Attentive readers may have noticed that after covering the exterior, configuration, range, and charging speed of electric vehicles, smart driving has emerged as a new competitive battleground for manufacturers in recent years. Among the many smart driving features, the "City Navigation (NOA)" function has become an important indicator of a car’s smart driving capabilities. Unlike the widely adopted "high-speed navigation" functions, City Navigation must handle the more complex and ever-changing road conditions in urban areas. For this reason, very few brands currently offer this feature, and it is mostly found in high-end products.
BYD is one such brand. In July, they officially launched the "Tianshen Eye" advanced intelligent driving assistance system, which is fully developed in-house. Currently, this system is available in several of their high-end models. At the end of October, BYD's City Navigation (CNOA) feature expanded to six new cities: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Xi'an, and Chengdu. With the addition of Shenzhen, a total of seven cities are now covered, and according to current plans, nationwide coverage will be available by the end of December.
For BYD’s City Navigation (CNOA) feature, the key focus is on “No Maps.” In simple terms, this means that it abandons the traditional "high-precision map" approach, opting instead to use the vehicle's long-range, high-precision LiDAR, ultra-high-definition cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and other smart driving sensors. By leveraging an advanced technical architecture and applying Transformer+ BEV technology, the system handles tasks such as navigating intersections (straight, left turns, right turns, U-turns), passing through traffic lights, overtaking, intelligent obstacle avoidance, lane merging, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, lane changing, and yielding to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles. This real-time decision-making approach makes the vehicle smarter and more flexible, offering a driving experience akin to that of an experienced driver.
In our test experience, the route wasn’t long, but because it passed through the core area of Guangzhou’s old city, it included most of the common road conditions we encounter. Here are a few interesting observations.
First, we experienced multiple lane changes in quick succession. We needed to shift from the far right lane to the ramp lane, while vehicles in the rear lane attempted to overtake. Despite the busy traffic, the lane change was incredibly smooth, and the system was not rigid. This flexibility provided the most confidence to the driver. As we entered a regular city road via an off-ramp, there were pedestrians crossing and intersections with oncoming traffic. At this point, the system slowed down, and we could see that the overall system settings were conservatively designed. Even when a ride-hailing vehicle tried to cut in, there was no need for the driver to intervene, which is a commendable feature.
Another key scenario involved dealing with oncoming traffic at a crossroad in the old city, where road construction was taking place and multiple lanes intersected. This tested the system’s real-time decision-making ability, and it performed excellently. The system’s response was even better than many drivers’ actions. When a social vehicle suddenly changed lanes, the system applied the brakes promptly to avoid a collision.
In daily driving, the system’s control over braking force is also outstanding. When passing through intersections or following another vehicle, the soft braking didn’t cause any discomfort, significantly enhancing the overall riding comfort. Based on this experience, we can confidently say that BYD’s self-developed Tianshen Eye advanced intelligent driving assistance system is highly capable and can be trusted for use in any driving scenario.
What deserves special mention is the system's high recognition ability for pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, obstacles like trash cans, and other objects. These are clearly displayed on the digital instrument cluster. Additionally, the smart driving assistance functions feature a breathing function, where the display changes based on different dynamic scenarios.
In Conclusion
Smart driving is a development trend for current new energy vehicles. Although it is becoming a common feature, the differences in technology levels and system calibration are evident in actual driving experiences. At this stage, a good smart driving assistance system should be stable and provide enough information to the driver. However, truly achieving this level of sophistication in a driving system is rare. One system that stands out in this regard is BYD’s full-stack self-developed Tianshen Eye advanced intelligent driving assistance system.
