The BMW Group is also going to push L3 intelligent driving - L3 means that the car is truly autonomous, you can play with your phone and swipe videos, but when the vehicle needs you to take over, it will let you regain control of the steering wheel.
The time point is the end of this year or the beginning of next year; The first model will be the 2024 7 Series; The range is also temporarily limited and will be on some German autobahns; The speed will gradually increase from 60 kilometers per hour.
The BMW Group announced this trend a few days ago and said that it is also preparing for the adaptation and application of L3 in China. BMW has also opened the Future Mobility Development Center in the Czech Republic, focusing on the development and testing of driver assistance systems and autonomous driving technologies.
BMW's Future Mobility Development Center in the Czech Republic
The launch of L3 at the end of this year and early next year is only part of BMW's smart driving strategy. What is the difference between BMW's L3 and other car companies' smart driving? How will it be implemented? In addition to L3, what else is the arrangement of BMW's smart driving strategy?
01
L3 will be achieved by the end of the year or early next year
When it comes to intelligent driving assistance, the BMW Group is one of the pioneers in the industry.
In 2000, the BMW Group equipped the 7 Series with the first active cruise control; In 2007, BMW introduced an adaptive cruise system with start-stop function; In 2013, BMW added Traffic Jam Assistant (TJA), as well as more iterations and additions; In 2019, BMW's driver assistance system already has 40 functions.
Today, intelligent driving assistance is at the node of the transition from L2 to L3. But in terms of selling point communication, Tesla and other new forces, new brands, emphasis on L2++++... Constantly seeking to expand applications at the L2 level, traditional car companies such as Mercedes-Benz BMW emphasize that under L3 is L2, and there is no middle ground.
But in any case, competitive car companies are vying for L3 tickets, and BMW's old rival Mercedes-Benz has taken the lead in promoting L3 in Germany on a small scale. BMW also needs to give consumers corresponding products. Therefore, at the time of the launch of the 2024 7 Series, BMW will put the L3 into mass production, and the name may be "Personal Pilot".
The 2024 7 Series will debut the BMW L3
BMW Group insiders said that BMW's L3 is defined as a function designed for commuting, on closed roads on expressways, and with a maximum speed of no more than 60 kilometers per hour, that is, designed according to the daily needs of users for congestion or high-density scenarios. In this state, the owner enables L3, which can read, send and receive emails, entertain and more.
Although the industry believes that BMW was not outstanding in intelligent driving before, the BMW Group explored the earliest and most active exploration of "getting rid of the hand".
In 2018, BMW introduced for the first time the L2 active cruise function based on High-Speed Congestion Assist (TJA), which can be left by hand from the steering wheel. This function allows the owner to turn on this function at a speed of less than 60 kilometers per hour in the second ring, third and fourth ring roads of Beijing, and there is no time limit.
Before L3, BMW already provided hands-off intelligent driving assistance
Although BMW's L3 is later than Mercedes-Benz, people from the BMW Group said that the functions of the two are at the same level, but the application node is later.
In addition to the progress of L3, BMW L2 intelligent driving will also have updates and iterations in 2023.
This year, BMW's Smart Drive has increased the top speed of high-speed congestion assist to 130 km/h, which is the highest speed in the industry. For consumers, this means that on the highway, it can be used at full rate.
In addition, BMW's automatic lane change function has added an experience - eye confirmation. This means that when the vehicle initiates a lane change prompt, the owner only needs to look at the exterior mirror on the corresponding side with his eyes to approve the lane change.
02
Equipped with LiDAR
In the process of leading to high-level autonomous driving, different car companies have chosen different paths, especially perception hardware.
BMW's Level 3 autonomous driving will rely on the fusion perception solution: composed of lidar + full-range radar + high-definition camera.
The use of lidar is particularly striking. Because, Tesla, one of the leading companies in intelligent driving exploration, is very clear against lidar; Although Chinese car companies currently use lidar, the core perception is based on visual solutions.
For emerging technologies, BMW is accustomed to finding strong partners to develop them together. Lidar is no exception, BMW chose the Israeli company Innoviz.
Innoviz's lidar recognition effect on the environment
The two parties have been working together on lidar technology for several years. Currently, they have developed the second generation of lidar technology and are testing the B-prototype product.
Nicolai Martin, Senior Vice President of Driving Experience at BMW Group, told the media: "We are delighted that Innoviz has developed the first B sample of the new generation of LiDAR and hope that the results of the B sample phase will lay the foundation for our possible future cooperation expansion." ”
He believes that lidar sensors are crucial in developing autonomous driving systems, and the biggest advantage is its ability to detect objects on the road, regardless of weather or lighting conditions.
"Lidar is one of the key technologies underpinning Level 3 and beyond automation capabilities. Optimizing lidar technology and cost is a major challenge in bringing Level 3 highly automated driving into the mainstream," Martin said.
In addition to self-driving features, BMW also hopes to use lidar to improve the safety of human-driven vehicles. The BMW Group is developing a minimum risk maneuvering (MRM) system based on lidar. MRM is an L2 safe driving decision making platform that leverages the advanced performance, reliability, and resiliency of lidar to manage real-time driving decisions.
In addition to cycling intelligence, BMW also uses data centers to train algorithms. The data center was able to simulate hundreds of scenarios in a computing cluster in a matter of hours and perform virtual durability tests on L3 software. In the virtual test, when the system performance is relatively stable, it will be deployed to the real vehicle and pass the real durability test to obtain the final verification.
As for why BMW's L3 couldn't hit the line a little earlier. BMW insiders said that BMW has high requirements for L3 - autonomous driving can only have one accident every 1 billion kilometers, 28% higher than human drivers.
03
2025 target
Although L3 will be achieved by the end of this year or early next year, BMW will not be rolling it out to individual models anytime soon.
In an interview with CarBuzz, BMW CTO Frank Weber said, "Level 3 is still expensive because the car's sensor system setup and backup energy solutions make it very expensive to use Level 3 functionality today. ”
Frank Weber said that "the more affordable L3 could take the next decade," suggesting that the technology will gradually roll out to smaller models in the coming years.
BMW Group insiders also revealed that in recent years, the research and development of BMW driving assistance and autonomous driving is not all about L3, and there are three key points: first, the rich L2 intelligent driving functions; Second, the launch and optimization of L3-level functions; Third, Level 4 autonomous driving and unmanned parking assistance.
BMW Group's illustration of the L4 function
By 2025, BMW's new generation model will be mass-produced and will be equipped with a next-generation autonomous driving platform, which is different from the L3 of the 7 Series and has different partners. Compared with the L3 of the 7 Series, the 2025 new generation model, although it is still L3, will expand on the available speed and usable environment.
By 2025, L2 driver assistance will still have a large percentage of them, but L1/L2 levels will be simplified to L2.
At that time, BMW will also greatly reduce the number of autonomous driving hardware controls, from the current 24, to only two, that is, centralized to two domain controllers.
Of course, although we will not see BMW's Level 4 autonomous driving before 2025, Level 4 autonomous driving will definitely be included in BMW's product strategy in the future.