From October 10, Chinese premium electric car maker Nio (NYSE: NIO) started pushing Nio OS 2.7.0 update to ES6, ES8, and EC6 vehicles with current version 2.6.0 and above via FOTA.

The update brings the much-anticipated Navigate on Pilot (NOP) which automatically guides the car following the navigation route on ring roads and highways.

This is the first commercial application of a high-definition map in China on the ADAS functionality of mass-produced vehicles, which further enhances Nio Pilot's capability.

Nio's NOP system is a deep integration of the navigation system and the Nio Pilot's auto-assisted driving function.

It allows the vehicle to follow the path planned by the navigation to automatically enter and exit the ramp, overtake, merge, cruise driving, and other functions under certain conditions.

Simply put, as Nio founder and CEO William Li Bin had put it, "it's similar to the Tesla NOA.”

In addition, near 20 new features and function optimizations, including camera-based driver drowsiness detection, remote seat ventilation, and 5.1 immersive surround sound mode, came together with the Nio OS 2.7.0 upgrade.

Here is the changelog:

Automatic driving assistance

Navigate on Pilot beta (NOP beta)

With this update, customers who have purchased the full Nio Pilot feature package can experience the Navigate on Pilot (NOP) assistance beta feature.

NOP is a deep integration of navigation system, high precision map and Nio Pilot automatic driving assistance system.

In most highways and city elevated roads covered by high-precision maps, it can realize automatic ramp entry and exit, switch main roads, and adjust speed, change lanes and overtake slow-moving vehicles based on road speed limit and environment perception information.

The NOP function can be enabled on highways covered by high-precision maps as well as on elevated urban roads (it is recommended to use it on roads with low to medium traffic density for a better experience).

It should be emphasized that the release of the Navigator Assist function does not mean that the vehicle can drive automatically.

As a driver assistance function, it cannot respond to all traffic, weather, and road conditions. The user must always be aware of the traffic and road conditions and be prepared to take over the vehicle at any time.

The driver always has the ultimate responsibility to drive safely and in compliance with current traffic laws and regulations.

New oncoming vehicle warning, active braking (CTA-B)

The update adds an additional active braking function on top of the rear side oncoming vehicle warning function already online.

The system will detect the rear side of the vehicle through millimeter-wave radar, when the vehicle is backing out of a parking space or backing into an intersection at low speed, if it detects a potential risk of collision with the rear side of the vehicle, the vehicle will not only alert the driver through visual and audio but also try to take active braking if necessary to reduce the risk of collision.

 

By entering the "Settings-ADAS" menu, turning on the "Rear oncoming vehicle alert and assist" switch, and setting the assist level to "alert and active braking", the user will be able to The CTA-B feature is turned on.

Digital cockpit section

New camera-based driver fatigue monitoring

In version 2.7.0, we have upgraded the driver fatigue detection function based on the driver status detection camera integrated into the inner rearview mirror.

By recognizing the driver's face, eyes and head posture, the driver's concentration level can be judged to be more accurate and sensitive in detecting driver inattention and fatigue, improving driving safety.

Before you start using the upgraded Driver Fatigue Monitor, you need to complete the initial calibration to let the system learn your normal driving conditions. The calibration is very simple and is roughly divided into the following three steps.

1. In P-shift, the driver sits in the driver's seat, and adjusts the driver's seat and steering wheel to the customary driving position, then click on the "Settings-ADAS-Intelligent Assist" menu in the center control panel to turn on the "Driver Fatigue Monitoring" function. (a).

2. adjust the inner rearview mirror to a reasonable position (to ensure that the rear windshield and the rear of the vehicle can be seen) according to the NOMI voice and the prompts on the center screen.

3. According to NOMI's voice and the instructions on the center control screen, adopt a normal driving position, hold the steering wheel with both hands, gaze ahead, and hold it for a moment.

After a few seconds, NOMI will say "Personalized calibration is successful", the calibration process is complete.

Then, if the activation conditions are met (speed > 0km/h when using Pilot and NOP function; speed > 22km/h when not in use), the driver fatigue monitoring function will be activated automatically.

It will remind and warn the driver through different levels of a warning tone, instrument pop-up screen, NOMI voice, and facial expressions when the driver's eyes are closed, eyesight deviation, head posture deviation, etc. are detected.

The driver fatigue monitoring function will have different sensitivities at different vehicle speeds to ensure better user experience.

Since each user is used to the different driving positions, facial features, etc., the driver fatigue monitoring function follows the account settings.

For scenarios where multiple people or accounts share a car, you need to switch to the corresponding account and complete a calibration before you can use the driver fatigue monitoring function under that account.

Tip: Since the camera is integrated into the interior rearview mirror, users should remember to pay attention to whether the interior rearview mirror is in a reasonable position when getting into the car, otherwise the driver fatigue monitoring function may affect the normal work.

In addition, if the driver wears dark sunglasses or the lighting conditions at night are poor and interfere with camera recognition, the driver fatigue monitoring function may be affected to some extent. Users are advised to try to subjectively enhance safety awareness to reduce fatigue driving.

Added 5.1 Immersive Surround Sound Support

With this update, all Nio vehicles will support the native 5.1 audio format and hardware-level decoding and playback.

Relying on the multi-speaker surround sound system arranged in the cabin, the music can be played in five independent directions: center, left front, right front, left rear, and right rear, with excellent sound positioning reproduction effect so that each passenger in the car can experience the theater-like immersive and exclusive music enjoyment. This is especially suitable for experiencing concerts and concert-type programs.

Since there are almost no online audio sources that support 5.1 immersive surround sound, for music enthusiasts who want to experience it, they need to prepare their own 5.1 audio and play it via USB (open source WAV, AAC, FLAC, ALAC, and PCM formats are currently supported, DTS encoding format is not supported).

When playing 5.1 audio, the system will automatically identify and switch to the exclusive tuning mode of the 5.1 audio sources.

In order for more users to experience and discover the magic of 5.1 immersive surround sound, we have created an experience music video "Nio Planet" with @FanYue and Shanghai Stellar Orchestra and built it into the car system.

If you want to try it out, you can click on the small icon of "5.1CH" on the "Settings - Sound - Sound Field Mode" page in the center screen after the upgrade to experience the 5.1 immersive surround sound experience.

Digital Cockpit Interface Optimization (UI/UX)

In addition to the new design of the instrument interface in NOP, we have also made some other adjustments to optimize the digital cockpit interface.

The Head-Up Display (HUD) now supports the display of suggested lane information in the upper right area to help users avoid wrong lane situations; in NOP mode, the HUD will also alert users that the vehicle is changing lanes to the left or right by means of a blue haze effect.

In addition, FCW (Forward Collision Warning) and HOD (Pilot/NOP) will also be projected on the HUD.

For the light color mode, we have adjusted the navigation detailed route card, music playing card and vehicle door opening alarm display model in the center screen, which has received a lot of user feedback, to better match the perception of the light color mode.

System tone optimization

Based on user feedback over the past period of time, we have made an overall optimization for system sounds in the new version, which includes.

A clearer categorization of system alerts and harmonization of the tones of the different categories of alerts (e.g., reverse radar, blind-spot monitoring, front/rear oncoming vehicle warning related to radar recognition).

An overall improvement in the quality of the cue tone, making the new cue tone more three-dimensional and fuller, with better listening.

Optimize the logic of some alerts. For example, the reversing radar tone will sound long when the distance is <30cm; some danger tones such as Forward Collision Warning (FCW) become shorter; the volume and pitch of the tone will become louder and stronger when the Pilot exits due to failure to recognize the lane.

It may take a short period of time for users to get used to the system tone optimization. Please remember to pay attention to the sound changes after the update is completed, and pay attention to driving safety.

Other updates and optimizations

New remote seat ventilation function. Just click on "Car - Air Conditioning - Seat Ventilation" in the Nio App and select the corresponding seat, you can turn on the seat ventilation before getting into the car to create a more comfortable environment.

New wireless charging pad switch memory. The wireless charging pad will no longer be on by default each time the vehicle is started but will follow the account to remember the switch state.

When you take off driving for a long time while using the NOP and Pilot functions, you will not exit directly now, but will first send an alarm through the instrument and show a double flash (for 10 seconds); if the vehicle is not taken over after 10 seconds, NOP/Pilot will exit.

The turn signal control lane change (ALC) is now triggered by simply flicking the steering paddle to the lane change side (no need to dial it all the way down). Toggling the steering paddle in the opposite direction will cancel it.

Optimizing the 2018 ES8 steering wheel P-key key logic. A short press of the steering wheel P button will now bring up the parking video screen only, while a long press of the steering wheel P button will activate the fully automatic parking (S-APA) function at the same time as bringing up the parking video screen.

Further improve the detection rate of fully automatic parking function for horizontal parking spaces and epoxy flooring, falling brick surface and other scenes, and optimize the success rate of fully automatic parking.

Baidu Maps supports cruise scale and navigation scale settings (you can enter the "Navigation Settings - Map Display" page to adjust).

Optimize and improve NOMI wake-up and recognition ability. Due to the relevance of this part of the optimization to the "One Voice" and "Dual Wake-up Words" functions, we had to temporarily take these two functions offline (for the new ES8 and ES6), and will reopen them to users after the optimization and debugging.

NOMI adds a low battery alert function. When the vehicle's remaining charge is less than 15%, NOMI will prompt users to pay attention to energy replenishment through voice, taking into account specific scenarios, and proactively help find nearby energy replenishment resources.

NOMI supports opening photo albums, parking camera, turning on/off rear air conditioning child locks, and opening the lyrics interface.

Optimizes the logic of comfort functions such as heating/ventilation in the front seats. After detecting that the occupant has left the seat for a certain period of time (approximately 30 seconds), the seat comfort function for the corresponding seat is automatically switched off to save energy.

Optimize the automatic rear wiper logic. With the automatic rear wiper on, the rear wiper will first wipe once when put into R, and then link up according to the active state of the automatic front wiper to avoid continuous dry wiping.

Fixing an issue with abnormal skipping of Nio Radio programs when playing.

Himalaya onboard adds a new list module to listen to popular lists by category.