On August 12, a 31-year-old entrepreneur was killed in a traffic accident on the Hanjiang section of Shenhai Expressway driving Weilai ES8.
The on-site survey results showed that when the accident occurred, the car was in the "NOP state", that is, the Navigate on Pilot (Navigation on Pilot) was turned on.
Although the specific cause of the accident is still under investigation, it has aroused social concerns about the safety of the so-called "autonomous driving" function.
Coincidentally, after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also announced on August 13 that it had launched a formal investigation into Tesla's autonomous driving system Autopilot.
These two accidents jointly pushed "autonomous driving" to the forefront of public opinion.
There are different levels of driving.
L1 to L2 belong to assisted driving; L3 to L5 are considered automatic driving
According to the introduction of NIO, NOP is a deep integration of navigation system, high-precision map and NIO Pilot automatic assisted driving system. The cruise speed control, distance maintenance, steering assist and turn signal control function basis of the Pilot function have been realized. Above, the vehicle can automatically merge into the main road according to the route planned by the navigation in most highways and urban elevated sections covered by the high-precision map; cruise on the main road and intelligently select the optimal lane; Navigation planning automatically switches to the next high-speed/elevated highway; automatically leaves the main road and other functions.
Zhang Jianyong, head of the NIO Unmanned Driving System Engineering Department, emphasized in the "Navigation Assist (NOP) User Guide": NOP must never be equated with automatic driving. NOP is still an assisted driving function, and it may not be able to meet working conditions at any time. You must always pay attention to the traffic conditions and road environment when you use it.
For a long time, the auto industry's understanding and description of autonomous driving mainly came from the autonomous driving classification standards formulated by the International Society of Automata Engineers (SAE).
According to this standard, driving is divided into several different levels from L0 to L5.
Levels L1 and L2 belong to assisted driving; Levels L4 and L5 can be regarded as autonomous driving in the true sense.
On March 9, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also announced the recommended national standard for "Automotive Driving Automation Classification" for approval, and it will be implemented from January 1, 2021.
The "Automotive Driving Automation Classification" published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also includes six levels. Among them, L0 to L2 are emergency assistance, partial driving assistance, and combined driving assistance, while L3 to L5 are conditional autonomous driving, highly automated driving, and fully automated driving. Autopilot.
Obviously, whether it is divided according to international standards or domestic standards, "assisted driving" is not strictly automatic driving.
However, in actual operation, many consumers are still willing to regard "assisted driving" as an autonomous driving experience.
At the beginning of August, an ideal car owner uploaded a video of driving the Ideal ONE while lying down, which sparked heated discussion.
The video shows that there is no car in the front or the reverse direction. When the weather and road conditions are good, the driver and co-pilot passengers all put their seats flat, unfastened their seat belts, and lie down to admire the blue sky and white clouds on the transparent roof. , And the ideal ONE with the assisted driving system to drive automatically on straight roads.
Is this really useful?
In order to highlight product advantages and excessive marketing will mislead consumers, companies should emphasize real driving experience
Some experts pointed out that even if it seems that there is a clearly defined classification, there is no uniform expression standard in actual dissemination and use.
Even the sales staff of many new car companies will emphasize how powerful the autopilot function of their products is when guiding users to buy.
"'Navigation Assist' (NOP) is a function that deeply integrates the navigation system, high-precision map and NIO Pilot automatic driving assistance." Afterwards, many people bit the words and pointed out that the description in the Weilai ES8 user manual is difficult for people to understand. "Automatic" describes "assisted" rather than "driving."
And Xiaopeng Motors also had an embarrassing accident last week.
At that time, the Xiaopeng salesperson was accompanying prospective customers on a test drive and explained to him: The vehicle will automatically detect the vehicle in front, then brake and stop.
Unexpectedly, the vehicle ran into the vehicle in front, causing its rear end to be severely sunken.
Fortunately, the airbag of Xiaopeng's vehicle popped up, and no personnel were injured.
What exactly is assisted driving?
What can be called a true autonomous driving?
According to industry insiders, there is currently no industry representation standard for simple recognition and accurate identification, and there is also a lack of specific marketing supervision.
As long as they are technically able to get in touch, marketers will have to play a side-kick and get a hot topic.
Associate Professor Han Qingwen of the School of Microelectronics and Communication Engineering of Chongqing University said: “Now that the market is fiercely competitive, some companies often choose aggressive stances in their promotional strategies to highlight their product advantages, but similar over-marketing may mislead consumers, and it does need to be caused. Consumers and regulators are vigilant."
The driving assistance system was originally developed to reduce the fatigue and stress of the driver and improve safety.
Relevant experts reminded that car manufacturers should strengthen the explanation and operation demonstration aimed at car owners, emphasizing the real driving experience instead of overly promoting the superiority of the technology. "Even on the road with few vehicles, you must hold the steering wheel with both hands and look at it. Stay on the road and be prepared to take over the vehicle at any time.”
Industry organizations should unify the Chinese names of all levels of autonomous driving as soon as possible to prevent automatic and assisted from appearing in the same state
Just a few days before the accident, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Management of Intelligent Connected Automobile Manufacturers and Product Access", requiring enterprises to ensure that their automobile products comply with national laws, regulations, technical standards and standards before implementing online upgrade activities. Technical specifications and other related requirements should be filed with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; without approval, it is not allowed to add or update auto-driving functions through online software upgrades.
Tighter regulation of autonomous driving technology has become a trend.
Based on the pressure of supervision and public opinion, auto companies will converge in technical propaganda.
But to distinguish between "autonomous driving" and "assisted driving" to minimize consumer misunderstandings, we still need to reach a consensus at the moment and see it in action.
Li Xiang, founder of Ideal Auto, called on the media and industry organizations to unify the Chinese names of all levels of autonomous driving as soon as possible.
"Regardless of whether it is L2 or L3, these are professional terms, which are difficult for users to understand." He suggested that L2 is designated as assisted driving; L3 is designated as advanced assisted driving; L4 is designated as autonomous driving; L5 is designated as unmanned driving.
"This can maximize the control of the expectations of all parties, avoid automatic and assisted appearing in the same state, assisted driving is the responsibility of humans, the appearance of the word automatic is the responsibility of the car." Li Xiang explained.
Zhou Hongyi, chairman of 360, also said that industry terms should become simple concepts that ordinary users can accurately recognize.
In fact, similar measures have been implemented in the United States, Europe and other places.
This year, the International Society of Automata Engineers revised the standards for autonomous driving, which clarified that L1, L2 must be called assisted driving, and L3, L4, and L5 can be called autonomous driving.
The European safety evaluation stipulates that when car companies promote intelligent driving assistance systems, they must clearly inform consumers of the system's "assistance", "assistance" and "assist" functions, rather than leading it.
Our reporter Yang Zhongyang