Chinese technology company Xiaomi Group has released details of the development status of its Pilot Technology project, the first update since announcing its entry into the smart electric vehicle segment in March 2021. Xiaomi says it plans to invest RMB 3.3bn (US$485m) in the first R&D phase of its autonomous driving technology and has established a team of more than 500 engineers, which is expected to grow to 600 by year end.
Xiaomi has also previewed a live road test video of its autonomous driving technology, demonstrating its algorithms and what the company says is a capability to handle a comprehensive list of scenarios. “Xiaomi’s autonomous driving technology adopts a self-developed full stack approach, and the project has made progress beyond expectations,” said Lei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group.
The company has also wholly acquired autonomous driving startup Shendong Technology, in order to enhance its autonomous driving technological expertise and talent pool. Xiaomi is also committed to building its mid-to-long-term strategic industrial capabilities by investing RMB 2bn (US$295m) in more than 10 upstream and downstream enterprises in the autonomous driving field. These enterprises cover a variety of categories, such as core sensors, core actuators, domain controllers, and more.
Xiaomi says it has adopted a self-developed full stack approach to autonomous driving technology, covering all core areas, such as hardware and software development, perception and positioning, with a focus on full-scale proprietary solutions to enable complete closed-loop data capabilities. This approach, it states, allows autonomous driving algorithms to be quickly iterated based on user needs.
With an emphasis on parking, Xiaomi’s autonomous driving team announced an auto-parking solution that covers scenarios such as reserved parking spaces, autonomous valet parking, and automatic robotic arm charging of EVs.
Jun has also stated that Xiaomi plans to create a fleet of 140 test vehicles in the first phase of its autonomous driving technology development, which will be tested across China.