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The expectations surrounding the autonomous vehicles have been growing year after year. Many people expect these vehicles to reach a level of financial security superior to human driving, providing peace of mind and efficiency in traffic. We will see the story of a self-parking car that went viral in China.
Recently, a viral video on Chinese social media showed a self-driving SUV from the Li Auto brand, a car that parks itself, after several failed attempts, simply “gave up” and walked away from the spot.
The evolution of autonomous systems
The concept of autonomous driving is nothing new, having fascinated audiences since the first science fiction films. However, what was once just a futuristic dream has become a reality in part thanks to driver assistance systems and, most notably, the emergence of automatic parking.
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This feature was first made available by Toyota with the second-generation Prius in 2003, although its effectiveness was limited.
Advances in artificial intelligence have allowed neural networks to be trained to learn from data from human drivers.
In this way, parking and autonomous driving systems have evolved significantly, with emphasis on Tesla, whose electric vehicles have demonstrated remarkable abilities in recent years.
However, other manufacturers are also competing in the market, especially in China, where Tesla does not yet have approval for its full self-driving package.
The competition between Tesla and Chinese automakers
While Tesla is widely recognized in the West, in China, local automakers like Li Auto are gaining ground. These companies are working to match or even surpass Tesla's technology.
Chinese automakers, as the only ones currently authorized to operate autonomous driving systems in the country, have gained the trust of local consumers, who often believe these vehicles are more advanced than foreign models.
However, videos recorded in China show that Chinese autonomous vehicles still make mistakes, some even appearing to be beginners. This raises questions about the true level of maturity of the technology.
These problems are partly caused by the reliance on lidar, radar and high-definition mapping, which in some cases limit the performance of autonomous systems.
The curious case of the Li L9 SUV, a car that parks itself!
The video that recently went viral on Chinese social media shows a Li L9 SUV, a luxury hybrid vehicle produced by startup Li Auto. The model is promoted as the “Smart SUV” of the brand, thanks to its advanced autonomous driving system, the Li AD Max.
Equipped with an Nvidia Orin-X processor and a vast array of sensors, including a 128-line LiDAR, multiple high-resolution cameras, radars, and ultrasonic sensors, the L9 appeared to take charge cautiously at the start of the video, hesitantly performing parking maneuvers.
However, after a few parking attempts, the SUV “decided” to abort the mission and left the location, leaving spectators surprised and, perhaps, even a little suspicious about the reliability of this technology.
How Does the Li L9 Autonomous Driving System Work?
Li Auto has invested heavily in the development of the L9’s autonomous driving system, featuring two Nvidia Orin-X processors that quickly process sensor and camera data, enabling faster decision-making. The L9 features a robust set of sensors, including:
- Front LiDAR: A 128-line sensor to map the environment in high definition.
- High resolution cameras: Six 8-megapixel cameras and five 2-megapixel cameras, offering complete visibility around the vehicle.
- Millimeter wave radar and ultrasonic sensors: Used to detect nearby objects and avoid collisions.
This advanced system should, in theory, allow the L9 to perform parking tasks autonomously and safely. However, the incident captured in the video demonstrates that, despite the robustness of the technology, there are still challenges to be overcome, particularly with regard to its ability to adapt and respond in real-world scenarios.
Challenges and future of autonomous driving
Autonomous driving systems have evolved by leaps and bounds, but the Li L9 SUV incident raises questions about the true maturity of these technologies. Vehicle autonomy requires complex synchronization between sensors, artificial intelligence algorithms and the ability to react appropriately in unexpected situations.
However, the path to achieving a level of reliability superior to that of human driving still faces obstacles.
Many of these systems are designed to operate under ideal conditions, with decisions based on a limited set of programmed variables. However, in the real world, the challenges are much more complex, with unpredictable scenarios that can confuse the algorithms.
Promising technology, but with a long way to go
The Li L9 SUV incident serves as a reminder that despite all the advances, autonomous driving technology still has a long way to go before it becomes foolproof. Consumer trust is key to the mainstreaming of this technology, and every mistake, no matter how small, raises a question mark over its safety and viability.
While companies like Li Auto and Tesla continue to invest in and improve their systems, we’re likely to see more examples of failures and successes as the technology advances. Autonomous driving, while fascinating and promising, still has significant challenges to overcome before we can completely hand the steering wheel over to artificial intelligence.
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