Chapter 93: Opening of Intelligent Driving Pilot

The car continued to drive on the road.

Sometimes a pedestrian would suddenly dash out from the roadside, and Xiaozhi could also detect them in time, then smoothly decelerate or even come to a complete stop.

Facing oncoming vehicles running a red light, it could also decelerate and yield in time.

Facing obstacles blocking the road ahead, Xiaozhi would not rigidly stick to traffic rules; instead, when there were no cars in the opposite lane, it would borrow the lane to drive past.

In the final segment, which was an intersection full of moving dummies, the vehicle carrying the four people moved and stopped intermittently, successfully passing through.

Finally.

At the end of the road, at an intersection with only left and right turn lanes, the vehicle made a U-turn to drive back.

In the passenger seat, Wang Chuanfu remarked with emotion:

"General Manager Su, I am completely convinced!"

"This intelligent driving program you developed is absolutely at the world's strongest level!"

The senior engineer in the back was also remarking:

"An intelligent driving program must ensure safety and obey traffic rules, but in many situations, it cannot obey them rigidly; it must dare to break the rules."

"This point is the most difficult, because it requires judgment based on the situation."

"People all say that a red light must never be run, but in some special circumstances, even a red light must be run, such as yielding to an emergency ambulance behind, or if a disaster occurs behind and emergency avoidance is needed, etc. There are all kinds of situations that even we humans cannot consider comprehensively in advance."

"Therefore, decision-making in emergency situations is a very important capability in an intelligent driving program."

"Xiaozhi's current performance can be called perfect!"

Hearing the three men's chorus of praise, Su Xin smiled indifferently and said:

"Xiaozhi's intelligent driving level has already reached L4. If not for hardware limitations, it could even reach the L5 level of fully intelligent driving."

"I dare to claim that as long as it is a road condition humans can face, Xiaozhi can face it alone."

Wang Chuanfu nodded, then asked:

"General Manager Su, how much?"

"Ten thousand per vehicle licensing fee."

"Ten thousand?"

Wang Chuanfu asked back in surprise.

It was not that he felt it was expensive, but rather that he felt it was too cheap. With the capabilities Xiaozhi had shown, it could absolutely be called the world's strongest intelligent driving program.

Currently, most suppliers on the market making intelligent driving solutions can only reach the L2 level, and the licensing fee also costs several thousand yuan.

A small number barely reach the L3 level, and the licensing price is usually over ten thousand.

Su Xin shook his head and said: "A licensing fee of ten thousand is not expensive compared to other manufacturers, but my pricing is never based on the pricing strategies of friendly competitors; rather, I must consider my strategic plan."

"My intelligent driving solution is already mature. Next, I am going to apply for a pilot opening in a certain city, and the next step is to push for domestic legislation to try to popularize intelligent driving for all vehicles as much as possible."

"In this way, traffic congestion will improve significantly, the incidence of traffic accidents can be clearly reduced, various logistics costs can also be lowered, and efficiency can be greatly increased. It can also be considered indirectly promoting domestic commercial prosperity."

"If I set the price of Xiaozhi at over ten thousand or even twenty thousand, plus the necessary cameras and radars, basic car models around one hundred thousand simply cannot be equipped with it. Yet, car models at this price point are exactly the ones with the highest sales in the country."

"Therefore, a price that is too high will definitely affect the popularization of Xiaozhi and affect my layout."

Wang Chuanfu looked at him, dumbfounded.

Talking about pushing for legislation and national popularization at every turn—Xiaozhi hasn't even been officially released yet, and the ambition is already this big. Is this appropriate?

"Why, does General Manager Wang feel that my idea cannot be realized?" Su Xin suddenly smiled.

Wang Chuanfu then came back to his senses and nodded vigorously: "It can! Of course it can!"

"With Xiaozhi's powerful capabilities, it will sooner or later be able to occupy the entire intelligent driving market. National popularization is only a matter of time."

He believed in Xiaozhi's market prospects, but he also didn't think it could really be popularized in a short time.

However, facing Su Xin, he naturally only said nice things.

After some flattery, Wang Chuanfu asked again:

"By the way, General Manager Su, regarding the cooperation for Xiaozhi, are you currently considering other car companies?"

Su Xin shook his head:

"Intelligent driving involves legal issues and must be applied for as a pilot to the higher authorities. Since it is a pilot, it is naturally impossible to cooperate on a large scale, so I currently only intend to license one car company."

"When laws and regulations are perfected and intelligent driving is about to be implemented nationwide, I will then consider large-scale cooperation with other car companies."

"Understood."

Wang Chuanfu smiled happily.

Although Su Xin did not promise to only license to their Goyadi, being able to give him a first-mover advantage would have a huge promotional effect on Goyadi's popularity and sales.

"Regarding the cooperation for Xiaozhi, then it's settled. A licensing fee of ten thousand per unit; let's arrange for people to connect as soon as possible."

"Happy to cooperate."

"Happy to cooperate."

The two shook hands and looked at each other with a smile.

……

The cooperation between two major enterprises naturally could not be finished in just a few simple sentences.

After the two decided on the cooperation intention, Wang Chuanfu immediately sent people to Tianqi Equipment Company to negotiate specific cooperation matters.

For example, how many cameras are needed on the car, as well as the type of cameras, configuration, chip computing power level, and the type and quantity of radars, where they need to be installed, etc. These all have certain requirements, rather than just any car being able to let Xiaozhi run normally.

Therefore, both sides need to select car models that can cooperate based on Xiaozhi's capabilities and needs.

Or design facelift plans for current models, as well as adjust the designs of subsequent new models.

While the subordinates were discussing the cooperation.

Su Xin and Wang Chuanfu together found a certain leader to propose the idea of wanting to promote intelligent driving and apply for a pilot in a certain city.

After some discussion, assessment, and testing, the official side finally announced in the news—

Jinding City will serve as a pilot city for intelligent driving, and starting December 1st, it will grant road permits for intelligent driving vehicles on a limited scale.

Although specific zones and road sections have been designated.

It is also stipulated that there must be someone in the vehicle.

However, the passenger does not have to sit in the driver's seat and may choose to sit in the passenger seat or the back seat, and the passenger does not bear traffic liability; instead, it is borne by the provider of the intelligent driving solution, Tianqi Equipment.

This news did not attract much attention, with only a few industry insiders noticing the words "Tianqi Equipment."

One must know that in today's tech world, the two characters "Tianqi" have almost become synonymous with miracles.

In the eyes of peers, the two characters "Tianqi" represent a powerful disruptor.

Tianqi Equipment is clearly also a company under Tianqi Holdings, and now that it has developed an intelligent driving program, it is very likely to stir up a new storm in this field next.

This news has brought immense psychological pressure to many peers.

But it has also made many car companies eager to make a move.

"Since it is an intelligent driving program developed by Su Xin, it must be far ahead of its peers; we must send someone to contact them as soon as possible to see if we can be the first to negotiate the licensing of the intelligent driving program."

"The new energy vehicle market is about to face unprecedentedly fierce competition; if we can have the intelligent driving program developed by Su Xin as a new selling point, our competitiveness will surely be greatly enhanced!"