Autonomous Driving from China
“God’s Eye” by BYD in Practical Test
Even the small car BYD Dolphin Surf is capable of partially autonomous driving.
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BYD aims to revolutionise autonomous driving with its God’s Eye technology. Three performance levels, AI-supported scenario recognition, and impressive driving performance in the test show: The Chinese system is convincing - but when will it be available in Europe?
God’s Eye. This name symbolises an all-seeing, divine eye that observes everything and stands for divine wisdom, protection, and surveillance. Quite a bold claim for a technology that aims to enable autonomous driving. The question is whether the Chinese autopilot also delivers what the name promises. First, it is important to understand that the God made by BYD comes in three versions: The basic version God's Eye C (DiPilot 100) uses twelve cameras. Three of them are positioned above behind the windscreen, five for panoramic view, and four ensure the most accurate all-round view possible. These are complemented by five millimetre-wave radar sensors and twelve ultrasonic radar sensors. The DiPilot 100 chip, with a maximum computing power of 100 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), processes this data.
The processors come from Nvidia (Orin N-Chip) and the Chinese manufacturer Horizon Robotics (Journey 5-Chip). The omission of expensive lidar sensors follows the Tesla approach. For BYD, this tiering makes sense, as the entry-level version of the ADAS package is used in China in vehicles like the BYD Seagull (in Germany: Dolphin Surf) and with the model update also in the Atto 3.
God’s Eye - Overview of BYD's Autopilot
Three levels for different vehicle classes:
BYD's "God’s Eye" system is available in versions C, B, and A. The basic version (C) uses only cameras and radar, while B and A also rely on lidar sensors and more powerful chips (Nvidia Orin-X). The top version achieves 600 TOPS computing power.
Multimodal AI with Xuanji architecture:
The neural backbone is the Xuanji AI platform. It processes image, voice, and sensor data in milliseconds and recognises over 300 driving scenarios - from weather conditions to parking searches. Updates are carried out Over-the-Air (OTA), both from the cloud and directly in the vehicle.
Large-scale development:
Around 5,000 engineers work on BYD's autonomous systems. Thanks to relaxed Chinese regulations, BYD collects over 70 million training kilometres daily - a massive data advantage over Western manufacturers.
Practical test convinces:
In the BYD Seagull (in Germany: Dolphin Surf), the system works impressively reliably on the motorway. In the city, its use is still limited.
Outlook:
Deployment in Europe is currently unclear. The technology is ready, but stricter regulations could delay an introduction.
The next stage of development for the autopilot God's Eye B (DiPilot 300) already has a LiDAR sensor on board. To process the larger amount of data, BYD relies on the Nvidia-Orin-X chip for this system. With this computing power, more complex driving manoeuvres are possible, which is particularly helpful in the city. This version is mainly intended for the models of BYD's premium brand Denza as well as for vehicles of the BYD Dynasty and Ocean model series.
Luxury vehicles such as the electric super sports car Yangwang U9 or the amphibious SUV U8 receive the top version God’s Eye A. This means three LiDAR sensors, the dual Nvidia-Orin-X chip and thus a computing power of 600 TOPs (DiPilot 600). Enough to make the cars ready for autonomous driving. To underline these ambitions, BYD showed a video at the God’s Eye presentation of the Yangwang U9 lapping a racetrack at a forced pace without a driver.
AI architecture with 300 scenarios
The Xuanji architecture is both the brain and the neural network behind BYD's autonomous vehicles. This technology understands the automobile as a whole. As the name Xuanji AI Large Model suggests, this architecture uses artificial intelligence. And multimodal at that. This simply means that Xuanji AI is able to process different types of data within a few milliseconds - including sensor, image and voice data. With this computing power, the Xuanji architecture covers over 300 vehicle scenarios. These include, for example, road and weather conditions, traffic situations or parking. Since this AI system is operated both in the vehicle and in the cloud, the data is secured and the system can always be kept up to date with over-the-air updates (OTA).
In autonomous driving, BYD is also advancing vertical integration and developing the algorithms itself. Around 5,000 engineers are working on the ADAS systems. When presenting the new ADAS generation, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu proudly pointed out that his company has the largest automotive cloud database in China. Last year, the car manufacturer allegedly collected 72 million ADAS training kilometres daily. BYD, like other car manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom, also benefits from the more generous regulations in China.
The practical test on China's roads
We put it to the test in a BYD Seagull, which is sold as the Dolphin Surf in Germany. It's a rainy day in Xi'an. Not exactly the best conditions to test a camera-based autonomous driving system. When asked if we could activate NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) in the city, the BYD officials shook their heads. "Too much traffic." So we wait until we are on the motorway. The technician pulls the paddle on the left of the steering column and the system is active, as can be seen from the turquoise diodes in the two outer mirror housings. This way, other road users also know that a robo-vehicle is on the road. Like Nio's Autopilot NOP+ (Navigation on Pilot), we drive a route specified by the navigation system. Unlike Mercedes' Drive Pilot 95, the self-acting BYD small car does not require a lead vehicle.
BYD refers to the system as Level 2.5 autonomous driving. Nevertheless, the Seagull completes the majority of the route independently. The autopilot controls the vehicle for up to ten minutes. Then the red hands appear on the display. What BYD's basic God's Eye delivers is impressive and doesn't need to hide behind Tesla's FSD. Quite the opposite. Even cars that jump across three lanes in front of the Seagull don't unsettle the system. If necessary, it briefly eases off the accelerator. Lane changes are also successful without the driver's intervention. As soon as a slower vehicle blocks the lane, the autopilot smoothly switches to the right or left lane, overtakes, and merges back in. At a maximum of 130 km/h. Humans can't do it any better. At a speed of 100 km/h, the system can also perform an emergency stop and comes to a halt in front of the obstacle, even if it is only visible from 50 metres away.
Safe Driving and Parking Experience
Not once does a feeling of insecurity arise. The autonomous vehicle also masters the motorway exit effortlessly. About two kilometres beforehand, the car switches from the left to the middle lane and is a few hundred metres before the junction on the far right. Even in the curve of the exit, the driver can still relax. God's Eye is confident. No twitching steering wheel or restless manoeuvres. Only when heading towards the toll station does the system call it a day.
That leaves parking. As long as there is enough space to manoeuvre, the Seagull will independently reverse into a tricky parking space. If necessary, it can also be remotely controlled via a smartphone. After a wireless update, the Seagull can also perform this manoeuvre head-on. The functions for autonomous driving in the city will also be rolled out in the future via OTA updates.
Whether, when, and in what form the God's Eye will come to Germany is still up in the air. The regulations are still causing BYD some issues.
This article was first published at automotiveit.eu
