Smart driving innovations debut at the WAIC
ZongMu demos autonomous parking at an outdoor WAIC site
It's not news that artificial intelligence is being deeply integrated with the automotive industry, but there are still new and noteworthy displays at the ongoing World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
The exhibitions cover autonomous parking, charging and battery innovations, controllable car modular-like Lego blocks and precise transportation network sensors. The innovations are essential to achieve bigger targets such as fully autonomous driving and new-energy vehicle high efficiency for a low-carbon society.
Most importantly, the technology shown at WAIC 2022 is available and accessible now.
At WAIC, ZongMu showcases one-click autonomous parking services by finding lots and pick-ups, now effective in parks, ground and underground parking lots.
The autonomous valet parking (AVP) features algorithms based on multi-sensors and computer vision. It's now installed in more than 1 million cars with 50 car models, from brands including BYD, Chang'an, Geely and new-energy brands like HiPhi, Li Auto and SERES.
Autonomous parking is a practical innovation in China with surging demand, said Lucas Lu, vice president of ZongMu.
In ZongMu's WAIC booth, wireless charging tech for electric vehicles is also on display.
Founded in 2013, Shanghai-based ZongMu is now seeking an initial public offering on the Shanghai STAR Market.
Westwell showcases smart driving applications.
Shanghai-based Westwell displayed the world's first battery swap self-driving truck at WAIC.
The Q-truck can swap out a fully loaded charged battery within six minutes, compared with two hours for traditional charging methods, which greatly improves work efficiency in places like ports.
Westwell trucks, equipped with a 360-degree sensory system with traffic-monitoring and driving guidance system, are now used in ports globally including Thailand and United Arab Emirates. The company has business in 16 countries and regions globally.
HiPhi released new visualized control and setup interface.
HiPhi, an electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV) brand, has released a new platform HiPhi Developer, a service-oriented tool to setup and control cars.
With a visualized interface, car owners can adjust 30 modules in the car with 500 sensors, opening 140 setup features, similar to "playing Lego blocks."
The industry needs out-of-box thinking for smart driving innovation, such as how to better setup and control cars and save time, Li Qian, HiPhi's vice president, said during the WAIC.
For example, users can access to "go to work in winter" mode, which will adjust 11 car functions including automatic door opening, seat heating, steering wheel heating, glass defogging and navigation.
AI services, integrating with laser and camera sensors, can improve a city's transportation network efficiency, a key condition for smart driving and even autonomous driving, said Supremind, a Shanghai-based AI service provider.
Transportation management algorithms are upgrading constantly, with visual perception, data analysis and digital infrastructure upgrades, said Peng Yao, chief executive of Supremind.
