A Li Auto L9 on a Chinese expressway recently learned the hard way that its ‘safety systems’ have a blind spot the size of a billboard. The flagship SUV was rear-ended not because the driver slammed on the brakes, but because the onboard tech mistook a billboard advertising two vans (spread across the road) for actual vehicles.
The Li Auto L9 is equipped with a full array of driver assistance systems, including radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and an advanced lidar mounted just above the windshield. While all the hardware is there, it appears that the Chinese carmaker’s engineers have their work cut out in refining the software to accurately distinguish between advertisements and actual vehicles.
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