On the evening of June 10, Archer company from California, USA, unveiled its new electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) prototype at an event held in the city. Los Angeles. The innovative vehicle is called the electric Archer Maker, and to demonstrate what it can do, event participants were invited to participate in a flight simulator. As the problem of congestion becomes more and more difficult to solve, more and more companies are launching products and ideas that are created to take people to the sky and bypass the heavy traffic roads below. That is also what the Archer flying taxi is trying to achieve. The company’s new aircraft, the Maker, is a two-passenger eVTOL vehicle designed to serve as a test machine for new technologies. It has a distributed electric propulsion system that allows 12 electric motors to draw power from 6 individual battery packs. This design makes it possible for the Maker to maintain flight even if one or two of its motors fail. One of the main focus of the company is the noise generated by the propellers. No one wants a city filled with eVTOL vehicles hovering in the air and making louder noises than the cars below. To overcome that problem, Archer specially equips Maker with 12 sets of small propellers, which can rotate more slowly than conventional helicopter propellers. The new Archer Maker 2022 will be able to soar to about 610 meters above the ground, and according to the company, it will be 100 times quieter than a helicopter. In other words, Maker only makes as much noise as a home refrigerator. In terms of speed, the Maker will be able to reach a maximum speed of 240 km / h, and will use only 30% of the battery capacity for trips of 32-64 km. This will allow the battery to quickly charge before the next flight. The plane will be ready to take off after about 10 minutes of charging and has the potential to make 40 flights per day. In addition, it is also worth noting that the Maker has a very light weight of only about 1.5 tons, 300 kg lighter than a Tesla Model 3. Archer is expected to complete the first test flights of Maker. in the fourth quarter of 2021, and plans to start production in 2022. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, United Airlines has announced plans to purchase $1 billion worth of eVTOLs, and if all goes as planned, they are expected to begin flights trade from Los Angeles and Miami by 2024. The California-based company also plans to build a complete network of take-off and landing points for the eVTOLs. However, they won’t really create new spots because there really isn’t much extra space in megacities. Instead, Archer will use the roofs of the parking garages. Video: Launching Archer Maker – “flying taxi” with no noise.

Apple hires former BMW CEO for electric car project. The iPhone maker’s car-making efforts, known as Project Titan, have progressed unsatisfactorily since 2014. At this point, Apple began designing its own vehicles for the first time. In December 2020, Reuters reports that Apple is working on self-driving car technology and aims to produce a passenger vehicle, including breakthrough PIN technology, by 2024. Previously, in 2018, the tech giant Apple hired former Tesla design chief Andrew Kim, sparking speculation that Apple was once again trying to develop its own car. The timing of Apple’s hire of Andrew Kim seems to coincide with Doug Field’s return to Apple as well. Looking at the profile of Andrew Kim, this designer has contributed to Tesla’s hit models Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y as well as Roadster V2 and Semi. Before taking on a major role at Tesla, Kim spent three and a half years at Microsoft, where he developed user interfaces and Windows 10 products such as HoloLens and Xbox One S.

Tesla ditches radar sensors on self-driving systems. Photo: Getty Images No company in the auto industry can attract as much attention as Tesla, on the one hand because of CEO Elon Musk’s controversial statements, on the other hand, because Tesla regularly makes “unusual” decisions. “. At the end of May, Tesla once again became the focus of public opinion, and this time not because of a “brake failure”, but a configuration change. Recently, Tesla announced that starting in May, Model 3 and Model Y in North America will no longer be equipped with sensor radar, cancel the millimeter wave radar in front of the vehicle and only use the camera as a receiver. data collection of automatic driving systems. This means that Tesla is poised to be the first car company to deploy a “pure vision” autonomous driving solution. Meanwhile, other self-driving car manufacturers are integrating radar, LiDAR and cameras in autonomous driving systems. In fact, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has always been adamant against LiDAR, even repeatedly criticizing LiDAR in public. He thinks this is an expensive, unnecessary technology. Even Elon Musk has called those who believe in LiDAR technology “stupid” and car manufacturers using LiDAR technology will never achieve success. So, why is Musk so adamantly “disliked” LiDAR and even all radars, and only favors a camera technology solution? To clear this up, we may need a basic understanding of autopilot schematics. Camera and LiDAR To build a set of automated driving system solutions, the automatic driving algorithm is of course inseparable. In order to achieve calculations, sufficient information is required first. During driving, the vehicle’s information collection source is the large and small sensors on the body of the vehicle. Among them, to realize autonomous driving, the most important sensors are the camera and LiDAR (must add millimeter wave radar and ultrasonic sensor, of course). Therefore, the autonomous driving system is divided into camera-based vision array and LiDAR array. “Camera-based vision” uses a high-definition camera incorporating an image recognition algorithm, while LiDAR to ensure system stability. The camera array, or pure visual diagram, is essentially a complete simulation of the state of a person driving a car, first seeing the image with the “eye (camera)”, then transmitting it to the “brain (processor)” for processing and judgment, and then give the action “Legs (steering mechanism)”. In addition to Tesla, Chinese companies including Jikrypton and Baidu have also adopted pure vision solutions. LiDAR technology uses a laser to measure distances and build a 3D map of an object, by emitting and receiving the laser’s feedback and then analyzing that data to produce the desired results. Many Chinese car companies including Xiaopeng, Weilai, BAIC ARCFOX, and many other new products also announced this solution. Which solution is better? The advantage of the “pure vision” solution is that the video data captured by the camera is the closest to the real world perceived by the human eye, and also the closest to the form of human driving. At the same time, with LiDAR prices currently very high, a pure vision solution using only the camera should be easier to control costs. Tesla’s pure vision algorithm analysis is already very strong. In addition, the image obtained by the camera is well suited for object identification and classification, in case the algorithms are excellent, it can remove confounding items and enable automatic learning during driving. car. However, as a visual algorithm similar to the human eye, the camera is easily affected by light, in harsh weather or poor lighting conditions, it is easy to cause misjudgment. Previously, when AutoPilot was turned on, Tesla models accidentally braked automatically when going over an overpass or under a normal bridge, due to the algorithm using a sudden ball in the camera as an obstacle. Rendering a 3D environment map drawn by LiDAR Compared with pure vision solution, the advantages of LiDAR solution are longer monitoring distance, higher accuracy, more sensitive response speed and unaffected by ambient light. LiDAR’s three-dimensional information processing, object size calculation, and movement speed are more efficient. However, LiDAR has problems such as weak object recognition, high cost, and accuracy in extreme weather conditions such as rain and snow. Therefore, LiDAR must be used in conjunction with other sensors to ensure safe driving. In addition, the collection of large amounts of data requires high computing power of the processor, which equates to an increase in the cost of the media processor. Theoretically, the combination of camera-based vision and LiDAR is a relatively complete solution today, but after combining many factors such as existing technology and product cost, it is too difficult to use. use a “third solution” that integrates these two major solutions. Tesla’s trade-off The cost of LiDAR is much higher than high quality cameras. In fact, abandoning LiDAR, and even now abandoning millimeter wave radar, one of the key reasons Tesla made such a choice was to achieve lower costs. After all, the cost of LiDAR is very high, the price of this technology in the early days started at 100,000 USD, but now with the development of the electronics industry, its price has decreased but basically remains the same. maintained at several tens of thousands of dollars. However, compared to high-definition cameras, the price of only a few hundred dollars is still much higher. However, besides cost, Tesla also has technical trade-offs. First of all, LiDAR does not determine the specific nature of the object, so it is easy to cause wrong judgment. For example, if a large plastic bag appears in front of the vehicle, the camera solution may recognize it as a plastic bag and ignore it, but LiDAR will judge it as an obstruction and stop the vehicle. Second, millimeter wave radar also has many limitations. The detection range of millimeter wave radar is directly limited if the band is weak. It cannot identify pedestrians nor accurately model all surrounding obstacles. At the same time, due to the large amount of data obtained, it will also consume precious computing power of the processor. Finally, for Tesla, the best company in imaging solutions, they have invested heavily in imaging algorithms. To give up the large accumulation so far, and turn to another path, in terms of input – output ratio, it can be said that it is not worth it. Tesla is loyal to a completely camera-based vision solution Tesla Vsion camera system. On Tesla’s official North American website, during the introduction of Full Self-Driving FSD, the performance information of the millimeter wave radar was removed and only the image sensor and ultrasound. At the same time, Tesla also released the driver monitoring system on May 28. The Model 3 and Model Y vehicle cameras can monitor the driver’s behavior when the Autopilot system is activated, detecting and reminding the driver to keep his or her attention. Tesla states that “camera data will be stored in the vehicle, and the system will not send the data back to the company unless the user gives permission to share the data”. In addition, Tesla’s FSD V9.0 autopilot system will also be officially launched this year. According to Musk’s earlier statement, the FSD algorithm has been “refactored” to achieve pure vision through 8 cameras around the body, while effectively solving the previous “brake failure” problem. Tesla also warned that Autopilot and FSD systems would be less effective during this technical adjustment period. “During a short period of transition, Tesla Vision vehicles may experience some limitations or inactivity, such as Autosteer being limited to a top speed of 120.7 km/h. , Smart Summon (if equipped) and Emergency Lane Avoidance may be disabled during delivery,” Tesla’s announcement reads. Whether LiDAR will win the market with a secure advantage in the future, or a camera-based vision algorithm dominates the market with a lower cost advantage, the answer is still unclear. However, judging from the information currently available, Tesla will choose to stick with a pure vision solution.

This person livestreamed right at the exhibition, then went to Tesla’s booth and the incident happened. The girl said her Model 3 car’s brakes failed, nearly killing 4 members of her family in an accident. Tesla has denied the relevant information, but it doesn’t stop there. This is not the only difficulty with Tesla at the moment. The world’s top electric car maker may even be facing one of the worst public relations crises in China, a market investors see as a special feature. crucial to Tesla’s growth momentum. Under increasing pressure to become the focus of criticism from Chinese media and regulators, Tesla is said to be strengthening cooperation with regulators in the mainland and strengthening relationships. with the Beijing government. Tesla’s shift in strategy toward fostering behind-the-scenes interactions with policymakers in Beijing marks a shift from the company’s previous stance, which did not seem to take market failures too seriously. its second largest university (after the US). The changes also take place in the context that China is actively “regulating” many large and powerful private companies, especially technology giants, due to concerns about the risk of domination in this market. A woman protesting on the roof of a Tesla Model 3 electric car at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2019. Tesla “turns the car”? It is customary for Chinese regulators to discuss policy and industry standards with local and multinational companies, as well as associations and consulting organizations. Attending these meetings has become the norm for many tech companies, but unlike rivals including Toyota Motor and General Motors, Tesla executives are largely absent from closed-door meetings. Instead, Tesla officials regularly speak at high-level conferences. Tesla CEO, billionaire Elon Musk also regularly uses Twitter to comment or criticize China’s regulators or strict rules. However, in the past weeks, Tesla executives have attended at least four policy discussions, with topics ranging from automotive data storage, technology to connect information from vehicles to systems. infrastructure, vehicle recycling and carbon emissions. There, according to officials, Tesla — which is headquartered in California and produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y sport utility vehicle at a separate factory in Shanghai — made no specific commitments. only participate in the discussion. There are other signs that Tesla – once “sweetheart” – is looking to mend its rocky relationship with Chinese authorities. In two job ads posted on its WeChat account in April, Tesla wanted to find management candidates to update its policy database and maintain relationships with governments and industry associations to ” building a harmonious external environment and supporting Tesla’s business development goals in the regional market.” The exact number of candidates Tesla is looking for is unknown. Tesla Model 3 car. Attack wave A flood of negative news about Tesla in China has increased in recent months. Earlier this year, a Tesla Model 3 was reported to have exploded in a garage in Shanghai, while an article in state media said there were at least 10 reported incidents this year. 2020 about Tesla drivers losing the ability to control their vehicles. In February 2021, the State Market Administration summoned a Tesla representative to request feedback on consumer complaints related to issues such as battery fires, unexpected acceleration, and software update errors. software over the internet. It is reported that China has also recommended the use of Tesla cars to state employees because of the belief that the vehicle’s sensors can record images and location data. In March 2021, Tesla made headlines when the military announced it was “banning” access to Tesla equipment and vehicles from military complexes, citing security concerns with vehicle-mounted cameras. . A few days later, Elon Musk then emphasized at a high-level forum that Tesla would shut down if its cars were used for spying purposes. CEO Musk also sought to defuse tensions in a March speech to state broadcaster CCTV that China’s future “will be great” and that the country will be “the biggest market.” of Tesla. However, the incident at the Shanghai Auto Show and the subsequent reaction of Tesla Vice President Grace Tao was seen as the last straw when, instead of admitting shortcomings, the Tesla and Tesla relationship official The government again questioned the real motives of the above extreme guest. According to Grace Tao, the disruptive woman clearly wanted a high level of compensation and the company didn’t have any reason to pay her. In a post on Weibo, Tesla claimed not to compromise with “unreasonable demands”. State media and government agencies were quick to criticize Tesla. State news agencies flooded Tesla with a series of posts pointing out risks and technical errors, while officials issued warnings. An article in state media titled “Three Lessons for Tesla” warned the California-based electric car maker to respect the Chinese consumer market. The Global Times article emphasized: “The arrogant and overbearing stance that Tesla takes in public is reprehensible and unacceptable, which can seriously damage its reputation and source of the company’s customers in the Chinese market”. Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily both publicly said that Tesla was indifferent to the interests of consumers. Tesla was criticized for canceling their investment pledges (estimated 14 billion yuan) and tax pledges (about 2.23 billion yuan annually), even failing to meet revenue targets. A wave of attacks, demanding to “evice” Tesla from China is repeating like what Google has faced. Many argue that what is more worrying is that the negative comments are not only appearing on a few articles but are increasingly taking the form of an organized “anti-Tesla” campaign. The involvement of state media makes things worse, because the lesson with Dolce&Gabana or H&M recently showed that Beijing has the right to “bring something up and bury it” when needed. Tesla later issued a statement apologizing for its lack of sensitivity in handling customer complaints. A post on Weibo later said that Tesla was willing to cooperate with the authorities, properly implementing “self-inspection and adjustment” procedures to “fix” customer service issues. Inside a Tesla factory. Beijing’s Power Tesla was once seen as a “baby”, one of Beijing’s efforts to demonstrate that China is allowing more foreign businesses to enter its relatively closed market. The company has been increasing its investment and focusing on the Chinese market over the past two years. With government backing, Tesla broke ground on a major Shanghai factory in 2019 and last year began delivering Model 3s built at the factory to customers in China. Tesla’s China sales have more than doubled in 2020, and the Model 3 is the best-selling electric vehicle in the country. Accounting for about 30% of Tesla’s global sales, China is the automaker’s second-biggest market after the United States and helped Tesla hit a record for first-quarter vehicle deliveries. CEO Elon Musk even had a meeting with Premier Li Keqiang in 2019. However, the success has come with closer scrutiny, especially as many local businesses are also looking for a larger market share in this potential electric vehicle sector. China’s favorable policies towards electric cars have spurred the birth of a number of startups hoping to compete with Tesla such as Nio and Xpeng Motors, although their sales are still far behind Tesla. Simply put, to some extent, Beijing welcomes Tesla’s presence and investment in the electric vehicle market, but still wants the dominance of domestic players in this area. The most prominent in the Chinese electric vehicle market is currently Tesla, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. and BYD. Data in March showed that these three giants accounted for 55% of China’s electric vehicle market, but only 5% of the total market share in the country’s auto market, a fact that the electric vehicle market still very young. Hongguang Mini, the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint venture, has overtaken Tesla this year in terms of sales. Everything will now probably depend on Tesla’s ability to penetrate deeper into China, a market seen as key to Tesla’s global success. The challenge for Tesla now is to make sure it doesn’t take another serious hit in China, where Tesla is poised for more than 40% of its total global deliveries by 2022. China has clearly created favorable conditions for Tesla, the giant in the electric car industry, and now realizes that letting this darling dominate the market may not be in China’s interest. Many companies like Volkswagen and Mercedes have gone through the same thing.

On April 19, a woman who claimed to be a Tesla customer climbed onto the roof of a Tesla car at a Shanghai auto show. She wears a T-shirt with the words “brake not working”. Tesla car owners in China have been complaining about brakes on social media for months. The Shanghai police identified the woman named Zhang and said she was sentenced to 5 days in prison for disturbing public order. Tesla is constantly in trouble in the Chinese market. Photo: Reuters. The three lessons of Tesla Tesla accused the woman of being involved in a “speed violation” collision in February. During two months of negotiations, she refused to have a third party inspect it but demanded a refund for the car. Reply to the magazine Caijing Tesla China Vice President Tao Lin revealed that the woman was demanding high compensation and the company had no reason to pay. In a post on Weibo, Tesla claims not to compromise with “unreasonable requests”. After that, state media and government agencies quickly reprimanded Tesla. State news agencies publish a series of editorials. The Chinese government’s Central Disciplinary Committee also issued a warning statement. An article titled “Three Lessons Tesla must learn” advised the American electric car maker to respect the Chinese consumer market. “The arrogant and bossy attitude that the company shows in public is deplorable and unacceptable. This could seriously damage the company’s reputation and customer base in the Chinese market, “said the report. The Hoan Cau Times criticize. Tesla apologized for failing to promptly address the vehicle owner’s problems. The billion-dollar country is an important market for Tesla. Photo: Reuters. In posts on Weibo, Tesla said it was “ready to cooperate with the authorities”. The company claims to “self-check and fix to fix” problems in the customer service process. Tesla expanded its market share to 1.4 billion people over the past two years. With the support of the Beijing government, Tesla built a large factory in Shanghai in 2019. Last year, Model 3 cars produced at this factory began to be delivered to customers. Tesla’s sales in China have more than doubled by 2020. The Model 3 is the best-selling electric vehicle in the billion-population market. Tighten control CEO Elon Musk even met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in 2019. But success always comes with attention, especially as Chinese homegrown companies are looking for a foothold in the market. This country’s electric car school. China’s favorable policies for the electric car industry spurred the birth of startups like Nio and Xpeng Motors. These businesses did not hide their ambition to compete with Tesla, although sales were still far behind. “The leading company brings a lot of benefits to China. But when that company dominates the market, it no longer benefits Beijing,” said Bill Russo, founder and CEO of private companies. Investment, Automobility Limited, commented. Companies like Daimler’s Volkswagen and Mercedes have been under similar scrutiny in the past, he said. The leading company brings many benefits to China. But when that company dominates the market, it no longer benefits Beijing Bill Russo, CEO of Automobility Limited Negative news about Tesla has increased in China over the past months. In early 2021, a Tesla Model 3 is believed to have exploded in a Shanghai garage. According to a post in state media, there are at least 10 reports in 2020 of Tesla drivers being unable to control the vehicle. On April 13, on Dongjiang Avenue (Guangzhou), a Tesla caught fire after colliding with a roadblock and another vehicle, leading to the death of a passenger. After the incident, some Tesla owners said they were prevented from driving on highways. Chinese police appear to be blocking all Tesla vehicles from running on the highway because of safety concerns. On March 19, the news agency Bloomberg citing some sources about the Chinese military’s claim that omnidirectional cameras and ultrasonic sensors on Tesla vehicles could reveal the location. A Twitter account posted a picture with the caption: “In Guangzhou, #Tesla trams are not allowed to travel on highways”. Photo: Twitter. Therefore, the ban on the company’s vehicles to ensure the security of military information. All Tesla car users were required to park outside military complexes. In February, the China Market Administration (SAMR) met with Tesla’s subsidiaries to discuss vehicle quality. The agency’s statement on April 21 showed that they were very concerned about the incident at the Shanghai auto show. SAMR also directs local regulators to strengthen the protection of consumers’ interests. Billionaire Musk is looking for a way. In March, in an interview with state television CCTV China’s future “is going to be great,” he said, and that the country is “the biggest market” for Tesla.

Over the past few years, the American electric car maker has received favor from the Chinese authorities. However, in recent months, Tesla has received fierce criticism. In March, the news agency Bloomberg citing some sources about the Chinese military’s claim that the omnidirectional cameras and ultrasonic sensors on Tesla vehicles could reveal the location. Therefore, the ban on the company’s vehicles to ensure the security of military information. Accordingly, all Tesla car users were required to park outside military complexes. In February, Tesla cars manufactured in Shanghai were also investigated by Chinese authorities for quality and safety. At the same time, Beijing is also putting pressure on technology companies operating in the country on the issue of user data. The administration’s campaign has targeted Ant Group, the financial technology company under Alibaba. Ant pledged to “strengthen the protection of personal information” after reforming its business at Beijing’s request. Tesla considers a market of 1.4 billion people to be an important part of its growth plan. Photo: Reuters. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, reassures China that his company is not doing anything inappropriate. In the interview with CCTV Musk dedicates many winged words to this country. Electric vehicle CEO pledged that China will become the “biggest market” for electric vehicle manufacturers in the long run. “I am very confident about Tesla’s future in China,” Musk said CCTV . “I believe that the Chinese economy can grow extremely well in the next decade and will become the top economy in the world. The country is also committed to a sustainable energy future,” said Tesla CEO. added. Although he doesn’t speak Chinese, Musk remains one of the most popular American business leaders in China. Earlier last year, a video of him dancing on stage during the Model 3 launch was circulated on Weibo, a popular social network in China. Musk also has about 1.7 million followers on Weibo, more than Apple CEO Tim Cook. Tesla’s revenue in China in 2020 grew 124% from a year earlier, largely thanks to Model 3 sales (137,000 units). According to the China Passenger Vehicle Association, the Model 3 is the best-selling electric car in the 1.4 billion population.