Smart cars have an attractive outlook

With the development of mobile internet and the involvement of technology giants, the intelligent car prototype has gradually become clear.

From the beginning of the Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show ("CES") at the beginning of the year, automobile manufacturers and IT vendors have increasingly developed cooperation and have demonstrated cross-border cooperation in automotive intelligent products. All indications are that domestic and foreign IT giants and auto companies are still making relevant technical reserves, and Internet giants such as Google and Apple have formed alliances with auto companies. The automotive industry is entering the era of smart cars.

Li Jun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, deputy chief engineer of China FAW Group and director of the Technical Center, said: “If (automotive companies) cannot achieve breakthroughs and innovations in smart car or smart car related technologies, they will be eliminated by the smart era. That's why we paid so much for smart cars."

However, the specific commercial operations of smart cars still have to overcome obstacles in the perception of platforms and standard technical regulations.

Pulling the knot

From a concrete and realistic point of view, smart driving systems, life service systems, security protection systems, location service systems, and car service systems are the mature and predictable functions and systems of smart cars. It is also these smart technologies that influence and change the dynamics of the automotive industry and change people’s lives.

For the functional system of smart cars, Guo Konghui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary dean of the Automotive Engineering Institute of Jilin University pointed out that at present, the United States is mainly based on security, Europe is mainly guided by navigation, and Japan is mainly based on information. China now combines the three. , advance together. Among them, the networking of cars is the direction of the development of intelligent transportation, which will have a major impact on the transportation industry and the automobile industry at the same time.

Thilo Koslowski, vice president and chief auto analyst at Gartner, pointed out: "We want to turn cars into the most innovative, versatile, and ideal mobile devices in the future. Advanced computing technology is the foundation for all this. By making these technologies wireless, With the ability to upgrade, automakers can improve existing on-board features and provide new features throughout the vehicle's life cycle."

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler pointed out that "in the past we have been improving our car manufacturing." "The automotive industry has now entered an era of redefining mobility." In the process, many IT Vendors are aligning with traditional auto companies and embarking on the construction of a smart car ecosystem.

At this year's CES, Google announced the official launch of the Open Auto Alliance. Its goal is to bring the Android system experience to car navigation and infotainment systems. Google will work with Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and other car makers as well as chip maker NVIDIA to "give drivers a pioneering technology experience." Users will be able to directly use smart cars equipped with Android systems. The built-in application stores can download relevant automotive applications, or connect their own Android devices to cars to achieve many functions.

Prior to this, Apple also announced its own iOSInTheCar plan at the WWDC (Apple Computer Global Developers Conference) (renamed it as Car Play at the beginning of the year). It is reported that this has attracted the interest of BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari and other companies. In early July, foreign media pointed out that Apple is in cooperation with the Volkswagen Group. Many car manufacturers will be equipped with a new version of iOS 7.1 this year, adding similar functions such as siri, video playback, and map navigation to cars.

At the end of June, Shanghai Botai PATEO Technology Co., Ltd., which provides car networking services for Volvo, Changan PSA Peugeot Citroen, SAIC Passenger Car and Beijing Automotive Passenger Cars, announced that it will release a smart car in 2018. In order to complete this task, the company continues to adhere to the pre-installation market - providing car networking services to auto companies, but also announced to enter the aftermarket.

The road to the future

The latest research report released by the McKinsey Global Institute shows that in the next 12 subversive technologies that may change lives, businesses and the global economy, “automatic or semi-automatic navigation and driving vehicles” (ie, driverless cars) are ranked six. McKinsey predicts that driverless cars will generate $200 billion to $1.9 trillion worth of output by 2025.

According to the prediction of the Analysys Think Tank, by 2015, the penetration rate of China's car networking users is expected to exceed the critical value of 10%. By then, the market size of smart cars in China will exceed 150 billion yuan.

It should be pointed out that whether it is a car network or a driverless car, it is only part of the development of smart cars. In the industrial transition period, IT giants and auto makers are making relevant technical reserves. According to the latest report from US patent market research firm EnvisionIP, smart phone companies such as Google and Apple have applied for many patents related to vehicle-mounted smart devices in the United States, of which Google has reached 310, Apple has 35, and the sum of other smartphone companies It reached 617 items, including 234 Samsung, 161 LG, 155 Sony, 42 Nokia, and 25 Blackberry.

Although intelligent transportation still needs the cooperation of many social supporting functions to be truly realized, at this stage consumers can still experience these smart technologies in some automobiles. The technologies that are most commonly used today include smart parking technology, smart maps, and out-of-car navigation. Last year, the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S sedan was equipped with numerous smart technologies, including cruise control, automatic avoidance of the opposite light technology, night vision system, automatic infrared technology to slander others and animals.

At this year's CES, car manufacturers have embraced smart phones and mobile computing technology, showing off a variety of intelligent products, Mercedes-Benz launched a Pebble smart watch that is interconnected with its models. After being “paired” with the car, Pebble can receive the car from the car. Information. Audi, on the other hand, introduced a 10.2-inch car tablet based on Android. This device, which is specially designed for use by the user in the car, can interact with other passengers through the in-vehicle wireless network, and provides the occupants with navigation, web browsing, media playback, and other functions.

At home, at least seven self-owned brand companies, including SAIC, Geely, FAW, Chery, Changan, BYD, and Brilliance, have launched self-developed car networking systems and products. Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, said at a forum held at the end of last year that driverless driving was not far off. In 2014, Volvo will launch a highly intelligent car in China, the XC90.

However, smart cars need rapid development. At present, they still need a series of technical platforms to support them. Jun Li enumerated six major platforms in an interview with the media, including a perception platform, an electronic platform, a control strategy and control model platform, an information platform, and a development environment platform. And standard regulatory platforms.

At present, major auto companies have layered technical barriers in sensing, driving computers, and communication protocols. The purpose of doing so is to drive safety, and the second is to take the initiative in this round of industrial restructuring. In the face of choices, consumers often choose to give up their choice of vehicles with smart cars when they consider network security and location privacy.

However, the development of autonomous driving technology has brought convenience to people. At the same time, its safety has also attracted people's attention. At present, China's relevant laws and standards on automobile intelligence are still not perfect. Now in the pre-installation market, it is up to the automakers to say that the post-installation market is even less oversight. At the end of 2013, the European NCAP finally made a decision on the rating of automatic brakes, ending auto makers' self-talk. However, there is still no breakthrough in other automobile markets.