NETA Auto Unveils Smart Driving System TA Pilot
Hozon Auto’s subsidiary EV brand NETA Auto held a press briefing at its Beijing Design Center on Monday, during which it unveiled its own intelligent driving system, TA Pilot.
TA Pilot is named after the final two letters in NETA, and is short for “Talent.” Thus meaning “Talented Pilot,” the platform is divided into four levels, spanning from 2.0 to 5.0.
TA Pilot 2.0 is an ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) that can be used on highways and city streets, and is already available in some models in the NETA V and NETA U Pro series. TA Pilot 3.0 adds highway pilot-assisted driving to the 2.0 version. TA Pilot 5.0 is still in development.
TA Pilot 4.0 features pilot assistance on highways and city streets, and will be available in the brand’s flagship sedan, the NETA S.
In addition, TA Pilot 4.0 is powered by Huawei’s MDC 610 chip, which can accomplish 200 TOPS of computing power. Huawei only provides hardware support, while the software is handled by NETA’s own intelligent driving team.
When asked why it chose to adopt Huawei’s MDC 610 chip, NETA responded that the product has a key cost advantage, and that the firm’s mindset is to choose only the most appropriate option. Moreover, NETA said it is mindful of its role in supporting the development of China’s domestic chip industry.
In terms of perception hardware, TA Pilot 4.0 will be equipped with two solid-state LiDARs from Huawei, 11 assisted driving cameras, five millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic sensors. It will also feature high precision positioning and navigation technology.
In addition to introducing TA Pilot 4.0, NETA Auto also provided further information about its intelligent driving team at Monday’s event. As of today, the NETA Intelligence Institute employs more than 600 people and will reach 1,000 in 2022.
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In terms of R&D investment, NETA Auto is expected to invest 800 million yuan to 1 billion yuan ($127 million to $158 million) in intelligent driving every year, and the total investment in the intelligence department will reach 10 billion yuan.
