As we all know, some time ago, China issued a "Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Work of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Access and Road Traffic", and this "Notice" officially started the test work of L3 automatic driving.
With the issuance of the notice, more and more car companies have begun to obtain test licenses for L3 autonomous driving.
What is L3 autonomous driving?
At present, the most widely used autonomous driving classification standard at home and abroad is proposed by the International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The standard divides the level of autonomous driving technology into six levels, namely L0 level of fully human driving, Level 1 level of assisted driving, Level 2 level of partial autonomous driving, Level 3 level of conditional autonomous driving, Level 4 level of highly automated driving, and Level 5 level of full autonomous driving.
The autonomous driving technology installed in the models sold in the domestic market is mainly focused on the L2-L3 level. According to SAE, Level 2 technology allows the vehicle to be partially automated by continuously helping the driver accelerate, brake, and steer, but the driver still needs to remain attentive and fully engaged in driving.
In the case of Level 3 technology, the vehicle can handle all driving tasks automatically under limited conditions, and the driver can shift his attention to a certain extent, but still need to be vigilant to take over control if the system is unable to perform the task.
When a driver takeover is required, the system usually provides a warning for a certain amount of time to ensure that the driver has enough time to prepare to take over control. This distinguishes this from Level 2, which usually requires the driver to be ready to take over at any time.
Access situations that require a driver, which are only required at Level 3 if the system is unable to handle a specific situation. In most cases, the driver can delegate most of the driving tasks to the vehicle.
It is worth noting that, in addition to technology, the division of responsibilities is also one of the most important points. After L3, the driving leadership gradually shifts from the driver to the autonomous driving system, which will lead to difficulties in determining responsibility for driving accidents.
Therefore, in L3 level assisted driving, the driver is no longer the only responsible subject.
At Level 2, they are always ready to take over control of the vehicle and are responsible for system monitoring and proper use. At Level 3, the monitoring requirements are reduced, but the driver still needs to take over in time when needed, with a clear responsibility for system warnings and interventions.
As a result, manufacturers have a greater responsibility in terms of technology and safety.
At this point, we can look at the three qualifications set by Germany for L3 on the road:
1. Speed limit: The maximum speed limit is 60 kilometers per hour, if this speed is exceeded, then the driver is still legally responsible for the accident.
2. Scene restrictions: 1. All of Germany31.91 million kilometers of highways.
3. Behavioral restrictions: Do not sleep, do not look behind or leave the driver's seat continuously, and still be ready to take over the vehicle at any time.
This requires a very high level of awareness for both drivers and managers.
Which car companies have obtained L3 test licenses?
According to the development of the domestic new energy vehicle market, there should be many friends who think that the new car-making force will become the first car company to get a license, after all, these domestic cars have been taking autonomous driving as one of the key points of publicity, such as Weilai, Xiaopeng, ideal, etc.
But unexpectedly, the first to announce the license plate was BMW.
On December 14, the BMW Group announced that its vehicles equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving functions have recently officially obtained a high-speed autonomous driving test license in Shanghai.
In other words, under the supervision and guidance of Shanghai**, BMW will carry out autonomous driving road tests on L3 high-speed roads in designated areas.
At the same time, it also became the first product to comply with the United Nations UN ECE R157 ALKS regulations and was tested on China's high-speed expressway.
The difference between the two car companies is that Mercedes-Benz is one of the first companies to be approved for the road test license of Beijing conditional autonomous driving (L3 level) expressway. In addition, the conditional autonomous driving system of the designated expressway has been officially tested in Beijing.
So why were these two car companies able to get licenses first?
It is understood that the main reason is that at present, in Germany, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have obtained the certification and approval of L3 autonomous driving functions. Among them, Mercedes-Benz has launched an optional Level 3 autonomous driving system on the S-Class sedan and the pure electric EQS.
The all-new BMW 5 Series long wheelbase version, which will be launched in China, has also been technically capable of expanding to L3 autonomous driving.
It is worth noting that on the same day, Zhiji and Mercedes-Benz announced that vehicles equipped with L3 autonomous driving functions officially obtained a high-speed autonomous driving test license in Shanghai. This is also the first official announcement among domestic brands.
It is understood that at present, Zhiji Automobile is applying for the L3 announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the access pilot, and is expected to become the first batch of models to enter the L3 autonomous driving access pilot.
In addition, in addition to accelerating the research and development of L3 autonomous driving, Zhiji IM AD high-speed elevated NOA and urban NOA have also made breakthroughs.
Up to now, in addition to the above three car companies, there are also Aion, Deep Blue and Extreme Fox who have obtained the qualification for L3 road tests. Where:
JiHu obtained the first batch of L3 autonomous driving test licenses in Beijing.
Deep Blue Automobile obtained a high-speed autonomous driving test license and started L3 road tests in Chongqing.
Aion has obtained the "Intelligent Connected Vehicle Road Test Notice" issued by the Guangzhou Transportation Bureau, officially obtained the L3 test qualification, and it is said that the relevant models of its high-end luxury brand Haobo have begun L3 road tests.
Then, as more and more car companies obtain L3 autonomous driving test licenses, domestic car companies such as Wei Xiaoli and Huawei should soon join the test, which also indicates that China's autonomous driving development has gradually entered the stage of standardization.