Xiaomi Obtains Patent for Intelligent Identification of Traffic Lights

On September 13, Xiaomi Auto Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Chinese consumer tech firm Xiaomi, unveiled a patent entitled “Traffic Light Status Recognition Method, Device, Vehicle and Storage Medium.”

This invention relates to automated driving, and the identification method comprises several steps. The invention will collect multi-frame traffic light status images within a preset time through a vehicle-mounted device. The time sequence status of traffic lights in front of a vehicle within a preset time can be determined, meaning the current status of the traffic light can also be determined, along with a current image of the traffic light and the driving status of vehicles in front.

This patent can effectively improve the accuracy of traffic light status recognition results, and reduce the probability of driverless vehicles violating traffic regulations, thus effectively improving the driving safety and performance of driverless vehicles. This will thereby enhance the user experience.

In addition, on September 6, the Xiaomi subsidiary disclosed a patent named “Automated Driving System and Control Methods, Devices, Vehicles and Equipment.” The firm also disclosed five other invention patents, including path planning method, vehicle camera cleaning method and chip trajectory prediction method.

On August 11, Lei Jun, the founder and CEO of Xiaomi, announced research and development progress of Xiaomi‘s automated driving technology. This is the first time that the firm has officially disclosed part of technical and personnel preparation details in 500 days after its officially announcing the entry into the smart electric vehicle industry on March 30 last year.

SEE ALSO: CEO Lei Jun: Xiaomi Didn’t Miss Race in EV Industry

Lei Jun said that Xiaomi‘s automated driving technology formulated the technical layout strategy of full-stack self-developed algorithms at the beginning, covering the core technical fields of automated driving such as perception prediction, high-precision positioning and decision-making and planning. It has been building a self-developed data closed-loop system to efficiently drive the core algorithm and product function iteration.

At present, Xiaomi‘s automated driving technology has entered the testing stage. At the beginning of August, Xiaomi disclosed a video of automated driving vehicle road tests, showing many functions such as automatic identification of obstacles by the test vehicle. The test car shown in the video also realized U-turns on an open road, automatic detours around accidents, recognition of pedestrians at crossings and roundabouts, automatic descent of continuous ramps, and automated parking and charging. This has aroused the attention of the Chinese industry.