Lynk & Co’s new 08 flagship SUV, a mid-size model with Lynk E-Motive plug-in hybrid system, is based on the corporate CMA Evo platform, representing the most recent advancements in CMA technology as well as several firsts enabled by supplier ECARX and partners including its first Skyland Pro ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) mass-production application.
The ECARX ADAS platform is powered by the BlackBerry QNX Neutrino RTOS (real-time operating system) and Black Sesame Technologies‘ Huashan II A1000 ADAS computing chip. The deployment also represents the first large-scale production and application of the Black Sesame chip for use in ADAS solutions.
“We are very excited to have completed the deployment and mass production of our first ADAS platform,” said Lily Cai, Senior Vice President, of China Sales & Marketing for ECARX. “This is a significant breakthrough for ECARX in this critical technology field.”
ECARX was co-founded in 2017 by Chairman and CEO Ziyu Shen, and Eric Li (Li Shufu), who is also the founder and chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, one of the largest automotive groups in the world with ownership interests in OEMs including Lotus, Lynk & Co, Polestar, Smart, and Volvo Cars. The supplier today has around 2000 team members developing automotive systems.
It was just last month that ECARX announced the Skyland Pro, which is meant to support drivers as the autonomy of their vehicles increases. Its architecture features two of the Black Sesame systems-on-chip (SoCs) that deliver compute power of 116 TOPS (tera operations per second) at 8-bit integer levels to enable L2+ advanced driving and parking.
The Skyland Pro platform is said to support industry-leading bird’s-eye-view perception algorithms and a 5R10V sensor configuration. Through over-the-air updates, it can be enabled for more scenario-based solutions such as urban navigate-on-autopilot capability and home-zone parking assist. The system has already achieved high scores in China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) preliminary testing for automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and electronic stability control.
In support of the platform, ECARX provides end-to-end testing, including a validation methodology and toolchain, to enable its partners to significantly shorten the R&D cycle while mitigating risks and ensuring the reliability of ADAS solutions.
A simpler single-SoC Skyland solution in the works is meant to address a wider range of OEM needs. Tailored for L2+ ADAS scenarios, it will allow automakers to combine driving and parking functionalities with peak computing power of up to 58 TOPS and support of a 5R6V sensor configuration.
The new Lynk & Co SUV, with a minimalist interior having a large main screen and augmented reality headup display, also gets a boost in its customer experience by an ECARX Antora 1000 Pro digital cockpit computing platform. Since its launch in September, the 08 has received positive reviews for its intelligent cockpit features supported by ECARX’s central ecosystem hub and partners SiEngine and Xingji Meizu Group.
Powered by two SE1000 SoCs developed by SiEngine and produced with a “world-leading” 7-nm advanced process, the 08’s Antora 1000 Pro offers a maximum expandable memory combination of up to 32-GB random access memory and 512-GB read-only memory. It has a neural processing unit computing power of up to 16 TOPS.
The Antora 1000 Pro can support the Flyme Auto operating system, the smart cockpit solution designed to seamlessly connect smartphones with vehicles jointly created by Lynk & Co, Xingji Meizu, and ECARX that debuted in the 08. With unique features such as the small window display mode, dynamic effects, and air conditioner, Flyme Auto is said to be the first automotive intelligent terminal in the industry to be certified by China’s TL Certification Institute for its superior performance in providing customers with a smooth, smart, connected, and enriched cockpit experience.
