SHANGHAI, July 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With the evolving
landscape of the global automotive industry, Cango Inc. (NYSE:
CANG) ("Cango" or the "Company") is issuing a bi-monthly industry
insight called "CANGO Auto View" to bring readers, drivers and
passengers up to speed with what's on offer in the automobile
market, what trends are emerging, and what holes need to be
plugged.
Below is an article from the Company's 3rd edition for
February 2021.
Besides mobility, investors have their eyes on another market –
one that is even more technology-driven – the onboard system and
human-vehicle interaction. Distinct from the PC era and the mobile
era, human-vehicle interaction in the auto context introduces
disruptive changes. The reason smart vehicle operation is different
from the immersion-style operation of a mobile system is that when
the onboard system is in use during driving, 95% of the user's
focus is on driving behavior and only about 5% of their energy and
time can be spared to control the onboard system. Different
scenarios will lead to dramatic changes in the information carrier
─ changing from text to voice, motion and other forms.
Statistics show that a user's sight and attention cannot be
focused on the onboard system for more than three seconds. Within
those three seconds, if the user fails at the operation or repeats
the operation until the task is completed, the behavior is
considered very dangerous and the cost of trial and error high.
This, therefore, dictates that the functional logic and information
layout of the onboard system be presented in the best way in the
shortest time. The specific result achieved is that the design of
human-vehicle interaction is closely aligned with user needs and
interactive behavior rules in real scenarios so as to ensure that
information transmission is extremely efficient.
In future, a large number of physical buttons will be replaced
by other input methods, especially tough and voice methods. Touch
control will improve accuracy, effective feedback mechanisms will
be developed, and the application of gesture control will be
expanded in middle-to-high-end models. In the meanwhile, because of
its convenience and humanization, voice control will become the
main interactive method with the advancement of AI technology. And
biometric technology will be applied and developed in areas such as
fatigue monitoring and eyeball tracking.
Take the voice system for example. At present, human-vehicle
interaction is achieved through two types of technology: a speech
recognition system and a natural language processing
system.
A speech recognition system is mainly used to recognize,
distinguish and verify the voice of each speaker, and the
representative company is Baidu. With an accuracy rate of 98%, its
system has reached a near-mature stage, enabling a voice
interaction that can support different languages and dialects.
Natural language processing system, on the other hand,
automatically understands human languages and approaches human
thinking modes. The representative company is iFLYTEK with an
accuracy rate of 70% and room for breakthroughs.
As for facial and gesture recognition system for vehicle owners,
it mainly uses computer visual technology to extract facial and
graphic information from images. The representative company is
SenseTime with an accuracy rate of 99% and capability of delivering
near-mature products.
Internet technology giants such as BAT and Huawei are the major
providers of the aforementioned applications, while iFLYTEK,
SenseTime, AISpeech and Yitu are active players in the AI
application field, each with its own strengths. iFLYTEK went IPO
more than one decade ago, while SenseTime, Yitu and AISpeech are
inching infinitely closer to IPO.
Onboard infotainment
The smart devices and software services "hidden" inside smart
vehicles have been attracting serious investment over recent years.
At present, the most obvious consumer-related functions smart
vehicles are capable of cover five main areas: navigation and
positioning, multimedia, vehicle services, consumption and payment,
and communication and social networking.
Navigation and positioning at present mainly encompasses
synchronous precise positioning, real-time road conditions, best
route, 3D route guidance, 3D navigation and precise map
navigation.
The second area is multimedia. At present, it mainly encompasses
radio, audio playback, video playback, mobile TV, electronic photo
album, life information inquiry and games.
The third area is vehicle services. At present, it mainly
encompasses surveillance and anti-theft, call service, road
assistance, remote diagnosis, assisted driving, vehicle insurance,
and seat and air conditioning control.
The fourth area is consumption and payment. At present, it
mainly encompasses smart fueling, in-car payment, multiple payment
platform, shopping and consumption, movie ticket purchase, food
takeout and flight tickets.
Currently, platform-level companies are still emerging in this
area. Taking into consideration license payment and other factors,
this type of services should mainly be provided by the emerging
carmakers and mobile payment giants.
And the fifth area is multimedia. At present, it mainly
encompasses Bluetooth communication, mobile wireless network,
onboard SMS, email, onboard WeChat and mobile office.
The emerging carmakers have taken the lead in this area,
developing APPs capable of vehicle owner authentication and
providing socializing platforms for both insiders and strangers. It
remains to be seen whether internet giants Tencent and Kind can take over socializing in an
auto scenario by catering to different scenarios.
Onboard camera and radar
In addition to onboard software, smart vehicles are undergoing
tremendous changes in hardware due to the widespread use of
driverless technology, and these changes have bred a large number
of investment opportunities.
For example, for a smart vehicle in the driving mode, its
judgment logic is similar to that of a person walking. The eyes
first detect obstacles and routes, then the brain makes analyses
and decisions on whether to avoid the obstacles or to go straight.
The eyes of a smart vehicle mainly consist of cameras, LiDARs,
high-precision maps and GPS positioning. And sensing devices
including cameras and radars are mainly responsible for collecting
information around the body of the vehicle and determining the
location of the vehicle.
At present, Tesla has a relatively comprehensive understanding
of sensor systems smart vehicles should be equipped with, while the
emerging carmakers in China have
been lingering in the learning mode for a long while. Based on what
Musk has been saying in public, no big changes will be made to
Tesla's onboard sensors in the future. Public information shows
that as a standard, Tesla vehicles are equipped with eight cameras,
one millimeter-wave radar and twelve ultrasonic radars.
Up till now, the emerging carmakers in China have mostly adopted Tesla's plan.
However, information from the official channels of various
platforms has pointed at LiDAR being used by multiple auto brands
in the future. Xpeng, in fact, has claimed that it will achieve
self driving through the fusion method of camera + millimeter-wave
radar + ultrasonic radar + LiDAR.
During the 2020 Guangzhou Auto Show, Wang Jun, President of Huawei's Smart Vehicle
Solutions BU, said in a media interview that Huawei's LiDAR has
become a hot product snapped up by auto companies and that Huawei
was considering a release in the near future of its entire array of
LiDAR products. At the same time, Huawei revealed through public
channels that it is conducting LiDAR studies, hoping to not only
enhance LiDAR accuracy but reduce the price to below 200 US dollars.
In other words, accuracy improvement and cost reduction of
various radars are highly likely to add crucial competition
barriers for the branding of the emerging carmakers.
Due to its unique industry characteristics, the sensor field
hasn't triggered wide-ranging discussions in the venture capital
field. The main reasons are as follows: One, sensor manufacturers
have limited capacities for growth and the return on investment
rate is not as high as that of the internet industry. Two,
currently there are not many fields requiring sensor applications.
And three, R&D teams under OEMs have multiple advantages in
terms of team, time and capital.
Nonetheless, the advent of the smart manufacturing era is bound
to boost the use of sensors in smart vehicles and other fields, and
their market potential is huge indeed.
About Cango Inc.
Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG) is a leading automotive transaction
service platform in China
connecting dealers, financial institutions, car buyers, and other
industry participants. Founded in 2010 by a group of pioneers in
China's automotive finance
industry, the Company is headquartered in Shanghai and engages car buyers through a
nationwide dealer network. The Company's services primarily consist
of automotive financing facilitation, car trading transactions, and
after-market services facilitation. By utilizing its competitive
advantages in technology, data insights, and cloud-based
infrastructure, Cango is able to connect its platform participants
while bringing them a premium user experience. Cango's platform
model puts it in a unique position to add value for its platform
participants and business partners as the automotive and mobility
markets in China continue to grow
and evolve. For more information, please visit:
www.cangoonline.com.
Media Contact:
Juliet Ye
Cango Inc.
Tel: +86 21 3183 5088 ext.5581
Email: pr@cangoonline.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cango_Group
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SOURCE Cango Inc.