Beijing Vehicle Network System Integration Engineer Gao Jingbo——
To be a "smart brain" for cars and roads (decoding · approaching a new career)
core reading
With the rapid improvement of autonomous driving technology and intelligent road facilities, new occupations related to intelligent networked vehicles have also emerged.
As a system integration engineer, Gao Jingbo is committed to tackling the technical problems arising from the coordination of "vehicles, roads, clouds, networks, and maps", so that "smart cars" and "smart roads" can develop together.
On the road, there is a constant stream of vehicles coming and going.
Self-driving vehicles equipped with various sensors drive by quickly, and unmanned taxis and self-driving delivery vehicles run in parallel with ordinary cars.
On the big screen, points, lines and numbers change in real time.
The vehicle model, driving route and other information are displayed in turn, and the obstacles and pedestrians around the vehicle are sensed at the same time.
Entering the high-level autonomous driving demonstration area located in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, indoor and outdoor, online and offline, a symphony of smart traffic concerto between cars and cars, cars and roads, and cars and people is symphony.
In front of the big screen, one person always pays close attention to the real-time information of vehicle travel. He is Gao Jingbo, head of the technical research department and system integration engineer of Beijing Vehicle Network Technology Development Co., Ltd.
With a smart car, we need to build a smart road
With the rapid development of autonomous driving technology, electrification, networking, and intelligence have become the trends in the automotive industry.
At present, there are two mainstream technical routes for autonomous driving: bicycle intelligence and vehicle-road coordination.
"Bicycle intelligence means that the vehicle itself has relatively high perception, decision-making and control capabilities. Vehicle-road collaboration, through the construction of network connection and road testing, can make up for the safety problems that cannot be solved by bicycle intelligence from different dimensions." Gao Jingbo introduced, intelligent network connection A car is a high-level autonomous driving realized by intelligence + networking.
"Bicycle intelligence + network connection empowerment" is also the main direction of China's current promotion of autonomous driving.
Why is bicycle intelligence not the optimal solution?
"For example, when we are driving through an intersection, the side is easily blocked by a large vehicle, forming a blind spot of vision, and it is very dangerous if someone suddenly appears." Gao Jingbo introduced that the intelligent network connection is "equivalent to opening a plug-in to the car's perspective."
In September 2020, Beijing launched the construction of a high-level autonomous driving demonstration area. Beijing Car Network Technology Development Co., Ltd., as the construction and operation unit, explores various application landing scenarios around the goal of "car, road, cloud, network, and map".
Gao Jingbo and his team are responsible for solving technical problems in the coordination of vehicle-road-cloud-network map coordination, which is equivalent to the "smart brain" of the entire system.
Coordinating and coordinating the five fields is not an easy task: "Smart Road" forms a comprehensive perception of traffic conditions through holographic smart devices, and the multi-functional integrated poles arranged on the roadside transmit the calculation data to the "Reliable Network". Smart cars" and "real-time clouds", while updating "accurate graphs".
"The whole process is code-to-code, machine-to-machine automated communication, and the speed has reached the millisecond level." Gao Jingbo said.
Explore new areas, one step at a time
System integration is like a car factory. Gao Jingbo likened this work to building a car: there are parts, how to integrate them, and it tests the engineers' ability to "turn the parts into whole".
After graduating from vehicle engineering, Gao Jingbo has been engaged in system integration testing, electronic control systems, etc., and has been dealing with automobiles.
In 2019, under the opportunity of the country's vigorous development of autonomous driving, the 35-year-old entered the field of intelligent networking.
Cross-border and integration are the keywords of the industry and the uniqueness of the team.
Vehicle-road collaboration is a new field and new format formed by integration, involving automobiles, communications, electronics, and transportation.
Cheluyun algorithm researchers, software development engineers, safety driving testers, and multidisciplinary talents have gathered into a young team.
At work, Gao Jingbo has to deal with various industries. "When you see a technology or a requirement, it should appear in your mind immediately. What are the technical characteristics of each module, where are the boundaries, and what are the shortcomings?" He calmly faced Each question leads to a professional field, and each challenge is an update of knowledge.
"What we do is exploratory rather than procedural work, and everyone must have the ability to take charge of their own." Chen Han, a colleague in charge of the roadside intelligent equipment project, also has a deep understanding, "The complexity of system integration is that it is a A system engineering is not a single technology. The pursuit of speed and safety in R&D must be balanced and progressive.”
In fact, more difficult than technical breakthroughs is to explore uncharted territory.
Today, as a middle-level manager, Gao Jingbo assigns himself more "extracurricular homework". At night, he always thinks about the field he is responsible for and what the future direction is.
"We are exploring a new field. There is no ready-made formula to apply. We can only rely on ourselves, one step at a time." Gao Jingbo sighed that the new infrastructure is booming. The development of intelligent networked vehicles is a very good opportunity, and we must seize it.
I have the ocean in my heart, and I can accept all kinds of rivers. Gao Jingbo always feels that he is a sponge, and there is still too much to learn and ask. Only with an open and humble heart, "Always maintain a consciousness, that is, lifelong learning and lifelong creation. ."
The car of the future is not just a car, but a mobile living space
What does the future of autonomous driving look like?
"The ideal high-level autonomous vehicle has no steering wheel, no accelerator, and no brakes." Gao Jingbo imagined, "It is defined as a mobile living space, where people enjoy a personalized experience for leisure, entertainment, office and even fitness." He He said that with the deep integration of the new generation of information technology and urban modernization, revolutionary changes may occur in the fields of communication and transportation in the future.
Although cutting-edge technology sounds cool, Gao Jingbo has a clear understanding.
From a technology or safety standpoint, autonomous driving is not going to be ideal anytime soon.
"Only through a large number of algorithm training feedback and continuous iteration of the level of intelligence can AI be made smarter." He has always believed that the purpose of machines is not to replace people, but to free people from repetitive mechanical work and let people do it. more valuable things.
Today, the cumulative test mileage of the high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone in Beijing has exceeded 6.3 million kilometers, the service person-time exceeds 300,000, and the 330 digital intelligent intersections have achieved full coverage; many places across the country continue to open the scope of autonomous driving road tests... Various explorations allow cars The connotation of intelligence is becoming more and more abundant, and at the same time, it provides new development space for the environment, energy, transportation and other fields involved in automobiles.
However, there are still problems with the specific implementation of the technology.
For example, the technical iteration of vehicles and roads has the problem of mismatched development, and the construction of road-side facilities and cloud control platforms is complicated, often resulting in a situation of "vehicles waiting for the road".
Everything is actively being explored, tested, verified.
Gao Jingbo admitted frankly that there is no shortcut to doing research.
One day in the future, safety officers will walk from inside the car to the outside of the car, intelligent networking will spread from demonstration areas to more scenarios, unmanned vehicles will change from a single means of transportation to a "third space" with rich forms, and the gradual iterative automatic driving will drive into a new starting point.
Today, when Gao Jingbo is on his way to and from get off work, he occasionally calls an unmanned taxi and watches the vehicle slowly approaching him. He is delighted and determined, "Follow the development and launch process of autonomous driving itself, and respect the rules of technology iteration. , I believe that the beautiful vision can become a reality as soon as possible.”
Our reporter Chen Yuanyuan