Li Ke released the "three-step" strategy, and the sword refers to the intelligence of the global chassis.

Chassis, as the core component of vehicles, presents some new demand trends with the deepening of intelligent and electrified changes. Nowadays, the functional demands of a new generation of intelligent electric vehicles for chassis are not only the most basic safety and reliability, but also require better maneuverability, more agile upgrade iteration and better comfort.

In order to understand and cope with the market trend of chassis industry, at the 20th Shanghai International Auto Show just opened, Li Kun Science and Technology, a leading domestic intelligent chassis system solution provider, announced the brand-new product strategy of the company, proposing to gradually complete the intelligent upgrade of the whole chassis through "three steps" and realize the ultimate development goal of automatic, adaptive and self-learning intelligent chassis.

Image source: Li Kun Technology

At this year's auto show, Li Ke also launched many heavy products based on the new strategy, including the mass-produced hydraulic decoupling brake-by-wire system DHB-LK? , integrated intelligent braking system IHB-LK? And the innovative air suspension control system ECAS-LK. , fully demonstrate Li Kun's R&D and mass production strength in the field of smart chassis, and demonstrate its determination and confidence to fully develop smart chassis.

Likelik technology smart chassis layout, image source: Likelik technology

"Three Steps" Strategy, Global Layout of Smart Chassis

In recent years, the rapid development of intelligence and electrification has greatly subverted the traditional automobile control mode and driving experience, and at the same time, it has given the intelligent chassis new development opportunities.

Compared with the traditional automobile chassis, the advantages of intelligent chassis are obvious: because a large number of mechanical connection devices and auxiliary devices such as air pressure and hydraulic pressure are cancelled, they are replaced by more accurate and sensitive sensors, control units and electromagnetic actuators, which not only significantly improve the response speed and control accuracy, but also greatly reduce energy consumption. Because of this, the intelligentization of chassis is generally considered as the only way to realize high electrification and intelligentization.

In the past, the rapid popularization of new energy vehicles in the terminal market and the realization of various intelligent driving assistance functions were inseparable from the help of intelligent chassis, such as ACC, AEB, TJP, HWP and other functions highly related to ADAS, which need to be realized on the basis of online control. With the development of higher-order autonomous driving, the new demand for intelligent chassis is gradually emerging.

"Chassis, as the core of vehicle dynamics control, is showing many new features and requirements with the in-depth development of electrification and intelligence, mainly including five dimensions: First, the electronic and electrical architecture has evolved from traditional distributed to centralized, and even it is expected to further evolve to cloud services in the future; The second is the cross-domain integration of multiple actuators, such as the integration of braking, steering and suspension; Thirdly, with the increasingly complex functions and application scenarios on smart cars, the speed of software iteration is increasingly demanding, and automobile manufacturers pay more attention to safety and comfort, requiring hardware modularization, extensible embedded hardware design, and portable and upgradeable software; Fourth, give full consideration to functional security and information security; Fifth, in terms of comfort, it is necessary to consider the driver's driving experience and the satisfaction of driving pleasure. " Talking about the understanding of the current trend of smart chassis, Su Ganting, co-founder of Li Kun Science and Technology, said.

Su Ganting, co-founder of Likelik Technology, released the "three-step" strategy of Likelik smart chassis. Image source: Likelik technology

The "three-step" strategy of Rickett intelligent chassis is a forward-looking layout based on the prediction of the above trends:

At the stage of 1.0, Li Kun Intelligent Chassis focuses on the longitudinal and vertical control of vehicles, that is, brake-by-wire and suspension-by-wire to realize the longitudinal and vertical coordinated control of vehicles, which helps advanced assisted driving to be more widely used.

Li Kun Intelligent Chassis Phase 2.0: On the existing vertical and horizontal layout, the lateral control of vehicles, that is, steering by wire, is added to realize the control of vertical and horizontal trinity and support fully automatic driving.

Li Kun Intelligent Chassis Phase 3.0: Aiming at the new generation of electronic and electrical architecture, combined with the development platform of mainstream car companies, an integrated intelligent chassis with active control, self-adaptation and self-learning ability was built.

Since the establishment of 202 1, Likert has been known to the industry for its leading brake-by-wire technology, and the world's first mass-produced two-box brake-by-wire system, DHB-LK? And it is the first in the industry to realize an integrated intelligent braking system-a box of brake-by-wire system IHB-LK? It has become the only scientific and technological company in China to realize the layout and large-scale mass production of fully hydraulic decoupling wire-controlled products.

The release of brand-new product strategy means that Li Kun has officially launched an attack on the core technology of global smart chassis.

At present, it is generally believed in the industry that in order to create a truly intelligent, comfortable and safe driving experience, in addition to the brake by wire, it is also inseparable from the precise control of the longitudinal and lateral movements of the vehicle. Especially for L3 and above automatic driving, steer-by-wire steering is generally regarded as the only way for advanced automatic driving because it can completely decouple the steering wheel from the steering system, with higher steering accuracy and flexible space layout of the car.

Thanks to the rapid development of core technologies such as sensors, chips and algorithms, many global mainstream car companies plan to launch L3 or L3+ self-driving models in the next 1-2 years. In China, many car companies are also making efforts in secret, constantly improving the existing L2 and L2+ intelligent driving experience, and infinitely approaching L3+ or even higher-order automatic driving. From this point of view, it is also the right time for Li Kun to cut into intelligent suspension and steer by wire.

It is worth noting that although a number of outstanding players have gathered in the field of smart chassis at present, other companies have chosen one of the subdivided tracks to continue their deep cultivation, but there are not many people like Li Ke who really have the R&D capability and product matrix of smart chassis. I am confident that in the future, with the smooth progress of Li Kun's new product strategy, it is expected to lead the smart chassis to achieve greater breakthroughs.

Show your hard power and deduce the "acceleration" of Krypton.

With the release of the brand-new strategy, at the auto show, Li Ke also introduced in detail the development goals and core product layout of each stage.

"In the smart chassis 1.0 stage, Li Kun plans to complete the layout this year. In 2022, we have mass-produced two boxes of DHB-LK with vertical control. There is also a box of IHB-LK. Now the air suspension control system ECAS-LK is under intensive research and development, and it is expected to be officially mass-produced next year. " Talking about the layout progress at this stage, Su Gantang said. At that time, Lekrypton will complete the control of the X-axis and Z-axis of the vehicle, as well as the coordination of vertical and vertical depth.

Voice of DHB? , image source: Li Kun Technology

At the auto show, Li Ke also showed the public all the products in the smart chassis 1.0 stage. Among them, DHB-LK? As the first mass-produced hydraulic decoupling brake-by-wire system in Lickert, the pedal with brake-by-wire function is decoupled, which can match the basic ESC or ABS products of any brand, greatly reducing the development time and R&D investment of the main engine factory, and fully meeting the stringent braking redundancy requirements of L3 and above automatic driving.

Not only that, DHB-LK? It can support energy recovery up to 0.3g, which can effectively improve the cruising range of new energy vehicles 16-20%. Moreover, because the brake pedal and hydraulic mechanism are completely decoupled, there is no pedal idle stroke, DHB-LK? Effectively avoid pedal sinking when actively building pressure, realize a more delicate and reliable pedal feeling, and support different driving styles.

Voice of IHB? , image source: Li Kun Technology

Put DHB-LK in. Further integrated the body stability control system, Likert also developed a more integrated one-box brake-by-wire system IHB? .

According to su gantang, it is IHB-LK? On the system side, Krypton has launched three different versions, namely the standard version, the flagship version and the lightweight version:

The standard version integrates DHB-LK? , ESC and bidirectional EPB control, which can realize high dynamic response within 150ms;

In addition to integrating DHB-LK, the ultimate edition? , ESC, and redundant dual-control dynamic EPB control, which supports the main engine factory to cancel the P lock and remotely park the RPA；;

The light version needs to be used in conjunction with the electronic control mechanical braking system EMB to realize the innovative braking scheme of "wet first and then dry".

In order to fully meet the safety braking requirements of ADAS and high-order automatic driving, Likert also developed a braking redundancy module RBU as IHB-LK? The backup brake device is installed on the front wheel, IHB-LK? Between the hydraulic lines. When IHB-LK? During normal operation, RBU is in standby state, but when IHB-LK? When the brake booster fails, RBU can establish hydraulic pressure by driving the plunger pump with DC motor to realize the front wheel brake booster and control the braking force.

At present, the DHB-LK of Krypton? Where's IHB-LK Both of them have been mass-produced in 2022 and won a number of designated models. As a result, Li Kun became the first intelligent chassis system supplier in the industry to realize the full hydraulic decoupling of two-box wire control system and the first batch of one-box wire control system.

Li Kun's outstanding performance in the field of smart chassis has also attracted the intensive attention of many head investment institutions. At the beginning of April, Like announced the completion of 400 million yuan Series B financing, which is the second financing since the founding of Like 16 months ago, and the accumulated financing amount has reached 600 million yuan.

The injection of capital provides sufficient financial support for the development of new products. It is understood that the newly released air suspension control system ECAS-LK will enter the loading verification stage at the end of 2023. ECAS-LK is controlled by closed-loop air supply loop. By integrating the air compressor, valve and controller, the height, stiffness and damping of the vehicle can be adjusted, and the driving comfort can be effectively improved.

Rickett air suspension control system ECAS-LK?

Thanks to the high-end trend of independent brands, local enterprises have continuously made new breakthroughs in core technologies such as air springs and air compressors. In the past, car companies represented by Weilai, Lan Tu, Krypton, Ideality and Tucki successively applied air suspension technology to their new models to improve driving comfort. The air suspension quickly penetrated from the early luxury high-end models of 800,000 yuan to the models of 300,000-400,000 yuan.

Next, with the official mass production of Likelik ECAS-LK, it is expected to further accelerate the popularization of domestic air suspension. By then, Likelik will also fully open the layout of the 2.0 stage and develop power for the 3.0 stage.

EMB-LK, the electromechanical braking system of Likang Technology, image source: Likang Technology.

At the stage of 2.0, Su Gan Hall pointed out that Rickett's goal is to achieve vertical, horizontal and vertical coordinated control, so Rickett will launch three new products, namely, the electro-mechanical braking system EMB-LK, the intelligent chassis domain controller C-Trio and the steer-by-wire system SBW-LK. It is particularly worth mentioning that EMB can realize faster braking response and integrate various sensors at the same time because it uses electric control signals instead of hydraulic transmission.

At present, through the research and development of EMB-LK, Li Ke is committed to the mass production of all products in the intelligent chassis by-wire product line in 2024, and the product layout in all three directions will be completed in 2025, laying a solid foundation for building an integrated by-wire chassis with active control, adaptive and self-learning ability in 2026.

According to Sugan Hall, Li Kun has laid out two different products for EMB, one for the front axle and the other for the rear axle, which can achieve high dynamic response within 100 ms ... These two products are expected to come out one after another in the next two years, and finally achieve the development goal of full dry braking in 2025.

At present, thanks to the rapid development of intelligent electric vehicles, intelligent chassis has ushered in the best era. In the past few years, a large number of enterprises rushed into the track, and in this process, Li Kun came in as a dark horse, taking the industry-leading hydraulic decoupling by-wire technology as the breakthrough point, adopting a "gradual" product strategy, and comprehensively laying out the core technical fields such as by-wire braking, suspension control, by-wire steering, chassis domain controller, etc., but the rising star has already built the first-Mover advantage, and is one of the few domestic technology companies with complete intelligent chassis platform development and mass production.

This article comes from the author of Che Yi Geshi Automobile, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for any form of reprint. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.