Xiaomi to cooperate with police after fatal crash involving SU7 EV’s self-driving feature
Baku, April 1, AZERTAC
Xiaomi will cooperate with the police after an accident involving the autonomous driving feature of its SU7 electric vehicle (EV) claimed three lives, sparking concern over the rapid proliferation of self-navigating systems on the mainland, according to South China Morning Post.
Shares of Xiaomi, a leading smartphone maker that launched its first EV last year, slumped 5.5 per cent to HK$46.50 on Tuesday after the Beijing-based company said the accident occurred when the car’s self-driving system was turned on. “We have submitted the driving data and relevant operational information that we collected to the police,” Xiaomi said in a statement on its Weibo social media account on Tuesday. “We will fully cooperate with the police and ensure that the accident is handled openly and transparently based on the result of the investigations.” The company said it felt “deeply regretful” over the tragedy, which took place in Tongling, in eastern Anhui province on Saturday. Xiaomi said the car was travelling at 116kph on a highway with the driver assistance system in operating mode, adding that the system alerted the driver to take over the vehicle two seconds before it hit a concrete barrier. While Xiaomi did not mention the number of fatalities involved, the mother of the driver said in a social media post that three people – the driver and two passengers – died in the crash. Xiaomi, which found success with the SU7, did not say if it would recall the cars or update the self-driving software.
Typically, a driver-assistance system uses algorithms to analyse real-time traffic data collected by on-board sensors and has “environment detection” capabilities. It can make decisions such as whether to accelerate past a slow-moving vehicle, but still requires human intervention. On the mainland, most of the self-driving -capabilities are either classified as level 2 (L2) or L2+, meaning they can control steering, acceleration and deceleration but still require a human override under all circumstances.
“The accident is a rude reminder to all people involved in autonomous driving, from software developers to drivers and passengers, that smart cars are far from being fully autonomous,” said David Zhang, general secretary of the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association. “Safety must be a priority when people use the system in driving.”
