China is watching you. Yeah, OK, tell us something new, Braga. Jokes aside, looks like Chinese automaker BYD‘s self-driving tech is more advanced than Tesla‘s currently is, and maybe ever will be. This week, BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle automaker, unveiled its latest advanced driver-assistance system known somewhat ominously as “God’s Eye.” And from how it’s described, it sounds powerful.
But the new ADAS is only as all-seeing as you can afford … there are three tiers of it for now. Nevertheless, even though there will be three variations (A, B, and C), you’ll be able to have God’s Eye equipped throughout BYD’s automotive portfolio. This includes even the cheapest model in the BYD brand’s lineup, the Seagull. It appears these systems will be activated in existing cars, and customers won’t have to pay extra for any of them, reports CarNewsChina.
Let’s break down BYD’s ADAS levels, because there’s a lot to keep track of.
God’s Eye C is the “entry-level” system, but with 12 cameras, 5 mm-wave radar, and 12 ultrasonic radars, its ability is equivalent to Level 2 as determined by the SAE Levels of Driving Automation. Perhaps Level 2+, as some pundits have suggested, since a God’s Eye C cars can valet park themselves, says CleanTechnica. You know, the fanciful tech stuff you typically see in luxury barges (in the North American market) and not a sub-$10,000 subcompact hatchback.
Moving up to higher-priced EVs adds LiDar. God’s Eye B adds one LiDar sensor, while God’s Eye A will see three LiDar units to its ADAS. These would amount to SAE Level 3 semi-autonomous driving. Tesla’s FSD Beta, now FSD (Supervised), remains a Level 2 ADAS feature because the driver’s attention is still required. As Forbes notes, Tesla’s FSD isn’t yet approved in China, but its Autopilot hands-on system is A-OK, including the enhanced version with automatic lane changing.
But is BYD God’s Eye accurate? According to CarNewsChina, God’s Eye C offers a pretty standard 360-degree view, but its front radars can detect distances of 300 meters, while its ultrasonic radars have an accuracy of 1 cm. Regarding parking, God’s Eye basic is good within 2 cm. Without having boastful numbers from other EV automakers to compare, a centimeter is still pretty accurate. You’re talking pinky-width accurate.
As CleanTechnica points out, the combination of cameras, radars, and other sensors will produce a more complete picture than relying on a single technology to capture all of a vehicle’s driving, environment, and operational data. Case in point: Tesla never implemented LiDar into its ADAS and abandoned radar in 2021. Its camera-based Tesla Vision has been the stuff of legend but for all the wrong reasons. A LendingTree study found Tesla to have the highest crash rate of any automaker. It’s also a problem when owners start thanking you for building vehicles that can absorb a crash instead of its ADAS preventing one from happening in the first place. Oy.
The ability to process all of the gathered vehicle info is just as important as the safety systems themselves. BYD says the computing power of its God’s Eye A, B, and C systems is fast. As in 100, 300, and 600 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) fast, respectively. While A eyes the BYD brand, the more advanced B will be slated for the Denza brand and some flagship BYD models. The top-tiered God’s Eye C will be exclusive to BYD’s luxury marque, Yangwang. I guess how else can you ensure the Xuanji architecture works and can support a car enjoying a fully autonomous track day? Feel free to question, err, watch the video below.
And how about 110,000 for another wild number? No, not in centimeters but in how many engineers BYD allegedly employs. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu shared more eye-popping stats: 5,000 of those engineers work exclusively on intelligent driving systems, and last year, the ADAS training mileage was 72 million kilometers (44.7 million miles) per day.
BYD says the God’s Eye system will consist of “one brain, two ends, three networks, and four chains.” Simply put, each vehicle will have “a central processor, cloud AI, vehicle-side AI, Internet of Vehicles, 5G network, satellite network, sensors chain, control chain, data chain, and mechanical chain,” explains CarNewsChina.
If it all sounds too impressive, many believe it to be true. Not just because of the self-driving track car example but because, unlike other EV automakers, BYD isn’t reserving its advanced autonomous system to any exclusive halo model or luxury brand. According to Barron’s, stocks of its U.S.-listed EV competitors tumbled after BYD’s announcement. XPeng fell by 6.9%, NIO by 6.7%, and Li Auto by 4.9%. As for BYD, whose year-over-year sales jumped by 41%, its shares rose by more than 4%. As my mom likes to says, “Thanks, God.”
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