With the development of AI large-scale model technology, "end-to-end autonomous driving technology" is gradually becoming the consensus of the industry. However, no matter how the technology route changes, the car needs to know where it is and what dynamic posture it is in order to achieve autonomous driving. This means that high-precision positioning services are always inseparable from the process of autonomous driving.
With the continuous increase in the sales of intelligent electric vehicles, the high-precision positioning application market, which is the foundation of autonomous driving technology, has ushered in a period of rapid development. According to the research data of the Puhua Industry Institute of the China Research Institute, the total output value of China's satellite navigation and location service industry will reach about 573 billion yuan in 2023, and the revenue related to high-precision location services will reach 21.4 billion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of more than 25%. It is estimated that by the end of 2028, the scale of China's high-precision positioning market is expected to grow to 126.34 billion yuan.
Optimistic about the broad development prospects of the high-precision positioning market, Daoyuan Technology has been focusing on the high-precision positioning track since 2014. In 2016, China's smart cars began to rise, and Daoyuan Technology took advantage of the trend to enter the automobile industry, and in 2017, it received the first model designation. In 2018, when other spare parts suppliers in the field of intelligent driving were still anxious about mass production, Daoyuan Technology has realized the mass production and supply of Xiaopeng Motors, becoming the first technology company to realize the mass production of high-precision positioning sensors.
As of June 30, 2024, Guideyuan Technology has delivered a total of 1.041 million sets of positioning and perception sensor kits, and has been designated by more than 30 OEMs for nearly 100 models, including a number of global models from many international car companies represented by the Volkswagen Group.
"2024 is the tenth year of the establishment of Daoyuan Technology. In the first ten years, we quickly made the product and realized the safe and stable application on the car; In the next ten years, we will focus on the development of international business with the support of domestic business, and form a situation of parallel domestic and international business. Pia Hu, Executive President and Chief Product Officer of Leadyuan Technology, said in an exclusive interview with Auto Watch.
Technology is king, facing market challenges head-on
The pressure of the price war has long been transmitted to the upstream of the automotive industry chain, and how to deal with the price war has also become an important issue for intelligent driving parts suppliers. According to Pia Hu, Daoyuan Technology has faced the price war by improving production efficiency and enhancing upstream and downstream premium capabilities.
The so-called improvement of production efficiency is mainly to reduce the average production cost of products through large-scale and intelligent production, specifically including improving the accuracy of product processes, product quality and yield, and improving the platform layout of products.
To enhance the upstream and downstream premium ability of enterprises, it requires intelligent driving parts suppliers to control upstream technology and capabilities. "Daoyuan Technology already has the ability to self-develop upstream core technologies and has achieved vertical integration." Pia Hu said.
Leadway Technology MEMS chip
The high-precision positioning production line of Guideyuan Technology is divided into three major sections: GNSS module, IMU module, and high-precision combined positioning system P-Box. In terms of chip research and development, Leadyuan Technology has independently developed the whole process from chip design, tape-out, production to packaging and testing. In April this year, the new generation of MEMS inertial navigation chip independently developed by Daoyuan Technology, GST80, has been successfully taped out and is about to enter the mass production stage. This chip has the advantages of high integration, high cost performance and high performance. The GST80 contains a lot of energy in a small body, and the 7x7mm package contains an MCU, RAM, and eFLASH, which is equivalent to a miniature sensor system.
GST80 is the MotionTrack series six-axis motion sensor designed with millions of delivery experience of Intele, and it is also the industry's first programmable automotive inertial sensor with built-in MCU and multiple interfaces. It has a built-in safety controller, which has the ability to self-test and real-time monitoring of MEMS structure work, error, circuit power supply, clock, communication, temperature, information security, etc., so that the sensor can be used for ASIL-B(D) system functions. In addition, the MCU can realize innovative functions such as sensor error compensation, attitude calculation, and motion detection through customized firmware, saving system costs.
In addition, the products of Daoyuan Technology also include high-precision GNSS module NAV3110 and NAV3120 that meet the automotive-grade standards, GNSS module NAV3310 that meet the industrial-grade standards, high-precision IMU modules IMU5104 and IMU5121, high-precision integrated navigation systems INS571 and INS570, attitude sensor IMS5562, IMS5563, etc., and a variety of MEMS galvanometer modules.
Automotive-grade, full-system, full-frequency high-precision GNSS module NAV3120
How strong is the level of GNSS module of Leadyuan Technology? Taking the car driving out of the tunnel as an example, in the urban NOA tunnel scenario, the satellite signal quality is weakened or completely lost in a short period of time. When exiting the tunnel, the GNSS module can recapture the satellite signal, and the speed and ability of "receiving the satellite", that is, the speed of satellite navigation recovery, is an important indicator to test the performance of the GNSS module. NAV3120 after resuming the first positioning, it can converge to the fixed solution in less than 4 seconds, that is, the precise positioning is obtained.
From self-developed chips, to create a variety of modules and assemblies, to the complete ability to launch a variety of solutions, Guideyuan Technology has become the leader of the domestic high-precision positioning track with highly reliable, high-performance, and cost-effective positioning perception products. According to the statistics of Gaogong Intelligent Vehicle Research Institute, the market share of high-precision positioning in the domestic passenger car front-loading market once exceeded 60%.
Based on the local market, the international market
At the end of 2023, Daoyuan Technology will be designated by Volkswagen Group in batches to provide high-precision positioning solutions for many brands and models of Volkswagen Group around the world. "This cooperation not only marks that the technology and products of Daoyuan Technology have been recognized by overseas customers, but also reflects from the side that the influence of Chinese intelligent driving suppliers in the global market is steadily increasing." Pia Hu said.
In addition to Volkswagen, Daoyuan Technology also provides intelligent driving parts for Toyota, Volvo and other international OEMs, and internationalization has become a strategic focus of Daoyuan Technology.
In the international market, especially in mature markets such as Europe, the United States and Japan, there are higher requirements for the comprehensive capabilities of suppliers. OEMs not only expect suppliers to have strong technical strength and product quality, but also require suppliers to have a sound system and more third-party qualification certifications to prove the reliability and compliance of their products and services. This means that the product must not only meet the requirements in terms of functionality, but also meet higher standards in terms of safety and integrity. This poses new challenges to the design, production and quality control processes of supply chain companies.
High-precision combined positioning system of Daoyuan Technology
In order to expand its territory in the international market, Daoyuan Technology specially put forward the "KFC" strategy. "K" stands for "know it", i.e., in-depth knowledge of the target market and customers. "F" stands for "for it". Based on this information, we will formulate an action plan and screen out opportunities that match the company's products and company plans. "C" stands for "care it", and we focus on continuous customer service and project management, and establish a product platform to meet global needs, and make every effort to improve customer satisfaction.
In order to better adapt to the overseas market, Daoyuan Technology is also focusing on localization in team building, and has set up localized teams in United States, Germany, and Japan. "Not only does this help us better understand and meet the needs of our local customers, but it is also an important part of our globalization strategy. In the future, we will also localize production, that is, establish production bases in overseas markets to better meet the needs of local customers, shorten the supply chain, and improve response speed. Pia Hu said.
In the next ten years, overseas business will be the key development direction of Leadyuan Technology. "But overseas business is not isolated, and relies heavily on the support of domestic business. Thanks to our rapid development in the domestic market and rich experience in mass production, we have accumulated mature technologies, products and solutions. This is especially important for overseas clients, who tend to prefer proven solutions that have been proven and approved in China when choosing a partner. Pia Hu added.
For Daoyuan Technology, both domestic and foreign customers are equally important. "We don't make a clear distinction between overseas and domestic customers. Because in terms of product platform and technology, we provide a consistently high standard of service. "It is expected that from 2026 onwards, the company will form a new situation of common development of domestic and foreign markets, and by 2030, the overall shipment volume of overseas markets will reach 7 million units." ”