- The occupant of a Li Auto L9 recorded a moment where everyone in the car, including the driver, appeared to be asleep.
- It’s unclear if the circumstances in the video are genuine or simply a prank, but the car is driving down the highway for real.
- The video serves as one more example of just how trusting some are of far-from-perfect autonomous driving tech.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that nobody wants to be around a sleeping driver. Yet, that’s exactly what appears to be happening in a new video out of China. A person inside of a Li Auto L9 films as they trundle down the roadway while the driver and a child are asleep. It’s not totally clear if the circumstances are legitimate but regardless of that, it demonstrates a serious danger on roadways around the globe.
The video posted to the Chinese social media messaging network Weibo is only 19 seconds in length. In it, we see the camera operator pan up from a view showing someone sleeping (or so it would seem) on their lap. As they do, it appears that the driver too is laid back in their seat and catching some Zs.
Adding to the oddness of the situation, a bottle seems to be wedged into the steering wheel. The exact purpose of this is unclear, but it’s possible the bottle is being used to add weight, tricking the system into thinking there’s a hand on the wheel.
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How is this possible? The L9 features what Li Auto calls DMS, or Driver Monitoring Systems, so in theory, it should know that the driver is inattentive if he’s actually asleep. First and foremost, it’s plausible that this whole thing is just a prank and that the driver is awake and his eyes are open as he monitors the road subtly. Even if that’s the case though, he certainly doesn’t appear ready to take over at a moment’s notice.
The YouTube channel Inside China Auto features multiple videos showing off Li Auto’s autonomous capability. Put simply, the system appears robust and well-sorted. It even handles dramatically different road users with aplomb. At the same time, it’s far from perfect and requires several interventions.
One thing is certain, though: the autonomous technology was never designed to do what we see in this video. Level 2 systems like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Ford’s BlueCruise and this one need constant supervision. On the other hand, if he really is asleep then he’s actively putting everyone in the car and everyone outside of the car but in the vicinity at risk.
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Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen drivers push the limits of these systems. From Teslas to Ford trucks to now Li Auto vehicles, people keep finding ways to misuse driver-assist technology. Hopefully, automakers will develop better safeguards before stunts like this become even more common.
