So, it's Tech Day again for EcarX, happening for the second year, promising industry tech releases. But does it concern us regular consumers? Maybe more than we think.
With the melodious tune of "Waiting a Thousand Years" playing, EcarX's Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, Shen Ziyu, took the stage, kicking off ECARX Tech Day 2024.
Unlike typical car manufacturer events with repetitive background music, this one kept us entertained with popular tunes and electronic beats during the half-hour wait before the main event. Is this EcarX's way of showing "user-centricity"? And that final song, "Waiting a Thousand Years," wasn't just randomly chosen.
As expected, Shen Ziyu kicked off by explaining why they chose this particular piece to close the event. Firstly, Tech Day is being held in Hangzhou, and secondly, it subtly hints at a message, signaling that China's hardware technology for smart cabins and autonomous driving has finally reached this milestone. This is Yikatong's invitation to global OEMs: our computing platform is ready, our autonomous driving chip is ready, our computing power is sufficient, and we don't intend to miss this opportunity to join the world's top tier.
"I despise PowerPoint presentations the most." Therefore, for every technological unveiling, Shen Ziyu always has the product in hand, making it tangible for everyone to see.
Now, let's delve into each of these points.
ECARX, based on the third-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, has developed its most powerful ECARX Qogir Computing Platform. It boasts flagship performance, including a CPU of 330K DMIPS, a GPU of 4.2T FLOPS, and 60 TOPS of hybrid edge AI. It supports up to 8K displays and hardware-accelerated ray tracing technology, making it capable of handling AAA titles seamlessly on in-car systems.
We've developed the ECARX Atlas Computing Platform based on the SA8255P and the ECARX Pikes Computing Platform based on the SA8295P, both built on the fourth-generation Snapdragon® cockpit SoC. These platforms bring high-performance automotive-grade computing to domestic market vehicles, integrating FlymeAuto to maximize the integration between Meizu's ecosystem and in-car systems.
In overseas markets, we'll build the Google GAS system on the Yikatong computing platform to provide efficient in-car connectivity for global consumers.
Furthermore, the ECARX Antora series intelligent cockpit platform, based on the 7nm "Dragon Eagle One" developed by Ecarx and Horizon Robotics, has been upgraded to an integrated cabin-to-parking computing platform. The ECARX Antora 1000 computing platform, developed based on the 7nm "Dragon Eagle One," was officially put into mass production last November when it was installed in the Lynk & Co 06 EM-P model.
After further exploration of the potential of the Antora 1000 by Ecarx and Horizon Robotics, the ECARX Antora series intelligent cockpit platform has now been upgraded to a cabin-to-parking integrated computing platform.
The ECARX Tianqin® Pro intelligent driving computing platform has integrated cabin-to-parking capabilities, including high-speed and urban commuting NOA, as well as APA, RPA, HPA, and other intelligent parking functions.
YiKaTong Guangzhi Ju introduced a long-range semi-solid-state main LiDAR with a detection range of 300 meters, as well as a short-range all-solid-state LiDAR for perceiving the 3D environment around the vehicle.
Yes, YiKaTong now has smart driving chips. Shen Ziyu and Wang Kai, CEO of XinQing Technology, jointly unveiled a major move—the automotive-grade 7nm full-scenario advanced smart driving chip, Longying Intelligent Driving AD1000. This is definitely a game-changing innovation in the field.
The CPU processing power of the Dragon Eagle AD1000 can reach up to 250 KDMIPS, with an NPU capable of delivering 256 TOPS. Through multi-core collaboration, it can achieve a maximum of 1024 TOPS of computing power. It integrates high-performance VPA and ISP, with built-in security islands and a variety of interfaces, fully meeting the requirements from L2++ to L4 level intelligent driving.
Since its establishment in March 2017 until the integration with GKUI in Geely vehicles in 2018, over the subsequent seven years, Ecarx Technology has gradually developed two major systems: "Shanmai" (Intelligent Cockpit) and "Tianqiong" (Intelligent Driving). These systems have been installed in over 6 million vehicles worldwide, including the Geely 08 EM-P, smart series, Polestar 4, and Volvo EX30.
Next up, several car models including Lynk & Co, smart, LEVC, and Geely Galaxy will soon be equipped with various computing platforms from Yikatong. Additionally, the event also saw the official announcement of Yikatong's collaboration with FAW, empowering the Hongqi OS.
In the era of AI, Yikatong Technology has partnered with Microsoft to jointly develop an end-to-end solution based on Azure OpenAI's large models and Azure Intelligent Cloud, achieving on-board deployment of large models.
Over the span of 7 years, from obscurity to becoming a top player in China's self-developed intelligent cockpit and autonomous driving systems, Shen Ziyu and his company, Yikatong, have achieved remarkable growth. What lies ahead for them as they aim to scale the next peak in their journey?
