Lucid Motors’ all-electric Air will have 32 sensors, including lidar, to support hands-free highway driving

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Lucid Motors is loading up its first electric vehicle with hardware — dozens of sensors, a driver monitoring system and an Ethernet-based architecture — for an advanced driver assistance system that aims to match and even surpass its rivals.

There will be 32 sensors in all, according to Lucid, which has branded its advanced driver assistance system DreamDrive. The total number isn’t what matters. The type and location — and of course, the software — does. For now, Lucid is just providing details on the hardware.

The Air, which is set to debut September 9, will come with one lidar, radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Lidar — the light detection and ranging radar that measures distance using laser light to generate a highly accurate 3D map of the world around the car — is a noteworthy inclusion. The sensor is typically used on autonomous vehicles, not the production cars, trucks and SUVs that consumers will buy and drive. Lucid said its long-range lidar sensor will be placed in the front of the vehicle.

There is a small and growing list of automakers that have plans to include lidar in their production vehicles, as well. Volvo revealed in May plans to start producing vehicles in 2022 that are equipped with lidar and a perception stack — technology developed by Silicon Valley startup Luminar that the automaker will use to deploy an automated driving system for highways.

The number of radar sensors and their location is also a standout feature. Lucid will have five radars in all, one located in front to augment the capabilities of the lidar. The other four will be located on the four corners of the vehicle. This gives the Air 360 degrees of radar coverage. Tesla, which has an advanced driver assistance system that is widely considered to be the most or among the most capable on the market today, has eight cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and just one radar. Tesla vehicles do not have lidar.

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Inside the vehicle will be a driver monitoring system with a dedicated camera. Lucid Motors didn’t reveal much about its DMS. However, it’s likely to operate similarly to GM’s hands-free system known as Super Cruise. Eugene Lee, the senior director of ADAS and autonomous driving at Lucid Motors, formerly worked on GM’s Super Cruise.

Underlying all of this will be a high-speed Ethernet Ring, which Lucid describes as a unique cornerstone of advanced electric architecture. Automakers have been moving toward Ethernet technology for several years now in an effort to create a centralized network that simplifies the deployment of advanced features. Lucid said its ring, and not linear, design is what allows for a redundant platform for functions such as steering, brakes, sensors and even power sources. The system also allows for over-the-air software upgrades, an important feature (popularized by Tesla) that gives Lucid the ability to improve the ADAS over time.

All this hardware will come standard on the first iteration of the Lucid Air, a pricier and more exclusive launch version called the Dream Edition. Lucid is sourcing its hardware system from several large suppliers, including Bosch, Continental and Here. The automaker said it integrates the hardware in-house.

The aim is for all of this hardware to support high-functioning driver assistance features, eventually including hands-free automated highway driving. This ADAS package will not only offer Level 2 features, but is also Level 3 ready, according to Lee. There are five levels of automation under SAE’s definition. Level 2 has two primary functions automated and still has a human driver in the loop at all times. Level 3 takes that up a notch and is considered conditional automation in geofenced areas such as highways. Drivers must still be prepared to intervene with Level 3.

Lucid said its DreamDrive tech will support 19 safety, driving and parking-assist features that will be available as soon as the Air rolls off the assembly line. The automaker plans to add eight features at a later date.

Lucid said the system will include safety features such as surround-view monitoring, blind-spot display, cross-traffic protection that informs the driver of vehicles perpendicular to them, traffic sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and alerts for distracted or drowsy drivers.

The driving assistant features will include adaptive cruise and lane centering for highway driving, headlight assist and an alert that tells the driver when standstill traffic has started to move again. It also will offer what Lucid describes as autonomous parking.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/28/l...-lidar-to-support-hands-free-highway-driving/
 
I'm wondering if this is the lidar unit Lucid is going to use:


It claims to have the longest range -- at 150 meters -- of any automotive-grade unit on the market, and Lucid has been reported to be using lidar with a 150-yard range.
 
I'm wondering if this is the lidar unit Lucid is going to use:


It claims to have the longest range -- at 150 meters -- of any automotive-grade unit on the market, and Lucid has been reported to be using lidar with a 150-yard range.

Hopefully, Lucid will have a more in depth release which will tell us.
 
I hope so, too. However, I don't really know why I root around to dig this stuff up, as I understand very little of this technology. It does keep me entertained, though.
 
I have wondered how complicated it might be to repair a Lucid Air damaged in an accident, thinking in terms of things such as a glass canopy with electrochromic wiring. This article mentions the challenge ADAS systems present to body repair shops. While this issue will not be unique to Lucid, Lucid's comprehensive array of sensors and its ethernet ring architecture might put it at the head of the line in terms of difficult homework assignments for body repair personnel to master.

 
I have wondered how complicated it might be to repair a Lucid Air damaged in an accident, thinking in terms of things such as a glass canopy with electrochromic wiring. This article mentions the challenge ADAS systems present to body repair shops. While this issue will not be unique to Lucid, Lucid's comprehensive array of sensors and its ethernet ring architecture might put it at the head of the line in terms of difficult homework assignments for body repair personnel to master.


Excellent points! Hopefully, Lucid will have factory trained personnel in Florida to properly repair any accident damage AND any non accident related equipment or software failures. I have asked, but have not received, info related to Lucid's new vehicle warranty and service capabilities for Southwest Florida. Both are potential deal breakers for me. I have been patiently waiting for the Sept 9th reveal. I expect all of our concerns to be adequately addressed / answered after the reveal. If not, I will be requesting a refund of my Dream Edition deposit.

FYI - I emailed my salesperson two days ago hoping to get an update. Disappointing that I have not received a response as of yet.
 
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I'd be shocked if Lucid did not at least match the Tesla warranty, as I think they understand that anything less would signal a lack of their own confidence in the product. I'm a bit less certain about initial service in southwest Florida but, again, strongly suspect they will at least match Tesla's approach in using mobile service trucks. Lucid will need to get a very quick handle on early service issues if for no other reason than to spot manufacturing or supplier problems in the field as soon as possible.

Body work may be a different matter, but I'm (mostly) not worried. Almost no dealers for any brands have in-house body shops any more. Even one of my Audi R8s, which could only be serviced at specially-certified Audi dealerships, was sent out to an independent body shop when someone side-swiped me while making a lane change without signaling or looking (a Florida pastime). I also had to get some minor front end work done on my Tesla and was a bit anxious when Tesla referred me to a local body shop (Gerber on Pine Ridge). I found that Tesla had provided all of its certified body shops with all the manuals and specs needed to repair a Tesla as well as any other brand. (Gerber told me the only problem they had in working on Teslas was the lengthy delays in getting parts from Tesla.) I do, though, want to try not to get the Lucid smashed in the first few months, at least. That could be a real pain.

I was also nervous when I wanted to get a radar/laser detector installed in the Tesla. Mine was the first the local shop had seen, but they found that Tesla's technical support walked them through everything they needed to know about the installation, and it went off without a hitch.

I'm assuming that Lucid will have a network of body shops certified and equipped with all the information they need to work on a Lucid. One of the good things about the internet is that reports of a failure on such a critical support front will spread like wildfire and quickly become a major problem for Lucid.

I can't say I'm happy about Saudi involvement in Lucid, but they were also a primary launch funder for Rivian, an early Tesla stakeholder (and one Musk hoped to use to take Tesla private), a major Uber investor, and they have their hands deeply in other disrupters in the transportation space. So they're kind of hard to avoid if you like new automotive technology. They may have a 12th-century society, but they take a 22nd-century view of technology and fossil fuels. But the Saudi PIF didn't just invest in Lucid. It took a 53% ownership stake. I think that means that Lucid will have access to all the funding it needs to back up their early vehicles with strong warranties and robust service. The Saudis will not hang in forever if Lucid cannot prove itself with the first couple of models, but I don't think they're about to let the first model fail shortly after launch over service and warranty issues . . . or so I hope.
 
FYI - I emailed my salesperson two days ago hoping to get an update. Disappointing that I have not received a response as of yet.

Update: I just received a response with two new updates:
1. An announcement will be made on Tuesday, August 11th regarding the EPA mileage rating that the Lucid Air has achieved. This is the link to the Lucid teaser - 2.. The special Lucid reservation holder invitations for the Sept 9th reveal are scheduled to go out by mid August.
 
Thanks. I was wondering if they had yet submitted a car to the EPA for a range test. (I loved the suggestive pause at 402 in the video.)
 
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Thanks. I was wondering if they had yet submitted a car to the EPA for a range test. (I loved the suggestive pause at 402 in the video.)
Very clever. Lucid has now posted in the News and General Discussions section.
 
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