Autopilot is changing from a pie-spreading contest to a war of words.

"L2.5", which has never been defined in the specification but is accustomed to nature, is not enough, so that the infinite cycle decimal "L2.999 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This familiar mathematical symbol, like the chalk head of the math teacher in those days, led the memory of the dead Xiaoshengchu to suddenly attack you.

It's infinitely close: "You xxx are a genius"

Friends with a good memory can probably remember that before the end of 20 10, that is, before the real arrival of 2020, the L3 production time of almost every enterprise was written as "2020"-there was no need to call names one by one, and no one ran away from top brands.

It has been 28 months since the last sunset in 2020.

At the committee of 100 of China electric vehicle earlier this month, the CEO of relevant enterprises once again sang bad words: L3-class autonomous driving will land in batches before 2030. 2030 minus 2020 equals 10, and Jia Yueting has not been abroad for 10 years.

CEO's mouth, deceptive ghost; Leaders are reliable, sows can climb trees.

People are also animals with subjective initiative. About two years ago, the argument that "L3 is meaningless" has gradually become the mainstream of the industry-I am too familiar with this. I firmly believe that I can be admitted to Tsinghua in the worst grade one, and I shouted "2 1 1 meaningless" in the fourth grade.

It's not that I don't understand the pain of innovators. We know how hard L3 is. It's just that there is no point in doing things in a down-to-earth manner if there is no cost in bragging and painting cakes. It is suggested that the science and technology industry should implement the system of "live broadcast of executives who stand upside down, wash their heads and brag about not cashing in" as soon as possible.

"Isn't pilotage assistance L3?"

Common sense is always unstable in our time. In recent years, navigation AIDS (NOA/NOP/NOH, etc. ) new brands are emerging one after another, and various new functions shake and grab everyone's attention again and again. At the same time, the classic L 1~L5 autopilot classification has gradually faded out of everyone's field of vision.

So let's start again: everything running on the main roads in China today, whether it's simple adaptive cruise or novel driver assistance, whether it's available at high speed or entering the city, whether it's changing lanes or turning left, is still L2 driver assistance without exception.

"L2.5" and "L2+" are just conventional expressions, which are used to distinguish the new generation of driver assistance technologies that surpass "classic L2" to varying degrees. Various navigation assistance systems indicate that "this new driver assistance system can achieve full navigation assistance".

Whether it is L2.5, NOA or L2.999, it is still in the category of L2-level autopilot assistance. This is a subdivision definition, and we simplify it to describe "What's the difference between this L2 and the previous L2?" It is no different from any other L2 system in terms of key regulations.

All L2 driver assistance systems do not allow drivers to divert their attention from the road. Even if some L2+ systems, such as General SuperCruise, allow both hands to leave the steering wheel under certain conditions, the driver still needs to concentrate all the time, otherwise the system will enter the warning and exit process step by step.

Tesla NOA, Weilai NOP, Tucki NGP and many other navigation assistance systems can assist drivers from point A to point B on the map, and even the latest version can complete autonomous turning and lane changing in the city, but attention cannot be distracted from this point. Of course, most of them are not allowed to leave their hands, and naturally they are not allowed to leave their eyes.

Therefore, people above L3 can wear the hat of "automatic driving", so L2 can only sit on the table of "driving assistance" no matter how powerful it is.

L3, as "conditional automatic driving" or "automatic driving in some scenes", allows the driver's hands, feet and eyes to be separated from driving under "conditions" and "scenes" when it is turned on. So naturally, since the driver's attention can leave the road, the responsibility for traffic safety at this time lies with vehicles and car companies.

Accordingly, no matter simple L2, advanced L2.5~L2.999, and various powerful navigators, as long as they are not L3 after all, the responsibility for traffic accidents still cannot be found, and it still falls on the driver-who told you not to take over in time? You should always be ready to take over.

It is precisely because of the principle of division of responsibilities that L3 autopilot must be adapted and licensed by local laws and regulations. However, no matter how "infinitely close" it is below L3, from ACC to AutoPilot and even the city NOA, it is still within the range of L2 driving assistance, so there is no such problem.

20 17 When the new A8 went on the market, Audi announced that it would realize L3 automatic driving on the new A8. However, as we all know, in 2020, Audi officially announced that it would give up the plan to realize L3 on the A8, and then many car companies announced that they would give up L3.

The real realization of L3' s first mass production was that Mercedes-Benz passed the technical regulations examination and approval of the German Federal Automobile Transportation Authority (KBA) in February 20021. The Mercedes-Benz intelligent navigation system Drive Pilot allows drivers to enable L3 autopilot below 60 km/h on some German highway sections.

"What can condition L3 do?"

High-speed sections, and some of them are high-speed, can only be supported and opened below 60km/h, so take a vaccination first. The practical value of Mercedes-Benz's current L3 system may not be as dreamy as "autopilot" in the eyes of ordinary people.

Mercedes-Benz itself also has a clear positioning for the current use of Drive Pilot: this is L3 autopilot for congested road sections.

Of course, traffic jams on most highways in China are rare, but they can't be considered useless. We should know that cross-regional high-speed traffic jams in first-tier cities are still very common.

On a fully enclosed test highway near Zibo, Shandong Province, Mercedes-Benz moved itself out of the original German S-Class sedan with L3 autopilot capability.

There is no barbecue here, but there is a test base of Shandong Expressway Intelligent Networking Expressway. On the road, one big cargo after another is driving without anyone in the cab, which has a steampunk feeling of piano playing automatically at the beginning of westworld.

The S-Class with Drive Pilot has some details in appearance and interior. What we are talking about here is not the flow direction of the GPS antenna of the lidar camera that is easy to think of. Mercedes-Benz specially designed the light color signal for L3 autopilot. When the vehicle turns on L3, the three cyan LED lights in the headlights will light up, prompting the external vehicles to be in the automatic driving state.

This turquoise color is also used as a sign of L3 in the car. The way to get into L3 autopilot is simple: there are a set of lights and buttons near the thumb of the steering wheel. When the vehicle enters the section where L3 can be driven, the light flashes, and when the button is pressed, it will enter the L3 automatic driving state, and the light will turn turquoise and always on.

At this time, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't touch the steering wheel pedal, a car will call you if something happens; If the car doesn't work, I'll give you time to take over. If you don't have time to take over, the car will react on its own to ensure safety.

There are several ways to end L3 state.

One is that the L3-supported road section is about to end naturally, and the vehicles will start flashing yellow lights about 100 meters (depending on the speed and time) before the end, so that the driver has enough time to prepare to take over the vehicles at a speed of 60km/h or even 90km/h (supported by the system).

The other is low speed, whether it is the end of normal L3 section or other emergencies, because of the slow speed and long reaction time, the system will directly light the red light to prompt the takeover. Mercedes-Benz also takes into account special circumstances such as the approach of the police car behind it. Even when the front car slips, the car will automatically whistle to remind the front car.

Finally, there are extreme emergencies. For example, when driving normally, the side car suddenly merges into the lane, because the driver's attention is out of control in L3 state and he can't take over immediately. Mercedes-Benz system can send an emergency warning to the driver and complete simple evasive actions such as deceleration.

In L3 state, complete emergency avoidance by yourself.

The available road conditions of L3 mainly depend on the road width and map information. In addition to its own lidar, redundant sensors and high-precision GPS, this system also needs the support of high-precision maps.

The logic used by Mercedes-Benz L3 system is completely different from the existing L2 assisted driving. For China people who are used to L2 driver assistance systems with various abilities, they will have a profound experience at the first contact.

Most obviously, the L3 of Mercedes-Benz doesn't have any function of autonomous lane change and steering (such as pressing navigation), even if there is no car in front, it won't change lanes. After driving L3, you can and can only drive along the driveway, that's all.

You can't even order it to change lanes. L3 doesn't provide any instructions for drivers to intervene, because once you enter L3, you are just a passenger. At this time, you can play with your mobile phone, watch videos and touch passengers' thighs, but you can't control the vehicle (except when you leave L3), even if you just give instructions.

It is also because the driver in L3 state should not participate in driving, and the L2 function of the vehicle is completely isolated from L3 state, so the L2 steering and lane changing function cannot be used in L3 state. Before the vehicle enters L3, it is not necessary to turn on the L2 function. After exiting L3, it will directly enter the unassisted state to ensure that there will be no intermediate state of unclear driving responsibility.

It's easy to understand these two things separately:

Only having the ability to drive in a straight line is actually the current stage of L3 autopilot. At present, only a limited use scenario of "high-speed traffic jam" has been opened, and it makes no sense to change lanes and turn. Just as the L2 world has developed from simple linear cruise to navigation, we need to acquire the ability to change lanes and even turn autonomously step by step.

Without any instructions from the driver, this is exactly the biggest difference between L3 and L2: clear division of responsibilities.

In L3 state, the safety responsibility is borne by the vehicle enterprise, so at this time, the driver should not do anything or even just interfere with the vehicle, otherwise whose fault is it? Is L3 unable to ensure safety or improper driver intervention?

"Why not listen to the pilot?"

Yes, and no.

To put it simply, pilot assistance in the L2 world has almost achieved full L2 coverage, and L2 assistance can be obtained nearly 100% of the time, but it is only an assistance from beginning to end: in fact, drivers are not allowed to leave the road for any second, and the responsibility for any accident must be borne by the driver.

Mercedes-Benz's current conditional L3 Drive Pilot is only available in a very narrow part of the scene.

However, as long as it conforms to this narrow environment and enters L3, it will still drive automatically after all: allowing drivers to fish and take a nap reasonably and legally; As long as the opening conditions are met all the time, it can drive until there is no oil, and it doesn't mind going straight; During your absence, the car company will be responsible for any problems.

Due to the difference in reliability and responsibility division, pilot assistance and L3 are not technically comparable, but if we have to compare them from the perspective of consumer interests and functions, we can probably draw such a conclusion:

One is to cover L2 assisted driving to nearly 100% of driving scenes, and the other is to realize L3 automatic driving under a series of restrictions in a small class of scenes. One is the limit of L2 assisted driving, and the other is the dawn and beginning of L3 automatic driving.

NOA Navigation Equipment Company still needs to hold the steering wheel and be ready to take over.

To understand this relationship, we must point out a misunderstanding: L3, as a conceptual whole, is obviously more automated than L2 when describing the classification of autonomous driving; But when we describe the specific landing application, a certain L3 system is not necessarily better than a certain L2 system.

So, at first glance, the navigation aid developed to the extreme in the L2 world seems to be much stronger than the current Mercedes L3:

The former can drive to the destination independently according to navigation, while the latter can only drive in a straight line, and if you want to change lanes, you have to quit first; The former is going to be slow, and the latter has an upper limit of 60 km/h, so don't worry about watching the car. The former is from high-speed to the city or even to deal with complex blocks, while the latter only needs high-precision maps at high speed. But one thing, L3 is L3 after all, which can completely divert the driver's attention.

I understand that this may not be easy to get. After all, many people today use L2 as an autopilot, hang a counterweight on the steering wheel and sleep in the car. Even if you don't say these extreme words, it is common to take your eyes off the road and do something else when you turn on the L2 auxiliary system. I bet everyone has it.

However, it must be repeatedly emphasized that the driver should bear the responsibility for the accident at this moment, whether it is improper operation by the driver or temporary convulsion assisted by L2, and L2 and the automobile company will not and should not share a dime.

L2 is L2 after all. Even if the pilot assistance can cover the distance of 100%, even if the takeover rate is as low as 0.00 1%, as long as the driver is distracted and fails to take over in time when there is a sudden failure, the consequences may be disastrous for individuals.

In the past, there have been several accidents involving pilot assistance or near accidents, all of which were caused by not always keeping attention and grasping the steering wheel.

The essential difference of conditional L3, which is not perfect at present, is that although it can only be used in a narrow and small proportion of scenes, cross-regional commuting in first-tier cities may not be used several times a year, as long as it is in this narrow scene, it can really release your attention and time legally and safely.

It can even be said that this is the first time in the history of human drivers that they can "drive" safely and legally while brushing their mobile phones. No longer sneaking around, no longer taking risks, returning to WeChat is to concentrate on it and look at it carefree.

Is the popular saying that "L3 is meaningless" really the conclusion of business experts' analysis, or the rhetoric of "L3 in 2020" after being slapped? The classification of autonomous driving has been defined for many years, and the investment of enterprises in L3 has a long history. Why didn't I think it was meaningless to be L3 before, but L3 pigeons realized it year after year?

Mercedes-Benz's current L3 system Drive Pilot is limited by the current harsh opening conditions, and its functions are of course limited, but it can actually frame the higher frequency requirements of a small number of people. For example, car owners commuting in the outer suburbs of first-tier cities, traffic jams on Jingtong Expressway are almost daily.

Mercedes-Benz and even most European car companies have not introduced navigation assistance systems like Tesla and domestic new cars, which reflects the differences between the two sides on the road of autonomous driving development. The idea of navigation assistance is to expand horizontally in L2 world, covering 100% of the scene as much as possible, and then strive to reduce the takeover rate, and finally achieve L3 or even L4 coverage of large scenes.

Mercedes-Benz's idea is that L2' current state is enough. First, it breaks through L3 in a small and simple scene, then broadens the applicable scene of L3 horizontally, and finally realizes L4 and L5 in a large scene L3 or even an infinite scene.

This article comes from autocarweekly, the author of Che Yi, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author in any form. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.