In 1970, China's first artificial satellite "Dongfanghong 1" was successfully launched! On May 15, 2021, the Tianwen-1 Mars probe developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group landed steadily at the preferred landing point - the utopian plains of the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Whether it is entering space or landing on Mars, it can be regarded as exploration again and again, and any form of exploration is inseparable from people's attachment to dreams and the leap-forward improvement of science and technology.
In fact, on the land beyond the sea of stars, human beings have not stopped the pace of exploration, under the wave of "new four modernizations", intelligent car technologies such as automatic driving have become the direction that human beings are exploring.
As an enterprise that has firmly believed that the intelligent car track is the future direction of travel reform from the beginning of its establishment, Xiaopeng Automobile has successfully transformed from a "barbarian" who makes cross-border cars to a "leader" in the field of intelligent cars in China after 7 years of development, but it does not intend to stop here. In 2021, on the basis of the steady progress of the intelligent vehicle business, Xiaopeng Automobile has opened an exploration of the three-dimensional travel mode.
He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Motors, believes that Xiaopeng Motors hopes to use its exploration of science and technology to lead the future travel reform and become an explorer of future travel.
△ Mr. He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Automobile
"Small steps and fast running" of intelligent assisted driving
On the road of using technology to change the intelligent travel life of human beings, Xiaopeng Automobile has always believed that all its exploration is for the final mass production. At the same time, Xiaopeng Motors also understands more clearly that in the face of an opportunity with huge space, there is basically no possibility of a one-time big leap forward. Therefore, the practice of Xiaopeng Automobile is to run in small steps, gradually mass production, and turn the advantages into barriers step by step.
As one of the few new car-making enterprises in China that adhere to full-stack self-research, Xiaopeng Automobile has gradually realized the landing of high-level auxiliary driving functions or technologies such as NGP function (intelligent navigation assisted driving), VPA memory parking, and lidar mass production in 2021, relying on its own ability, grasping its own rhythm, to cross a chasm, and finally completely open up the scene of automatic driving technology in high-speed + city + parking.
It should be noted that in the process of continuously exploring higher-level intelligent auxiliary driving technology, compared with the short-distance, medium- and low-speed driving scenarios of urban roads, due to the relatively simple road conditions and more extensive demand, the subdivision scenario represented by long-distance driving on high-speed roads has become the field of competitive layout of car companies. Among them, the high-speed NGP function of Xiaopeng Automobile is the most representative.
In March this year, Xiaopeng Automobile completed the NGP 3,000-kilometer expedition challenge over an eight-day period and through 10 cities, becoming the first automobile manufacturer in China to complete a 3,000-kilometer high-speed crossing between north and south through the mass production function of intelligent assisted driving. It is worth mentioning that the section of the expedition is very in line with the user's daily driving situation, and effectively detects the stability of the NGP function in long-distance and long-term use.
In addition to technical functions, Xiaopeng Automobile's NGP product design is more complete. In order to remind users to use the NGP function correctly, when logging in to the owner's account for the first time, it is necessary to force a 4-minute explanatory video, and after watching the video, pass the exam to unlock the NGP function. This will force users to understand the basic principles of NGP and ensure the safety of travel.
In addition to allowing users to better experience high-end autonomous driving technology, Xiaopeng Automobile is also lowering the threshold for experiencing this function and accelerating the universalization of science and technology. In April this year, Xiaopeng Motors released the world's first mass-produced lidar smart car, the Xiaopeng P5. It is reported that the P5 has 32 sensors and a group of high-precision positioning unit (GNSS+ IMU) hardware solution, to achieve a higher-level XPILOT 3.5 intelligent driving assistance capability.
Of course, Xiaopeng Motors is still constantly exploring autonomous driving technology, and its plan is to promote this technology to a larger scope. Xiaopeng Motors revealed in the third quarter of this year's earnings call that in the second half of 2022, Xiaopeng Motors is expected to become the first Chinese vehicle brand to explore autonomous driving operations, obtain more data and driving scenarios more quickly through autonomous driving, and promote the faster evolution of autonomous driving technology.
△Xiaopeng Automobile has three models on sale: Xiaopeng G3i, Xiaopeng P7 and Xiaopeng P5
Three-dimensional exploration of technology companies
In the post-surge era, Xiaopeng Automobile has always been at the forefront of intelligent transformation. "We have been exploring the era of smart cars for 7 years, and we believe that the leaders and explorers in this field should embrace the era of renewal at this time." He Xiaopeng believes that when the era of intelligent travel comes, Xiaopeng Automobile will start the next expedition at this time, which is just in time.
"I've always thought that in China in the 21st century, there will be a whole new batch of transportation, and I think Xiaopeng Motors will be one of them." In He Xiaopeng's view, in addition to the exploration of smart car products, design, software, functions and sales models, Xiaopeng Automobile's greater exploration comes from new species.
On September 7 this year, Xiaopeng Automobile entered the ranks of foot robot manufacturers, and its ecological enterprise released the first third-generation prototype that can ride intelligent machine horses, its code name is "Xiaobailong"; at the end of September, xiaopeng automobile ecological enterprise Xiaopeng Huitian developed the first two-person intelligent electric aircraft traveler X2 (flying car) at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Expo.
It is worth noting that in the process of three-dimensional exploration of travel modes, Xiaopeng Automobile has introduced technologies such as advanced machine intelligence, high-level intelligent driving, and global voice interaction into new species. It is reported that Xiaopeng Automobile's intelligent machine horse is equipped with a car-level intelligent driving system, which can identify the environment and objects through cameras and lidar, build maps, plan paths, and have functions such as automatic follow-up.
△ Medium and large pure electric SUV Xiaopeng G9
At the same time, just as Xiaopeng Motors never only does smart car products that are displayed in concepts, for robots and flying cars, Xiaopeng Motors is also thinking of large industry, and is promoting these explorations step by step. Among them, Xiaopeng Motors plans to mass-produce flying cars in 2024 and hopes to control the price at 1 million yuan.
In fact, for today's Xiaopeng Motors, it is no longer enough to understand it purely as "Xiaopeng Motors", because it has successfully extended the "smart" label on its body to "technology". "Because we are more focused on the future and have a more ambitious vision, we need a new Xiaopeng car to carry." He Xiaopeng said.
On the eve of this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, Xiaopeng Automobile released a new brand logo and renewed the brand. Although Xiaopeng Automobile has "changed its new look", whether it is engaged in the research and development of automatic driving technology or the exploration of future travel in multiple scenarios, the original intention of Xiaopeng Automobile has not changed, that is, to be a technology company. More importantly, at present, this culture and thinking have penetrated deep into the "bone marrow" of the enterprise. Text/Li Nian
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