Wei Libin calls Beiqi head Xu Heyi: Lei Jun Dong Mingzhu style gamble to reproduce!

The 2017 Global Automotive AI Conference was held in Shanghai on the 24th. Sebastian Thrun, the father of Google Unmanned Vehicles, Xu Heyi, Chairman of BAIC, Li Bin, Chairman of Weilai Automobile, Fiaz Mohamed, General Manager of Intel AI Strategic Planning, and Stefan, Head of Autopilot, Audi China Senior executives such as Greiner and automotive companies attended the conference and shared their views on the future development of the automotive industry.

The guests invited by this conference are also very characteristic. Half of them are from traditional technology companies. It is implied that fierce competition in the field of automated driving by technology companies such as Google Baidu and BMW Audi.

In the morning roundtable session, Li Bin was asked whether Weilai’s car was stronger than Beiqi. Li Bin replied with a smile from the talent point of view. It is an analogy to Amazon’s example of exceeding Wal-Mart. This scene is like a few years ago Lei Jun and Dong Mingzhu gambled on the company’s turnover of 10 billion yuan.

In the future, in the field of automated driving, are the most tech companies in the limelight to win, or are traditionally rich and powerful car companies more dominant?

First, technology companies accelerate the penetration of the automotive industry

The founder of Eudrams, Sebastian Thrun, the father of Google’s unmanned vehicle, arrived in Shanghai early this morning.

Although he didn't sleep for long, the tenured professor at the Stanford University, who was crowned with the former vice president of Google, the co-founder of Google X Labs, and the father of Google's unmanned car, was still passionate about his current career on stage. - Udacity, an online education company, or, to put it further, an online R&D course.

(Tron and self-driving cars, pay attention to the rear of the Google Logo)

In fact, after Tyron helped Google build a project for unmanned vehicles in 2007, it was the auto industry that never slept well.

The development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, and high-precision maps has made autopilot technology possible. Once the unmanned car is born, the original business model of the auto industry will immediately fall apart, becoming a vassal for technology companies. .

Tron shared his history of participating in the research and development of autonomous driving technology on the stage. From the very beginning, he worked as a professor at Stanford University in project research, as a leader in Google’s unmanned vehicle project, and engaged in business exploration. The co-founder of the company taught the world the technical knowledge of unmanned vehicles.

Tron has always stood at the forefront of the global driverless field.

Troon took Google Unmanned Vehicle as an example to share the basic technical principle of self-driving cars - using sensors such as laser radar, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic radar, and cameras to sense the environment, and then proceeding through the processing of environmental data. Driving decision.

This was followed by a case in which the autopilot technology was combined with the sharing economy – an auto-driving shared car project EZGO that Google's unmanned vehicle team had tested with Uber.

(Tron)

In this project, the user can use the APP to summon an autopilot shared car to come to the front. You can choose to drive the car manually or let it drive automatically. When arriving at the destination, the shared car can also be automatically driven to the parking lot. It can also solve parking problems.

There is no doubt that this will profoundly change and even threaten the car industry's cake.

On March 14 this year, Intel had made a big news - spending $ 15.3 billion to acquire the global ADAS oligarch - Israeli company Mobileye.

After the PC industry slowed down and missed the mobile Internet market, this giant, once at the heart of the IT industry, planned a bigger update for himself—automated driving, launched the auto-pilot sub-brand Intel GO, and established the integration. The Autopilot Division established the BMW-Intel-Delphi Automatic Driving Alliance.

At today's conference, Fiaz Mohamed, general manager of Intel's global artificial intelligence strategic planning, further explained why and how Intel entered the field of automated driving.

Fiaz Mohamed stated that with the gradual development of autopilot technology, the demand for IT technologies such as computing power, connection speed, and storage space will also increase exponentially. For example, by 2025, auto-driving cars will require 5-10 billion floats. The number of points to be calculated (TFLOPs), and the average daily data generated by bicycles will also exceed 4000GB.

(The speaker is Fiaz Mohamed.)

To address this need, Intel’s GO Automated Driving Platform integrates Intel’s CPU, 5G communications, and cloud computing capabilities to allow automakers to focus on what they do best—vehicle control and driving planning. Don't worry about IT technologies such as computing, communications, and cloud connectivity.

Another company that "sits in the arms" for autonomous driving technology is Qualcomm, which exists in the "overlord class" of the mobile Internet era.

On October 27, 2016, the chip giant, which provided processors for smartphones, announced that it will acquire NXP, the world’s largest automotive semiconductor company, for approximately US$47 billion (approximately RMB 319 billion).

Qualcomm is stronger than mobile communications and mobile chips, and NXP is better than automotive chips. In this era of cars becoming more and more like computers with wheels, this merger is a model of strong alliances.

According to Li Tong, senior director of technical standards for Qualcomm, communication companies such as Qualcomm will also play a significant role in the field of automated driving.

"For example, the most advanced 5G communication technology at the present time can help unmanned vehicles deliver data to the cloud for processing and sharing, as well as enable interconnection between automobiles, automobiles, automobiles and infrastructure." "5G is the basic technology for self-driving cars and is an adhesive-like presence."

Second, the traditional car companies quickly picked up each other's weapons to fight back

The past July 11 is a very important day for the automotive industry, as Audi released the fourth-generation model of the flagship A8 on this day.

The release of the Audi A8 is not a big deal, but it should be pointed out that this is the world's first commercially available, production version of the L3 self-driving car - for the automotive industry, this means the era of self-driving The opening also marked that the traditional depots were fighting back and overtaking technology companies’ penetration into the automotive industry.

(New A8 with more than 22 sensors)

Stefan Greiner, Head of Autopilot and Chassis R&D at Audi China, analyzed the Audi’s view of autopilot technology from the viewpoint of the depot.

Stefan Greiner admits that the first companies that started autopilot were technology companies. But in the first two years, the automakers suddenly discovered that autopilot had reached a stage where they were surprised, so they launched their own auto-pilot project. chase.

In Audi’s view, there are two problems with autonomous driving that require attention. First, different countries and regions need different automated driving programs. For example, the United States, Europe, and China have the first-in-first-out difference between road conditions and infrastructure; The autopilot technology needs to clarify the responsibility for accidents. For example, Audi believes that the automaker needs to be responsible for the safety issues of L3-L5 autonomous vehicles.

(The speaker is Stefan Greiner)

Finally, Stefan Greiner shared Audi's landing schedule for autonomous driving. In addition to the L3 Audi A8 will be listed in 2018, they are also preparing to land L5 autopilot technology in 2025.

"I think China will be the first or the first country to achieve autonomous driving technology," Stefan Greiner said finally.

In fact, the auto industry is still faced with trends such as electrification, sharing, and networking, in addition to auto-pilot technology, or the intelligentization of automobiles represented by unmanned vehicles. Among these, BAIC Group is the most advanced player in the domestic electric vehicle industry.

In 2009, it established Beiqi New Energy, an electric vehicle subsidiary, and it has maintained rapid growth over the years. According to data from third-party agencies such as the National Passenger Vehicles Association, BAIC New Energy has occupied the No. 1 position in terms of sales of new energy vehicles nationwide for four consecutive years, and this is where BAIC New Energy can quickly obtain RMB 11 billion in Series B financing in the near future. s reason.

"I came to learn." As the chairman of Beijing Automotive Industry Group, Xu Heyi first smiled and answered a question that asked why the chairman of a traditional car company would go to a group of technical executives who are engaged in autonomous driving. Speech.

Xu Heyi made it clear that autonomous driving technology will make the car a smart mobile space and fundamentally change the business and operating model of the automotive industry. People no longer need to buy a car and call an autopilot-shared car.

(Beiqi Group Chairman Xu Heyi)

Under this background, BAIC also positioned the smart network-linked vehicle to focus on the research and development of the entire group in the technology field. It has independently developed a vehicle-based multi-sensor environment awareness system, a human body recognition system, and a V2X vehicle-mounted communication technology. On the volume production.

At the same time, BAIC also cooperated with technology companies such as Baidu and actively developed cutting-edge technologies such as smart cockpit and automatic driving.

"Although the popularity of smart cars will take some time, I think this time will be faster than we thought." Xu Heyi said.

Another traditional automobile factory that is full of passion is the German luxury car brand BMW, which had just passed its 100th birthday last year.

As a member of the BBA (Benz BMW Audi), BMW, like Audi and Mercedes-Benz, has always been ahead of the automotive industry and pioneered the use of various forward-looking technologies such as airbags, ESP body stabilization systems, ACC adaptive cruising, and LKA lanes. Technologies such as maintenance and night vision systems are also the first to appear on their models.

On July 1, 2016, the 100-year-old BMW Group teamed up with Intel and ADAS giant Mobileye to set up an autonomous driving alliance. This year, it also brought in auto parts giants Continental Group and Delphi, as well as the auto manufacturer FCA. (Fiat Chrysler), to create a self-driving car.

(Inauguration Ceremonies of BMW, Intel, Mobileye Alliance)

Robert Bruckmeier, joint vice president of the BMW China Connected Driving Research Institute and the Autopilots, introduced the alliance's cooperation model and explained the differences in driving autonomy in China.

(The speaker is Robert Bruckmeier)

Robert Bruckmeier said that China’s road infrastructure and driving habits are significantly different from those in Europe and the United States. For example, the traffic lights in China are different from each other, and there are three non-standardized roads, three manpower, and animal vehicles. Traffic participants. What is more special is that the traffic participants on the roads in China are also more radical (unruly), for example, they frequently change lanes and jams on roads, and some electric vehicles and bicycles do not follow the traffic rules, such as red lights.

"In this case, German autopilot technology cannot adapt to China," said Obert Bruckmeier. To this end, BMW also established an Interconnection Driving Research Institute in China, recruiting a large number of local Chinese engineers to develop autopilot technology adapted to the characteristics of China's roads.

Third, the future of the main Shenfu: corporate alliance or technology company?

"Li Bin, do you think Weilai is stronger than Beiqi?"

In the morning roundtable forum, the host of the Tencent Automobile Chief Editor Wang Qiufeng, in front of Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Industry Group Corporation, throws such a sharp question at Li Bin.

(The second left is Xu Heyi, the second is Li Bin)

“I admire Beiqi’s achievements in the field of automobile manufacturing.” After watching the speech in the morning, Li Bin, the founder and chairman of Weilai Auto, Mobike Bicycles, and EasyNet, finally welcomed his speech. He said, "Future cars must be cars defined by AI."

In Li Bin's view, since AI defines the future of automobiles, the future competition of the auto industry is AI talent. Companies like BAIC are stronger than manufacturing, but they are facing AI challenges. And new car companies such as Weilai Automobile, because of better technology and Internet companies' genes, are more likely to attract AI talent.

"So it seems that the Weilai car is more likely to win, just as Amazon defeated Wal-Mart." Li Bin said the performance of the conclusion is very gentle, but his conclusion is very clear.

Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC Group, did not retort as long as he had expected. He merely said "I agree with Li Bin in principle, but the competition is not limited to talent but includes other resources."

His answer is thought-provoking and reminds me of his remarks at the beginning of his speech, "I'm here to learn." This is consistent with the requirements of people in traditional Chinese culture - be respectful, kind, and unobtrusive.

Weilai Automobile is a new automobile company. Beiqi is a traditional vehicle manufacturer that is actively transforming into an electric vehicle. On the surface, the comparison between the two is actually related to the theme of “competition between traditional depots and technology companies” today. Not quite the same.

But when it comes to the impact of AI or autopilot technology on the entire automotive industry. It is also true that such new car companies like Weiqi have come to the fore, such as Beiqi, a traditional car factory. Their identity is actually the same, that is, vehicle manufacturers, or car manufacturers.

According to Li Bin, the future of driverless cars will be the second living room of mankind. Since it is a living room, there will be personalized demand for use. Therefore, users will also purchase self-driving cars instead of using shared cars. At the same time, since the user does not control the car, the vehicle manufacturer still needs to be responsible for the safety of his own vehicle.

(Weilai's driverless concept car, EVE, focuses on the concept of the second living room)

So he made it clear that the era of self-driving not only still requires automakers, but automakers will continue to dominate the autopilot industry.

"However, the car manufacturers have changed. They actually refer to the alliance of technology companies and car companies." Li Bin explained, "To achieve driverless driving, we need a lot of road data and driving data. This is not a company that can fully grasp it and therefore needs to form a coalition."

The Automated Driving Alliance is not difficult to understand. The aforementioned BMW-Intel-Mobileye-Delphi Alliance is a typical example. The Alliance hopes that its member companies will come up with their own core technologies, such as BMW's automotive manufacturing and vehicle control capabilities, Intel's computing, and communications. And software capabilities, as well as Delphi's component integration capabilities.

According to the plan of the alliance, they are expected to launch L4/L5 fully self-driving cars in 2021 as soon as possible, which shows that people are more powerful.

However, not everyone is optimistic about the alliance model.

Troon believes that the future will lead the development of auto-pilot industry, it will be Google travel services such as Waymo, Uber, Didi, Lyft.

The cooperation between Google and FCA is a typical example.

At the end of last year, Waymo, the company owned by Google, announced that it had reached an agreement with the FCA (Fiat Chrysler) to provide the autopilot module, while the latter is responsible for integrating it into the existing model. On April 25 of this year, Google Waymo took out 500 auto-driving cars produced in cooperation with the FCA mentioned above into test operations, allowing users to call a self-driving car on the mobile phone APP to provide travel services.

(unmanned car travel service by Google Waymo)

Obviously, whether it is R&D or subsequent travel service operations, the FCA actually played the role of an OEM, and the protagonist was Waymo, so the FCA also turned to join the BMW-Intel-Delphi Alliance last week.

For the FCA, the BMW-Intel-Delphi Alliance is more friendly to automakers because Intel, the technology company, is not prepared to provide self-driving cars or provide autonomous driving services. The idea is to provide the floor for the automaker. Computation modules, communications, and cloud services are a complementary relationship.