China gives green light for LUXEED RX to test Level 3 autonomous driving on roads

China continues to make progress in the development of autonomous driving and has taken another step forward toward the deployment of Level 3 systems on roads. This level allows drivers to release the steering wheel and disengage from driving tasks.

The star of this development is the LUXEED RX, a model from Chery’s brand that partners with Huawei as its technology provider. It has received approval to begin testing Level 3 autonomous driving on roads after passing various evaluation stages.

This permission came after the LUXEED RX completed simulation tests and trials on closed circuits. From now on, this model can deploy its autonomous driving systems on designated roads suitable for such tests and gain experience in real-world driving conditions.

The evaluation process included seven different scenarios. These include recognizing and responding to traffic lights, identifying infrastructure elements and obstacles, interacting with pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles, and responding to the behavior of other vehicles.

Functions such as automatic emergency avoidance, the minimum risk strategy, and the system’s ability to manage driver intervention or takeover were also tested. These are particularly important for a Level 3 system, where the vehicle can assume certain driving tasks under predefined conditions.

A car prepared for Level 3 autonomous driving

The LUXEED RX was developed from the start with autonomous driving as one of its key selling points. The model features four LiDAR sensors and a perception system comprising 38 sensors using various technologies, all designed to provide information about the vehicle’s surroundings.

In addition, the car has multiple redundant systems to ensure critical functions continue operating even in case of failures. These include power supply, communication systems, perception systems, steering, and braking systems.

The approval for road testing represents an important step in the development process. The goal now is to gather data under real-world conditions and continue refining the system’s performance before moving on to the next phases required to obtain commercial authorization for Level 3 autonomous driving.

China is thus using road testing as one of the ways to accelerate the development of this technology. The case of the LUXEED RX illustrates how manufacturers are shifting from closed circuits and simulations to real-world scenarios, where systems must deal with a much wider variety of traffic situations.