Xiaomi’s car can change the automotive market, the same way the brand’s first mobile phones did in the Android smartphone market. The strategy is the same: provide access to cutting-edge technology at a very competitive price, and offer options for different types of users (and wallets).
The Xiaomi SU7 will have a “Max” version with two high-power electric motors, batteries with greater autonomy and more technologies such as active aerodynamics with a rear spoiler that automatically raises. But that doesn’t mean the base version of the SU7 is limited, and it will feature much of the technology that will most appeal to new drivers, like the screen with HyperOS based on Android
The SU7 will also offer advanced driving assistance functions, increasingly close to autonomous driving. And it has the potential to be even better than Tesla’s Autopilot, thanks to the inclusion of more sensors and the use of two Nvidia Drive Orin processors. Tesla is famous for rely exclusively on cameras installed throughout the car, the image of which is interpreted by its own algorithms to provide functions similar to autonomous driving. However, this decision was harshly criticized by the rest of the industry which, in the name of safety, prefers to use more sensors.
This is the case of Xiaomi, which in addition to cameras, in the SU7 it included LiDAR (laser radar) and other types of radars to get more information about the environment. The result of this gamble is evident in a new video which shows how the SU7 was able to park in a double-decker car park, without anyone behind the wheel: the video begins with the driver getting out of the car.
Although details of the test are scarce, such as location and conditions, it appears to have been conducted in a real parking lot with real traffic. For example, at one point in the video it shows how the SU7 meets another car (an Audi) coming in the opposite direction; Xiaomi’s system is apparently capable of recognize the situation and withdraw so that the other driver can continue. Since the video is sped up, it’s also unclear how much time passes during this maneuver, but it’s still impressive. Finally, when the car finds its place, it parks correctly.
Although Teslas have an automatic parking feature, this video indicates that Xiaomi could have improved it; something striking for a newcomer to the industry, who, unlike other technology brands, did not partner with an already established manufacturer, but created a new car from scratch.
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