city NOA has successfully overcome three top difficult NOA scenarios: unprotected left turn scenes at busy intersections, complex circular road scenes in urban areas, and unprotected U-turn scenes at busy intersections.

According to the plan, the IM AD City NOA will start public testing for users in Shanghai by the end of 2023 as scheduled, and will be gradually pushed before the Spring Festival, with Shanghai being the first to open it. Afterwards, in mid-2024, the first version of the urban commuting mode will be launched; Within 2024, the commuting mode will cover 100 cities nationwide.

Summary

With the gradual issuance of testing licenses for L3 level autonomous driving and active testing by various OEMs, it is believed that in the near future, L3 level autonomous driving will gradually become popular, and the corresponding demand for autonomous driving sensors may explode.

Nowadays, L2 level driving assistance has become very mature, and many car companies are focusing on urban and high-speed NOA. However, so far no car company dares to claim that their assisted driving product is L3, but instead claims to be L2+and keeps adding "+" signs after L2. On the one hand, because the current law does not support L3 assisted driving on the road, and on the other hand, if an accident occurs, car companies will find it difficult to escape responsibility. Recently, all of this has made new progress with the issuance of an L3 autonomous driving license plate.

On December 14th, the first L3 autonomous driving photo in China fell on BMW

On December 14th, BMW Group announced that vehicles equipped with L3 level autonomous driving functions have officially obtained a high-speed road autonomous driving test license in Shanghai and are allowed to conduct L3 level high-speed road autonomous driving road tests in designated areas.

BMW had already initiated research on the L3 level intelligent driving assistance function as early as 2018, adopting domestic and foreign solutions simultaneously, and seeking local technology partners in China to better achieve localization. The soon to be launched new BMW 5 Series long wheelbase version already has the ability to expand to L3 autonomous driving in terms of technology.

The BMW Group's L3 level autonomous driving has a very mature and complete research and development system. BMW Group will achieve the highest system safety on high-level autonomous vehicles through durability testing and analysis of thousands of simulation scenarios, combined with comparison with current road traffic safety levels. The L3 level autonomous driving technology kit can integrate more high-performance sensors, such as a new LiDAR system, and correlate all sensor information with long-range radar and front camera data to establish a complete environmental model of the L3 autonomous driving vehicle. The laser radar equipped on BMW L3 level autonomous driving can provide its unique perception ability. The 8-megapixel front facing camera located on the windshield can detect pedestrians, vehicles, traffic signs, and other objects in the environment from a long distance, ensuring the safety of both inside and outside the vehicle. Based on this, when the L3 level autonomous driving function is activated, drivers can make better use of their time in the car and enjoy in car entertainment such as games and streaming videos during the journey.

At present, the all-new BMW 5 Series adopts L2+level intelligent driving assistance system and introduces the first BMW automatic lane change assistance function. On high-speed highways, within the speed range of 60km/h-180km/h, the driver attention monitoring system will continuously track the driver's status. When overtaking is required, the system will determine the surrounding traffic conditions and automatically give the driver a lane change reminder. The driver can easily check the traffic situation in the rear view mirror to confirm the automatic lane change. BMW will adhere to the "driver oriented" concept, pursue "intelligent human vehicle co driving", and perfectly integrate driving experience with the system's safety strategy.

On December 16th, Mercedes Benz obtained an L3 autonomous driving test license in Beijing

After landing the L3 level conditional autonomous driving qualification in Germany and the United States, Mercedes Benz officially announced that it has obtained the L3 level autonomous driving test license in Beijing.

On December 16th, with the release of the "Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone Conditional Autonomous Driving Function Vehicle Road Test Management Rules (Trial)" by relevant departments in Beijing, Mercedes Benz became one of the first enterprises to obtain the Beijing Conditional Autonomous Driving (L3 level) Expressway Road Test License.

The Mercedes Benz Drive Pilot can fully take over the driving of the vehicle, allowing the driver to focus on other minor activities (with both hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road). This system is suitable for highways with high traffic density, with a maximum speed of 64 kilometers per hour (which will be increased to a maximum of 130km/h in the future). It is worth mentioning that during the activation of L3 level conditional autonomous driving, if a traffic accident occurs, Mercedes Benz will bear the responsibility for the accident. At present, no car brand dares to make such a promise. It can be seen that Mercedes Benz is very confident in its L3 conditional auto drive system.

The control buttons on the edge of the steering wheel can indicate when the system starts, and the driver can start the auto drive system by pressing these buttons. Drive Pilot can control the speed of the car and maintain a distance from the preceding vehicle, guiding it to drive on the lane while taking evasive maneuvers in case of unexpected traffic situations. The Drive Pilot environmental perception hardware includes 12 ultrasonic radars, 4 multi mode radars, front binocular cameras and rear monocular cameras, four environmental cameras, one remote radar, a 16 line Li DAR with a field of view angle of 120 °, as well as one high-performance GPS antenna and over 30 environmental perception hardware such as wheel rain sensors and microphones. Meanwhile, with high-precision maps, high-precision positioning and navigation can be achieved at the centimeter level. Mercedes Benz has also installed redundant steering and brake actuators, as well as redundant onboard electrical systems to ensure safe switching to the driver. If the driver does not notice the system prompt, the system will automatically brake, light up the hazard warning lights, open the car door, and activate the emergency call system when the car comes to a stop.

On December 18th, Zhiji Shanghai L3 level autonomous driving test license plate

On December 18th, SAIC Motor's subsidiary, Zhiji, also announced that it has obtained the Shanghai L3 level autonomous driving test license. In the future, under the supervision and guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Government, Zhiji Motors will conduct L3 high-speed road autonomous driving road tests in designated areas to accelerate the development and implementation of advanced intelligent driving products and meet the needs of users for advanced intelligent driving vehicles.

Zhiji Automobile is applying for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's L3 announcement admission pilot program and is expected to become one of the first models to enter the L3 level autonomous driving admission pilot program.

Summary

With the gradual issuance of testing licenses for L3 level autonomous driving and active testing by various OEMs, it is believed that in the near future, L3 level autonomous driving will gradually become popular, and the corresponding demand for autonomous driving sensors may explode.