March 29, 2024

Sapiensdigital

Sapiens Digital

Pininfarina Shanghai’s Xingtu Is a Smart EV Truck With a Voice Assistant

Automobili Pininfarina revealed its new design, Xingtu, an all-electric heavy-duty autonomous truck designed for DeepWay, a report from DesignBoom reveals. 

DeepWay is a smart truck company founded in 2020 backed by Chinese internet giant Baidu. It commissioned Pininfarina to design its new concept which is aimed at automating cargo transportation.

The Xingtu truck comes equipped with 11 onboard cameras, a LIDAR sensor, an infrared detector, and 5 millimeter-wave radars. All of this, in theory, will allow the vehicle to drive autonomously, detecting obstacles as far as 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) away.

Pininfarina Shanghai's Xingtu Is a Smart EV Truck With a Voice Assistant
The Xingtu uses technology based on Baidu’s autonomous driving technology. Source: Pininfarina/Twitter

Heavy trucks are rapidly evolving to adapt in a quick-changing environment where new technologies allow smart and connected vehicles to safely help everyday duty,” said Matteo Piguzzi, the head of design at Pininfarina Shanghai. “The sophisticated design of  DeepWay introduces a new advanced language, where efficiency and aerodynamic work together to create an iconic exterior shape,” he continued. 

Streamlined autonomous driving

The new truck uses DeepWay’s highway intelligence system (HIS), which is based on Baidu’s autonomous driving technology. The system takes 100 milliseconds to execute a function based on data from its onboard cameras and sensors. The Xingtu truck features a 450kWh battery pack giving it a roughly 186-mile (300 km) range. The battery pack itself is swappable in only six minutes for quick redeployment and it can be fully charged in one hour.

Pininfarina Shanghai's Xingtu Is a Smart EV Truck With a Voice Assistant
The Xingtu features a smart voice assistant and an infotainment system for drivers. Source: Pininfarina/Twitter

The aerodynamics-focused exterior of the heavy-duty truck makes the most of Pininfarina’s design DNA. Its streamlined design gives it a wind resistance coefficient as low as 0.35, reducing the vehicle’s overall energy consumption. The interior, meanwhile, was designed to provide long-haul drivers with a comfortable, intelligent experience with its large touchscreen infotainment system, large ultra-comfortable seats, and its intelligent voice assistant. 

Last summer, Baidu launched a concept for a fully autonomous “robocar” to showcase the power of its latest AI chip. The Beijing-based search engine firm said at the time that the new chip, which uses 7 nm process technology, will help to power the future of driverless vehicles. Just last month, autonomous semi-truck company TruSimple announced that one of its trucks completed an 80-mile (129-km) route without a human on board.

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