Shanghai (ZXZC)- On October 24, Chinese smart electric vehicle (EV) maker XPeng held its 2023 TECH DAY, showcasing its latest progress in multiple fields like intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, electric drive system, electrical/electronic architecture (E/EA), intelligent manufacturing, flying cars, and robotics.

Progress in autonomous driving field

XPeng's XNGP (XPeng Navigation Guided Pilot) system is actively undergoing engineering testing to expand its availability for urban roadways. XNGP is currently available in five cities and XPeng plans to roll out the XNGP function in an addition of 20 cities that are not covered by HD maps by the end of November 2023, with coverage extended to 50 cities by year-end.

During the Tech Day, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng, announced that the first phase of the "map-free" urban launch would officially begin user beta testing on the evening of October 24, with full-scale access coming soon.

Dr. Li is giving speech; photo credit: XPeng

Dr. Li Liyun, the head of autonomous driving business at XPeng, stated, the "map-free" XNGP urban driving system is not limited by the range and updating times of high-precision maps. He declared that XPeng's XNGP system has possessed the technical ability for urban intelligent driving across the nation. After rigorous testing and validation, it can be fully deployed based on user coverage and travel needs, and will be gradually launched in cities in several batches.

AI Valet Driver; photo credit: XPeng

Tthe "AI Valet Driver" feature is another powerful tool in XPeng's intelligent driving arsenal. This feature is not constrained by city boundaries, and once activated, users can set start and end points across the nation, forming a map in memory after a single manual drive. This memorized map can be used in the future for "AI Valet Driver" assistance on specific routes or scenarios.

During the 1024 TECH DAY event, He Xiaopeng emphasized that the company is not making unrealistic promises and that both "city launch" and "AI Valet Driver" will proceed concurrently. The first group of cities available for the XNGP officially began public testing on October 24, and the "AI Valet Driver" feature started small-scale testing at the same time and will soon be fully accessible with the 4.4.0 system version.

In addition, with this OTA update, the XPeng G6, P7i, and G9 Pro users will enjoy enhanced smart driving capabilities, including SR perception improvement and significant enhancements to high-speed NGP and LCC usability.

XBrain; photo credit: XPeng

At the event, Dr. Li also introduced the XBrain, an ultimate architecture for full-scenario ADAS capabilities, which is supported by XNet2.0, the next-gen perception architecture with spatiotemporal understanding, and XPlanner, the neural network-based planning and control system, to enable more human-like learning, thinking and actions.

According to the company, the XNet 2.0 combines the industry's highest-precision pure visual occupancy network, achieving a fusion of dynamic BEV, static BEV, and occupancy network, making it the industry's first sensory architecture with both spatial and temporal understanding capabilities. On the planning and control side, the neural network-based XPlanner can analyze motives over minutes and timely adapt based on environmental information and changing conditions, generating the best driving path.

XPeng's full-stack closed-loop data capabilities have been significantly enhanced over the past year to accelerate urban smart driving development. The end-to-end full-stack simulation capability effectively intercepts problems, reducing the marginal cost of urban expansion. During the event, He Xiaopeng set a goal to challenge full coverage of XNGP in the road networks of major cities nationwide (including roads at levels 1-4) by 2024.

XOS Tianji; photo credit: XPeng

The XOS Tianji represents the latest innovation by XPeng in the realm of smart cabin operating systems. This system seamlessly melds XPeng's intelligent driving capabilities with next-generation smart cabin scenarios, significantly elevating the human-machine co-driving experience. It will be installed into the XPeng X9 MPV model first.

The XOS Tianji adopts a highly futuristic visual style, significantly enhancing interaction efficiency. The new system features a multitasking architecture, displaying map navigation alongside applications like music, video, and settings on the large screen in a 3:7 ratio. Multitasking allows independent operation, catering to the distinct needs of both the driver and the co-driver while providing essential information simultaneously. The new XDock offers customized editing, allowing frequently used functions for different seasons or scenarios to be placed in the Dock bar, ensuring easy access.

Beyond the interface upgrades, XPeng introduces the all-scenario SR vehicle perception. It expands upon the previous SR version, covering every aspect of the driving experience, from starting the vehicle to driving, parking, and charging. It creates a comprehensive environmental awareness experience. The system also offers over 20 driver assistance alert features such as lane change warnings, warnings about nearby larger vehicles, and alerts for pedestrians approaching the vehicle. It offers a 360-degree view, greatly enhancing driving safety.

In terms of voice interaction, XPeng has developed the in-house XGPT large-scale AI model and integrated it into the voice system. The updated AI voice assistant “Little P” ("Xiao P" in Chinese Pinyin) now boasts over 800 skills and can be activated simply by adding "Little P" before the request, resulting in more natural interactions. Moreover, Little P's perception, understanding, and inference abilities have significantly improved, allowing it to proactively suggest services during the driving experience.

In the future, XPeng plans to integrate the Little P into the XPeng mobile app, enabling users to remotely control certain vehicle functions via their smartphones.

Additionally, beyond using large models for training and enhancing intelligent driving and voice comprehension capabilities, XPeng is applying large AI models to vehicle design and code development, further powering more business sectors and R&D areas.

Latest achievements in E/EA, electric drive system, and vehicle manufacturing

During the event, He Xiaopeng also introduced the company's latest developments in EEA, electric drive system, and vehicle manufacturing.

XEEA 3.5; photo credit: XPeng

Mr. He unveiled XPeng's first in-car computing center to integrate smart cockpit and smart driving capabilities, with the XEEA 3.5 E/EA at its core. It integrates intelligent driving, cabin features, dashboard, gateways, IMU, amplifiers, and more. This new architecture not only delivers a 50% increase in performance compared to the previous central computing architecture but also reduces costs by 40%.

Additionally, XPeng's next-generation electric drive system uses a more efficient electromagnetic solution, achieving a comprehensive efficiency breakthrough of over 93% during high-speed driving at 120 km/h, surpassing the industry’s average standard. Furthermore, an optimized silicon carbide solution ensures power efficiency while reducing key costs by 50%, offering users high-performance products at more competitive prices.

Front & rear integrated die-casting technology; photo credit: XPeng

In the field of intelligent manufacturing, XPeng said it is the only auto brand in China to mass-produce front & rear integrated die-casting body, boasting the world's only 12,000-tonne integrated die-casting machine. The company is also set to introduce a 16,000-tonne die-casting machine to support production of larger die-casting parts, and is exploring the CIB (cell integrated body) and center floor integrated die-casting technologies. These efforts are projected to increase vehicle range by 5% while reducing overall vehicle manufacturing costs by 10% to 30%.

Exploration for future mobility in 3D transportation

XPeng has been consistently exploring innovative forms of mobility beyond just cars. XPENG's affiliate company AEROHT has released two development paths for flying cars, namely eVOTL flying cars and modular flying cars, adding more possibilities to XPENG's mobility ecosystem.

The eVOTL flying car features a dual-mode cabin for ground and air travel, and adopts a supercar-style design. The aircraft's rotors and arms can be fully folded and stowed inside the car, significantly reducing wind resistance during ground travel.

Modular flying car; photo credit: XPeng

The modular flying car consists of a ground vehicle and a flying module. The ground vehicle has a cabin that can accommodate four to five passengers and uses an extended-range hybrid power system. It can transport the flying module and recharge it during operation. It can autonomously detach from or attach to the ground vehicle.

According to He Xiaopeng, the modular flying car is expected to have a wide range of applications, not only extending personal travel boundaries, but also serving emergency and rescue missions in public sectors.

XPeng's self-developed  bipedal robot; photo credit: XPeng

XPENG Robotics introduced a new in-house-developed bipedal robot. This intelligent robot boasts bipedal walking and obstacle-crossing capabilities. Thanks to its high-performance joints, it can take large steps indoors and outdoors, move with agility, and overcome disturbances and obstacles.

This new-generation robot has evolved from quadrupedal to bipedal, featuring super-lightweight human-like arms and dexterous hands. Each arm can carry a maximum load of 3 kg and has a maximum end-effector linear speed of 1 m/s. It offers various grasping postures for different object shapes and boasts tactile perception capabilities at the end-effector.

In the future, XPENG Robotics will apply technologies from Smart EVs like the XNet deep neural network, XEEA, XGPT, etc., to smart robots.

XPeng X9 makes debut

XPeng X9; photo credit: XPeng

At the close of the event, XPeng introduced the XPeng X9 MPV, a pure electric seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle with a futuristic starship-like design. The X9 offers a fresh visual experience with its sculpted design and ultra-low aerodynamic profile. As the flagship model under the SEPA2.0 architecture, the X9 will incorporates an 800-volt full-domain platform, front and rear integrated aluminum casting, and XNGP. It will be showcased at the Auto Guangzhou 2023 next month.